Turning a Sketch into a Painting

I've been making sketches of Wise Wildwomen of late, and I wanted to size this one up to fill a canvas. 

There are lots of ways to do this. 

I used a video projector, connected to my laptop to project a photo of the sketch onto the prepared canvas. 

Turning down the lights in the studio helped me to see clearly to copy the projected image onto the canvas.  

If you use this approach, it's important to take a few minutes to adjust the projected image so that it's the right size, in the right location, and is in true proportion.  

My canvas was tipped back slightly on the easel, so it took a little adjustment on the projector to take out the "keystoning" and make the image flat and undistorted.

I traced the projected image onto the canvas with a burnt sienna colored pencil, then worked in more colored pencils, added some washes of watercolor, and used watercolor crayons to finish the artwork.

I initially prepared the 18" x 24" canvas by pasting on a variety of papers that had been treated with rust and vinegar. You can learn about the rust-staining process in this blog post.

After the paste dried, I covered the surface with clear gesso to give a little protection to the papers and add a touch of grit to make drawing easier.

The rusty colored paper created a toned base to work on, so I could add highlights easily with a white colored pencil or watercolor crayon.  I like the effect of using old book pages, music sheeting, etc. to express emotion, thought, and the complexity of being human.

If you like to draw or paint faces, remember that you don't have to make them look like anyone in particular.  They can simply represent a character, thought or quality you are curious to explore.  Drawing faces can help us express emotions, and navigate transitions in our lives.  We can express a part of our personality or a quality we admire.

Happy Creating!