Some more of what I've been up to lately

My mother, who is an artist, taught me some of the basics of drawing.   When I was a teen, I used to draw quite a bit, but now I have less time and my pencils are left to the wayside.   However, when I saw this...

...I felt inspired to sharpen up the old pencil crayons, and give it another shot, just to see if I could do any better than an octogenarian with no previous painting experience.  (Incidentally, the new news is that the new painting has become a cash cow for the church after the 'restored' painting became an Internet meme. The painter, who was terribly distraught at all the negative press she had been receiving, now wants a cut.)

Keep in mind, I haven't attempted any drawing for about fifteen years. So, here's my first shot:

I made a bunch of rookie errors, and it looks a little like a colouring book (okay, a lot like a colour book) and I made several more mistakes trying to correct the first mistakes, etc etc. The face tends to the short and wide, whereas the original tends more to the long and thin.  He is looking up, mine is looking out. Still, on the whole, not completely terrible. I think mine is better than hers, if only just. I may go over and work on the highlights a bit more,  And don't bother me about the hair. Hair has always defeated me, even with my mother at my elbow giving me gentle lessons.   Take, for instance, this portrait of Greta Garbo I sketched back around the time she died, when I drew all the time.

I left the hair out.

Eliminating hair entirely is more my speed, like my old drawing of Michelangelo's Delphic Sybyl.

Check out her bicep.  Michelangelo truly had no idea what a woman's body  looked like.  Either that, or the women of his era were a heck of a lot tougher than they are today.  Heck, she looks like she could kick most men's butts.

I would love to take art lessons, and there are some realist art schools around Toronto which still teach the classical methods of drawing and painting, but I lack the money and the time.  Maybe Mom can give me a hand again.

Looking upon my old drawings and my new, I can see my skills have deteriorated. Drawing is like any talent or skill: you use it or you lose it.  I may attempt another drawing of Ecce Homo in a week or so.  Keep at it until I can get it right.