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| Rula. Pen & Wash. 200 x200mm © Sue Pownall 2012 |
Cathy Read (check out her fab portfolio here) recently wrote about a change direction having been asked to do work as she used to do. After doing the work, she said "I’m even more certain the decision to change direction is right. Sometimes you need to stop, reassess and find a new route! And when you do, it’s good to have that change reinforced from time to time!"
A recent change for me was to start my Festival Faces series. I am enjoying drawing them and I'm impatient to do more, although the gallery wants more scenery, ruins etc first. I've just done a portrait commission, above, which I get asked to do periodically. Apart from my Festival Faces, which I have total freedom with I Hate - note capital H - portraiture. It's the need to produce something pretty, in normally different materials, although this one was in a "sketch" style. It pays for some materials, but takes time and energy. Will I do more portrait commissions? Probably as I only accept them about once a year BUT not at the expense of my other work.
Before anyone comments - I don't count my sketches as portraits as that's me trying to interpret a scene rather than capture someone's likeness and, like the Festival Faces, is not intended for the person I'm drawing.
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