October 20, 2011

"Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world."


Marilyn Monroe
10/2011
Watercolor and marker

Marilyn Monroe is a fascinating subject to draw. I love portraits in general, but photos of her have such fierce shadows and sharp lines. In addition, she is a face that culture commonly recognizes.

I used black watercolor to do the entire portrait of her. It was fun to do something very different than traditional, vivid watercolors. It was important to use a small brush, lots of water, many layers, and most importantly - control! The hardest part was to decide which shadows/lines made it into my painting and which I left as white space. The balance was important. With this in mind, I decided to put the most detail around the eyes because that is one of my strengths to draw and I wanted them to be a focal point in the piece. The film strip is black marker, and used as a symbol of her role in society.

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