Yesterday's Fun with Sharpies

This effort was inspired by a photo of a model dressed in a period ensemble that included a tall hairstyle -- all influenced by Marie Antoinette.

I'm delighted with how this came out -- using the same process I've been working with lately.  The substrate is 11" x 17" cardstock, and it has been colored in with Sharpies.  Areas of the substrate have been left uncolored -- as they seem to enhance recognition of the face immediately and leads the eye to the mouth, gloved hand and necklace, then to the shoulders and eventually the other gloved hand at the bottom.  The garment is challenging to see fully and may even be hard to see due to the added wavy lines that create the mosaic effect.  Though one clue that may be helpful in discovering it -- is lace sleeves.

One of the things I love doing is playing with color for translucent filter effects.  In this one, I'm especially partial to the green/blue translucent 'mask' over the eyes, the oval of pastels surrounding her face (the colors in the oval are mostly lighter than the area beyond it), and the other shapes where there is a discernible light or dark gradations of similar colors/color intensities.

The most work in this piece was choosing the final color to fill in the shape to the left of the face-- that is the dark pink.  For this one, I auditioned different colors -- trying them out in the two shapes of white space you see on the left side and the area the dark pink is now in.  That chosen color didn't come from a single Sharpie.  It is a combination of light pink overlaid with the brilliant neon pink (as in the shape to the left of the upper gloved hand).  The blend tamped down the neon color's intensity and felt like the perfect way to finish this image.

For working artists, how do you feel about leaving original surface areas visible in your finished work as has been done here?