Concentration: The Wheel of Fortune

Day 1

I just wanted to show Adrian how I forgot his pupils

Before I colored in his hands and added the charcoal

With the charcoal, or maybe just his hand?

The final

Adrian chose this card because he feels like his life depends on the fortune of the winds.  Either things are going well for him, or things aren't good at all. The changeable nature of his life led him to chose The Wheel of Fortune to represent him.  As you can see here, I sort of ran out of time to give him a proper oil portrait like he deserved, so I played around with white charcoal! Which is always fun, and I don't do it nearly as much as I should.  The wheel behind him is a symbol found on the white tarot, I think, and the letters are "TARO" which, if read in a continuous circle, spell out "Tarot." 

   I didn't only use white charcoal, though, I also used black charcoal to darken up some areas! And add shading to his face and his jacket, as well as attempting to give him some pupils. I think I did a good job with this one. My biggest problem with white charcoal is that I forget that I'm supposed to be coloring in the lights, and letting the paper speak for the darks, but I think that I avoided that pretty neatly here. Adding in the charcoal later certainly helped with that. 

      I also like how the wheel ws shaded. There could have been a bigger contrast, with the brights of Adrian's face being placed against the dark of the wheel, but I think that it would have looked inconsistent. And it's so nice to wrap up my series with a well-proportioned hand! It truly feels like we've come full circle (pun).

       Again, I think that this picture shows growth in my ability. And hopefully I'll only continue to grow in the future!