'Chains Unlinked' Mural: New Face & Hand & Adding Darks

My latest time-lapse video is at the bottom of this page, but I thought I'd start with before and after shots.

This is how the drawing started on Day 3:

And this is how it ended the day:

It was a great relief getting the face drawn in. I had made numerous efforts (not all of which were captured by my camera) and in the end I asked a member of the gallery staff Shellie Zhang to pose for a couple of photos.

I'm normally fine drawing faces without a reference but there was a problem for me doing that at this size. Working close enough to draw properly I could not see the face as a whole, which I need to while I work. With a reference though I was fine. I did not try to draw a portrait of Shellie, though she is very much embedded in this face, I used it as a structural basis from which I "riffed", like a jazz musician might with the structure of a musical piece.

Sorry I didn't capture any footage of the face being drawn, but the view from the camera probably would have been blocked by my body anyway.

It was difficult getting blacks into this drawing, whether through broad marks (I could manage relatively fine ones) or areas. The lighting in the photo is uneven so I should mention that the bicep area is not as black as it looks here. It is dark, but with lots of layered-up mark making giving it life, variety and depth.

You can see from the photo above that the upper calf muscle I managed to get black, along with a couple of other touches. It was a big improvement getting those darks (and black) in. But more changes would come in Day 4. Stay tuned!

The 'Chains Unlinked' exhibition is on at the Art Gallery of Mississauga through September 13, 2015. On Saturday July 25 at 1pm I will be giving an artist talk there.

"I did not try to draw a portrait... I used it as a structural basis from which I "riffed", like a jazz musician might with the structure of a musical piece."

If you missed an earlier post about this installation, 
just click on one listed below:
'Chains Unlinked' Mural: From Diagram to Drawing, Part One
'Chains Unlinked' Day 5: the Installation is Done!
'Chains Unlinked' Day 4: Drawing Complete, Installation Begins
Chains Unlinked' Day 3: Drawing Almost Done!
Day 2: Wall Drawing for 'Chains Unlinked' Exhibition (updated)
'Chains Unlinked' Installation Day One Complete!