My First Ever Portrait!

When I was at school, I was forever being admonished by my lovely art teacher to "draw what you see, not what you think you see!".  I never understsood what the David Dickenson she was talking about until yesterday, when I sat down to face a fear (isn't it mad what you become afraid of?); drawing and painting a portrait.

When I was at school I'd try and draw and paint something and usually managed to accidentally invent a new school of art.  There was my Face In A Spoon era, where every person I tried to draw looked back at me from the paper as if they were melting and reflected in a dinner spoon.  My Trianglist era, where figures were basically triangular with mishapen limbs.  And then my Maybe I'm Really S**t at this era, which has been the most prolonged so far.

So, yesterday, I took myself in hand.  I had a little chat with myself that went something like this....

"Emma.  Maybe you found this difficult 25 years ago.  25 YEARS AGO.  Perhaps now you could actually have another go. You noodle."

So I dug out a photo and had a little draw/paint.

I know it's a little off perspective-wise.  There's still a hint of dinner spoon about it.  But it looks like a human being!  A human being, people!

I'm a little bit pleased.