Wait For It, Wait For It...

I was tempted to start the charcoal today.  I'm close.  I just really want to give it another day.  Even when I do jump into charcoal I'll start with areas other than the face.  Charcoal isn't impossible to adjust but it can be a very unforgiving medium.  You have to reserve your whites.  But even when I completely goof I have a few tricks up my sleeve.

When I was in high school I did a charcoal of my grandpa embracing my little brother.  It was finished and sitting on my easel downstairs.  Well, one of my nieces grabbed one of my charcoal sticks and drew several lines across his shirt and hands.  I couldn't completely get them out but luckily I could work with them.  If you look closely at the piece you could see random marks in his plaid shirt.  And I turned the marks on the hand into scars.

When I worked in a frame shop we learned all sorts of tricks to get marks and imperfections out of mat board.  I'm convinced framers are the trickiest bunch you could run into.  If something is damaged there are always options. 

Well, here is Ellie today.  She's looking good!  She's about ready.  Looking at the photo I took I'm thinking I need to thin her out just a touch.  She's got such chubby cheeks.  I almost get lost in them when I block in the values.  I'll tackle them tomorrow.  I hope to get into my studio early tomorrow but with this little one in my tummy I get so tired and nauseous.

And speaking of the beloved parasite, we get to hear the heartbeat on Monday!  Nathan and Logan will be with me which I'm excited about.  I'm looking forward to seeing how Logan reacts to hearing the heartbeat.  He understands not to jump or hit Mommy's tummy but I'm not sure he gets there is a baby in there.  When I was trying to explain it to him one day he thought he had a baby in his tummy too.  It was very sweet.