It’s been a year(ish) between what is and what was. Somewhere in between the two, an assumption was made that the ability to draw a likeness would lend a sense of validation to freely exploring my own tastes of stylized approaches, the thinking being that stylization is easier to accept when it’s a choice rather than the only choice.
Developing an ability (even if it’s a limited ability) to draw a likeness was a box that felt like it needed to be checked off.
…and looking at that stance with somewhat fresh eyes, I’m still in agreement. In my own thinking, I’ve earned myself some allowance to explore. Now the challenge seems to be getting back to the freeness of color play that I was experiencing just a few months back. Swinging back and forth may be as easy as just doing it, but there’s a newly developed sense of expectation that’s proving to be difficult to shake off.
Now it feels as if black and white charcoal drawings are basically value studies whereas the pastel studies potentially can be somewhat more sophisticated.
Zygote Blum 