Self-Portrait with Green Background - Colored Pencil Drawing

"Self-Portrait with Green Background" Colored Pencil

A self-portrait more concerned with the possibilities of line and color and less preoccupied with character and psychology. The picture is merely a sheet of textured paper covered by drawn forms that are filled with pencil pigment.


The head’s deep shadow sculpts the rigid structure of the face while an array of golden hues attempts to express a glowing inner-light. The pink nose, ruddy ear and indigo eyes add some allure to the numinous color scheme.


Thick strands of dark hair curl across a high forehead while tufts of muted gray are streaked into the sideburn. Accentuating the intense glare, sharp line work represents the many wrinkles and weathered features.


The biggest gamble is the verdant background that is quilted from a puzzle of interlocking shapes. The various shades of green contrast strongly with the earthen flesh, creating a vibration between the complementaries.


Searching for stability, the intention is not to achieve a photographic likeness or to evoke a specific personality. The purpose is to experiment with color and form while observing the effects that result from placing certain hues side by side.

Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 2, 2023 at 9:03 PM

    Hello Dan! I'm Dana aka Dani from Twitter. Hope u're well...miss u
    your tweets there. Please come back if u can

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousSeptember 26, 2023 at 8:10 PM

      Hi Dana, its great to hear from you. I hope all is well. We have been pretty busy. I hope everything is good in the TwitterVerse. I'll try to get back on sometime. Thanks! ~Dan

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lair O' the Bear and Dunafon Castle

Image
The restored Dunafon Castle Lair O' the Bear Park is nestled in a steep canyon about six miles east of Evergreen, Colorado. John and Matilda Johnson emigrated from Sweden with their two young boys and purchased the narrow meadow in 1902. They named it Mountain Nook Ranch, built a four-bedroom house and raised Red Durham cattle. Their two sons, Finis and Francis, attended school in nearby Starbuck, now known as Idledale. It was originally named for John Starbuck who won the town property in a poker game. John Johnson was a master gardener and his popular, fresh produce was sold in Evergreen and Denver. They planted over 200 cherry and apple trees in the area. If you look closely many can still be found throughout the park today. The unruly Bear Creek sculpted the beautiful scenery and provided the needed irrigation for productive crops but it also wreaked plenty of havoc. There was a constant fear of extreme flooding. The Lariat Trail (Highway 74 today) crossed Bear Creek s
Read more

Clear Creek - A Transparent Torrent

Image
Clear Creek at Golden, Colorado On a gorgeous evening in Golden, Colorado, Clear Creek is undeniably liberated from winter's icy grasp. As the cold season draws to a close, we are challenged to emerge from our dark den. The great thaw continues and soon this silent stream will be transformed into a transparent torrent, flowing below a series of rustic bridges. Off towards the setting sun, a deep gorge was hewn by this wonderful waterway. Rushing down out of the foothills, a deluge of glacial water causes the snowy banks to collapse. Bordering the rock-filled river, bare trees are unable to divert the air of changing seasons. Packed with deep snow, the canyon trail is mired in an eternal shadow. Backlit beneath billowy clouds, the blue mountains remain anything but glum. A cheerful spirit permeates the entire landscape. It's on a special night just like this that I'm reminded. When an extraordinary light shines down from above, it reveals a certain truth and bea
Read more

The Brook Forest Inn - Ghosts, Germans and Gold

Image
The Brook Forest Inn is southwest of Evergreen It was the summer of 1943 near Evergreen, Colorado and the Brook Forest Inn was a luxury resort nestled in a stand of lodgepole pine at the base of Black Mountain. Carl was at work in the nearby livery stable when he learned that his wife, Jessica, had been unfaithful. Jessica also worked at the inn and she was preparing the Monte Carlo Room for that evening's guests. Carl stormed in, confronted her and a violent altercation ensued. Fueled by a jealous rage, Carl strangled Jessica to death. Overcome with guilt, Carl returned to the stable, constructed a rope noose and promptly hung himself. The stunning tragedy shocked the idyllic mountain community. A few years earlier, before the outbreak of World War II, a suspicious group of German tourists checked into the hotel. They claimed to be on a bicycle tour of America. Come to find out, they were actually spies. They used the place as a headquarters while they studied and mapped
Read more