A drawing I did when I was 15

in #art7 years ago

Wonderful_Old_Woman_sm.jpg

Here's one of my first drawings. I did this back in 1993 when I was 15.

I drew this using black colored pencil on paper, a 9" x 12." Colored pencil gets stronger dark values than graphite pencil and doesn't smudge as much, but it is harder to erase, so you have to plan well.

The drawing was based off a photo from the Great Depression, showing an immigrant woman looking pensively out her window. Every wrinkle in her face tells a story. In her wizened expression you can see wisdom, sorrow, compassion, perseverance, and even hopefulness for the future.

I sold the original drawing just a couple years ago at an art show. The lady who bought it said, "Oh, this looks just like my grandma!" I've got to get it! I love that when buyers have a connection with my artwork. I knew this drawing would be in the right home!

Right after I drew this and brought it to school, my art teachers loved it, and one of them called it "that wonderful old woman."

The name stuck.

And so here she is, "The Wonderful Old Woman."

Wonderful Old Woman_detail.jpg

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this drawing. Have a blessed day!

Signature_200dpi_sm.jpg

Matt

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Incredible.

I appreciate the kind words, Brandon!

You are really good at this @mattphilleo

You're welcome

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This is one of my favorites of yours, Matt. How long do you think it took to complete? It almost reminds me of impressionistic art where they use a small mark to create the illusion of something when looked at from far away.

In the close-up, it looks like a bunch of little, vertical lines, and then a different texture for the scarf. And it doesn't look like you did any smudging for a shading effect.

Thank you, Erin. I think this took about about 40 hours to complete. A lot of detail. I used cross-hatching to get the shading and gradation I needed. Colored pencil doesn't blend very well with tissue or anything like that, so you have to blend by using lighter strokes.

When you were 15??? 1-5? f-i-f-t-e-e-n ? :-O goddamnit! followed and reesteemed

God's been good to me. Thanks for the resteem!

Itu is very good

I appreciate that, Muhammaddanar!

@mattphilleo, you are a very talented artist. Your painting could perhaps be passed as a photo 😊. Very nice work 👌

I appreciate that, Topdog. God blessed me with the talent. I'm thankful I can do this for a living now. I strive for a lot of detail and correct values to achieve the realism. It rewards the viewer for taking a close look.

Wow I thought it was an original photo.

What a great way to honor our elders!!!

Thank you, Joe!

Wow - Fantastic. Up-Voted

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