I’m getting into the swing of the routine of sketching each day from TV coverage of the snooker world championships in Sheffield. I watch the game on TV with the control in hand, and when I see an interesting expression I press the pause button, and draw for about a half an hour. Today’s effort was Dave Guilbert.
It is a very interesting process, and on the whole I’m pleased with the results. I do notice a regular problem, however, which I am not sure how best to address. If I were to be drawing a live portrait using an easel it would be possible to step back from the work and check the accuracy of proportions. This is not easy when seated in front of the TV, rooted to the spot in my rocking chair. I’m going to have to develop a routine of making checks during the development of the image. There is a tendency to revert to “ideal” proportions, which don’t apply in every case. For example, I noticed that my version of Mark Williams didn’t quite capture the length of his head, and rather over-estimated the roundness of the back of his skull.
Personality resides, of course, primarily in the eyes and the mouth, and very subtle details have to be picked up in order to get these right.
It is turning out to be a very interesting and rewarding challenge, however, and I intend to stick with it, at least for the duration of the championships …. then I’ll have to think again. If nothing else, at the moment it does lend legitimacy to the amount of time I spend watching the snooker!