Bargue in progress

I started bringing some of the values down this week so I could get a more solid handle on the shapes (it's kind of hard to see if they're correct when they're light in value). It's always a little scary, because once you start adding more pigment to the paper, it's harder to lift. So I'm trying to be pretty careful about where I darken things so I won't regret it later. It's also a point where it starts to feel like it'll get worse before it gets better--just because it starts to feel somewhat disjointed. I can only go so fast, so it's not all going to be united in value for a bit, and I really have to trust myself moving forward.

I started at the top of the head because that was one place I felt pretty confident in my shapes (and because I figured it would make sense logistically to move from top to bottom, just for the practicality of smudging things on the way down). But my instructor felt like procedurally, it would make more sense to start at the focal point of the drawing and radiate out from there (because that's how you want to progress when working from life or while you're painting), so I'm going from there. I keep measuring and remeasuring that eye on the right (his left). I had it about 1/16th of an inch too high, which looks more correct to my mind, but I guess it is just a little bit crooked, even more so in the marble bust than in Bargue's copy (also quite a bit smaller on the statue, which maybe accounts for the crookedness, though I don't think Bargue made it quite as squinty). Anyway, this is not very interesting. The Bargue is pretty miserable at this point, but I'm learning at least one really important thing from this practice--to look at both sides of a shape and assess how each shape fits into the bigger picture. Which is a really valuable skill.

 And... it's almost Christmas, and guess how much of my shopping I've done? almost none, yikes! I'm usually not a last-minute shopper during the holidays, but this year my time is stretched a little thin. However, I did manage to make this impressive pile of Lefse to send off to my family last weekend (it's a traditional Norwegian treat--like a tortilla made with lots of butter, mashed potatoes, and some flour to hold it together. yum ;).