Lincoln

[jetpack42]

ink (brush and C-5), wash, then fine nib from photo ref. First completed piece for the Seattle portrait show. 2 more pieces in progress at this point.

22 x 13.5 inches.

http://www.mlentz.com/lincoln.jpg

[quietadrian]

hey mike, this is looking pretty nice. i really like the way you handled the ink wash for the jacket.

was it a conscious choice to render the face in such a different way from the rest of the picture? to my eye the sharp hatching and geometric patterns of shading distract from the rest of the piece. and i know lincoln has (er.. had) pretty big ears, but yours may still be a little larger than they should be.

also, my eye keeps moving to the bottom right of the picture where that large white space is competing for attention.

anyway, just some comments in case you decide to go back and work on it further. i'd love to see you work some of that looser brushwork into the face. looking good though! who are the next 2 portraits of?

[jetpack42]

adrian, thanks, first off.

it was a concious choice to really make the face stand out. I wanted the face to be concrete, and everything else to sorta...just be...

as for his ear, i think i can make it smaller...

I think you're right about the white space down right. It looked right in my head, but I was debating tonight it down as soon as I saw it....your comment is enough for me to go back and do it. Will fix both of those 2 observations, Thanks a bunch.

1 is going to be a self portrait of sorts, and the other is of my neighbor, Jenny.

[grinn]

Haha go to bed Mike. Nice work, though I think it might have been a little cooler if it darkened at the bottom brining the background and his coat together that way instead of lightening up to a lighter shade of grey.