Abstract Portrait with Purple Eyes

This is an abstract portrait with purple eyes. Thin colored pens were used to sketch the initial shape of the face, including features like the eyes, nose, mouth and outlines of the hair. Colored pencils were used to add a few more layers and shades of color, followed by expressive lines of color with purple and blue paint pens. The lines playfully emanate from, and around, the portrait subject. Black marker was also used to deepen a few shadows and help pop the contrast and shape of the subject’s head. Additional details and rendering with pens, colored pencils and a gel pen for highlights were added to the eyes and mouth to draw attention to those areas amidst the chaotic, abstract line work. Redness in the eyes, around the purple irises, suggest a somber expression that contrasts with the dynamic atmosphere. The subject of the portrait gazes forward with soft focus to meet the viewer’s eyeline.