Portrait of a Girl with a Painted Face

This artwork is a portrait drawing and painting of a girl with a painted face. Crayon was used to sketch the initial proportions and lines of the face. A black marker creates bold lines around the eyes, nose and mouth and suggests deep shadows and form. Various colors of purple, blue, red and brown paint pens help to give the impression of a painted face. Alternating between crayons, for softer colors and shadows, and other paint pen colors adds depth to the girls face. A thick white paint marker was used for highlights and a thin black pen was used to define finer details. Lastly, watercolors were used to fill negative space intentionally left empty and allowed to flow and pool to create additional shadows, depth and nuance. The rough texture of the acrylic gesso paper shows through the thinner mediums to create an interesting skin-like appearance that adds a subtle realism to the primarily impressionistic and expressive portrait style.