Copy of a Sargent Sketch

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12 5/8 x 8 1/4", pencil on paper, 12/20/15

Another infamous Madame X sketch. I'm not usually much of a perfectionist, but doing these Sargent copies definitely brings it out in me. I could probably make corrections forever! I guess I don't know how hard I should try to be absolutely exact with my copying, but I do know that doing these copies has really helped me learn how to approach a drawing and become more effective and accurate from the start.

I got dark with my pencil lines a little prematurely here, and if I try to erase it will look a mess. So I'm going to call this one done, even though I can see (especially looking at this side-by-side on the computer screen) that there are plenty of errors I'm just itching to fix. I'm tempted to try again tomorrow (maybe make a copy the same size as my intended finished drawing--I think that would help a lot).

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