plate no. 8122

Portrait of Pierre

Lois Mailou Jones, 1982

oilExpressionismportraitportraitfiguremanheadshouldersclothing

some experience helpful

Recreating this drawing will help students develop skills in cross-hatching, line weight variation, and capturing likeness through careful observation of form and shadow. It also provides practice in creating depth and texture using only line.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 8 hrs

approach — 8 steps

step 01
Lightly sketch the basic shapes of the head, shoulders, and facial features.
step 02
Establish the overall proportions and placement of elements.
step 03
Begin adding darker lines to define the contours and shadows.
step 04
Use cross-hatching to build up areas of tone and create depth.
step 05
Vary the line weight to emphasize certain areas and create visual interest.
step 06
Pay close attention to the direction of the lines to suggest form.
step 07
Add details to the face, such as wrinkles and highlights.
step 08
Refine the overall composition and add any final touches.

color palette

primary · black

secondary · white · cream

This is a monochrome drawing, so the focus is on achieving different values through line density and layering.

techniques

·cross-hatching
·line weight variation
·contour drawing
·rendering form with line
·hatching

common pitfalls

→Making lines too uniform and lacking variation.
→Not paying attention to the direction of the lines, resulting in a flat or confusing image.
→Overworking certain areas and losing the freshness of the drawing.
→Failing to establish a clear light source and shadow pattern.