More Russian Book Faces

I am continuing to enjoy filling the Russian book with faces. Made up, and observed from photos are about equal. I like both for different reasons. The made up ones because I love how I don't know what they will look like-though all my made up faces do seem to have a straight ahead serious stare-with slight variations of eye position. The observed ones are fun and make me draw faces in different positions-smiling for example!  I like how this one turned out. I used gouache and watercolour, and the writing only shows through in a couple of spots which I also like.

 This lady in glasses is from a photo-I bought a few in Camden market the other weekend. In the photo she is sitting with a man in front of a small tent. They look like a couple enjoying a picnic on a sunny day. She has quite an angular face and it is hard to really make out her features. Maybe that is why she is painted in thin watercolours-indistinct.

 These two are so sweet. I just love the baby's chubby face and thick dark hair. And also the boy's blunt and crooked haircut-presumably by Mum!

 I just drew these two with a fine pen, and used a little watercolour to add tone.

 Guess who this is? The Queen! It didn't turn out to look much like her! I was concentrating on the shadows and when I looked at the whole thing I didn't see the Queen.

 This is not from my journal, but it is a face so I included it. It is Cassie on a tag. I can't decide if I prefer it before I put the centres in the eyes or afterwards. She doesn't look very happy either way!

New Books

I had a computer breakdown, and the pictures I took of my last journal were all on there. Luckily I had saved most of my photos elsewhere, but lost the journal ones and all my photoshop ones which I was most annoyed about. I just didn't feel like taking the photos again, and have moved on from that book now anyway. So I thought I would make a quick reappearance here to share some of my current pages. I love drawing and painting faces, and also using old books to work in. Lynne always inspires me too and I had a thought of all her wonderful faces when I started this book the other day. It is not really a journal as I am not writing in it. I want to fill it up with faces. I don't know if I will manage it as there a lot of pages! I am using watercolour and a bit of gouache. The book has Russian text and a pretty cover. I have no idea what it is about! Hopefully something good. If any one reading this knows Russian perhaps you could enlighten me. The paper is pleasant to paint on, and I love the decorative look of the text. Some faces are made up, and others done from photos.

 Another book I am working in at the moment-again more of a sketchbook than a journal. I got the book from work-donated years ago by our lunchtime supervisor, kept in the cupboard and unearthed in recent packing activity. It has lovely shiny smooth paper, that is beautiful to draw on, but also takes watercolour paint. Here is a sketch of an accumulation of dollies and creatures that normally sits on my shelves, but had a holiday to the kitchen table.