I Think of You in Black and White

I finished this drawing about a week ago. I’d thought I’d finished it the week before, but I gave myself some time away from it with the notion that it was possible I’d want to go into it again. I went through the whole process with this, collecting reference photos, drawing her in pencil, going back to various parts of her face in my sketchbook and working out the treatments I might want to use both with pencil and then in ink. After the pencils were done, I used vellum overlays to work out what I wanted to do with ink before going in to the drawing and beginning to ink it. Turns out vellum reacts to ink very differently than smooth finish bristol board, but it was still very helpful to work out the approaches I might take. I did maybe a dozen of those “drafts” and got ideas for how to approach some other drawings.

It has been pointed out (by multiple people) that it might not be a sign of mental health for me to have started a portrait of my ex. I’m not sure I can claim the experience was therapeutic or cathartic. It seemed like the thing to do, and it’s just what I did: drew her portrait in pen and ink. I don’t feel any better or worse about what happened between us because of it, I just feel better about myself for doing the work and bringing it to completion.

It’s great to be drawing again. It’s as though I’ve had my hands tied behind my back and have just come unbound.