The Perfect Snowy Day....

What a good day to begin hybernation and make my Christmas Cards! It only took about 3 hours, 1 pencil and tortillion, an eraser, and one VERY POUTY Little Angel!
It is amazing what you can accomplish on a day when it's COLD outside!
Special thanks to Miss Avaiah Faye for the inspiration. :)

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OK. So the photo above is my 2nd rendition of my "Pouty" Angel for my card this year. Evidently, folks like their Angels NOT to look wicked. After walking away from the drawing for a few days, I could see what they were talking about, so I fixed it!
It is ALWAYS a good idea to get objective opinions of a portrait, because the viewers haven't just spent hours nose to nose with the photo and drawing of the subject. It is good if someone who actually knows the person can look and give feedback on the likeness. In this case, the angel isn't an actual person, but her expression will affect the viewers' reactions, as happened in this case.
The great thing about working in graphite is that it is basically pencil and paper, so ERASING is actually part of the process. When I teach a children's class, I always tell them the eraser is their most important tool.  I thought this might be a good opportunity to show how I fix a MAJOR problem after I am well into the process. Ideally, though, it is better to check for problems when you complete the line drawing, before shading begins. Sometimes I just get too excited to do the drawing that I don't take the extra step. That's why it is good to know how to fix things.
Click on the images below for details: