Work With What You Have

I was confronted with a challenge this week: To draw a portrait of a friend, Chris Patchell (aka. Patch) without an ideal reference. Conflicting schedules prevented a photo session that would have provided me controlled lighting. I prefer this dramatic lighting that would fall upon his face, but without the session, I did not have this key information. But, I utlized my experience of the many portraits I have drawn and painted over the years to persevere. I selectively edited out parts of his face and carefully moved the highlights observed in the photo reference. I was very pleased with this portrait, and it will soon be published in a book from the Philadelphia Cartoonist Society.