100 Face Challenge: Less is More Experiment (#8)!

| Laura (Createarteveryday)

Recently, I decided to focus more on drawing animals, particularly in ink. In that process, I ran across the YouTube channel of an amazing artist named Alphonso Dunn.   He has a huge catalog of videos there, which he’s graciously produced and made available for free.   One that particularly caught my eye is titled “The Less is More Principle”.  Which led to this drawing.

010616Pen can be tricky, and as Alphonso teaches, it can be very useful to learn to be brief with your strokes, and capture the immediacy of the subject in that moment.   I wanted to capture the essence of this dog quickly, and I was happy with this effort.

Incidentally, Alphonso came out with his first book a few weeks ago.   He wanted to produce the kind of book he wanted when he was trying to teach himself how to draw in pen.    “Pen and Ink Drawing:   A Simple Guide” doesn’t disappoint.   He is passionate about teaching and about drawing, and he is one of the few artists I’ve come across who is really good at both.  He can boil difficult principles down to a paragraph or two.    (He has some wonderful videos on perspective, for example, that brought me closer to understanding this than anything I’ve come across.)

He is wonderful, and has such a gentle and gracious way about him, too.   By the way, he also works in pen and watercolor, graphite; he doesn’t limit himself to just ink.   I encourage you to check out his YouTube channel, and consider taking a look at his book (free preview on Amazon, here) to see if you might find it useful.   It’s already the #1 bestseller on Amazon in its category.   Congratulations, Alphonso, and well-deserved!

Happy Wednesday; we’re almost home free now!     I want to thank all of you for taking this journey with me.   Peace and creative wonderment to all.

70 thoughts on “100 Face Challenge: Less is More Experiment (#8)!”

  1. Hey Laura – Fantastic line drawing. Love its simplicity. Will check out Dunn’s youtube channel, thanks. You are a great example of a lifetime learner. Trying new materials, methods, and techniques – taking risks outside your comfort zone – mighty impressive! – Tom

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      1. Yippee! I knew it in my heart, but didn’t want to presume Charlie and I were so lucky to get him drawn so distinctly! You totally capture his lines! I ADORE it sweet Laura! You ARE becoming such a strong artist to be able to do this with just a few very distinct, very strong lines. BRAVO Artista!

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        1. Lol you’re hilarious, thank you, Jodi! I had drawn Charlie many times prior to doing this one. I knew I wanted to do something of him for your birthday and you have so many great photos of him posted that I just kept printing out different ones and trying them. Then after seeing Alphonso’s video, I decided to try and get his essence down. This was my first try with that technique, and the best of the lot, as it turned out. I’m really glad you saw him! That makes me feel great. Thanks! 💜

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    1. Thanks, Carmel! I’m so glad you like him too! He has tons of stuff on the figure, as I’m sure you know. I did start to see him on the Strathmore side too and Sakura even has him do videos. Every now and then you see his face and he is just so cool. So much joy there. I just love listening to him. I love his way and he is a great teacher! Also I’m really glad you liked this sketch. It surprised me. I tried to do a few more and they didn’t have the same immediacy but I’d like to try more though because when it works, I really like the effect.

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  15. Your dog sketch is wonderful, Laura! 💕🐶 That’s exactly the sort of quick line capture I was trying to do with the Jeopardy contestants drawings. I will have to check out Alphonso’s channel in town where I can actually watch videos with the library’s wifi. 🙂

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    1. Awesome, Teresa! I think it would be much harder when you’re trying to get a likeness on a human face, and you are really a master at that with your Jeopardy players. You make it look easy, but particularly when you’re not pausing, and trying to capture in so few strokes…..it’s not easy at all. I’m glad you enjoyed this! I was surprised by how well I liked it. I tried more and didn’t like them as much. The key is not to think. When I thought I would improve on it by thinking it through, nope. Just got too involved and lost the spare beauty. You probably already know this but this is what I learned from this exercise.

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      1. Yes it would. Back in the 1970s I had a white silk dress that had horses on the fabric. Each horse was painted with a single black paint stroke. The horses were sporadically placed on the fabric. Each horse had red eyes. I wish I still had this dress to show you what I’m talking about, but it was my favorite dress. It also would have been a beautiful silk scarf as well.

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          1. Totally agree, some days it just does not work…..I put those aside, and usually find I can rectify in a week or two, as I look at it differently, and forget my original intent. Some are still sat here from 6 months ago, really lost with them, but not given up for the future, they could have some luck with inspiration. Been painting tonight and found I have painted from one of my photos, which I have done before! Grrr although it is different, in that the horse has changed colour. Quite a bit of work to do before finished.

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  24. Pingback: Less is More, Cat Re-Mix (#20): 100 Face Challenge | Create art everyday

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