When working with graphite,
identify the darkest parts of your image first.

That is where you should start with a middle pencil, like B or 2B,
don't go too dark, because B pencils can be oily and hard to erase.

And don't press hard on your paper,
paper is a little miracle, you have to protect it.

Don't scar your paper with indentations because once graphite gets into them,
it will be hard to erase without damaging the paper.

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But the main thing is that the darkest parts of your image,
or Mona Lisa's eyes, hold the entirety of the soul of your subject.

This is why it is so important to actually have hard shadows in your source image,
art without shadow, ;leaves out too much.

One of my commissions didn't have shadows,
and while it came out perfect, so much more could have been said if I had the shadows.

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And mind you, it is not possible to add shadow,
our faces actually have multiple looks.

The impression people get when looking at you from the side,
and when looking at you from the front, cause to two distinct feelings.

We actually merge all the different looks,
when we befriend a person, we learn to recognize them from all angles.

But if all you have is a photo, you can't add shadow,
you won't be able to re-create the person in the photo, a stranger will come out.

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If you are doing fantasy art,
adding shadows is nothing.

There are shadow reference books,
so you just doodle something close.

But remember that art is about teaching,
and making friends, and not being stuck at home.

Fantasy art,
is something you would do at work.

When you are out in the real world,
you do real portraits.

Or like now practice your Mona Lisa,
it won't take very long to put together a kit that will help you create portraits.

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The transition to live portraits,
is something you just go through without thinking about it.

You will need some technology to do your model justice,
don't do freehand, you only come close and fluctuate constantly distorting and improving.

A portrait,
is a way of recognizing the impossible beauty of another human being.

These are people who mark milestones for you,
each time you capture their beauty, you grow in wisdom and light.

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You have to take a photo,
probably in a coffee shop.

But one that is lit by the hard light of the sun.
so it has to be morning or evening.

Then you have to use a pico projector,
to transfer their beauty to two dimensional paper, which should be huge.

One of the beautiful things about portraits,
is that they are basically posters.

Posters that that focus on capturing the soul of your Subject,
and bring light to their eyes, and lips.

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It is really helpful,
if you snap a photo during sunset, so that the sun will shortly move out of your way.

Don't worry about having a bunch of art equipment with you,
you need it to create a fast portrait that does proper justice.

You have to be a Photographer, Technologist, a Maverick, a Force of Nature,
and a teacher, you have to explain everything that you are doing along the way.

Mount you pico projector above your big Drawing Paper,
maybe use a filter to increase contrast of your photo, to get the shadows out first.

And then be ready, move quickly,
listen to your heart.

Use a B pencil, to quickly get the shadows in,
and your biggest Tortillon to make them less pencil and more gradient.

If you got a hard edge in there somewhere,
use an eraser, to re-create it.

Eyes are the windows to the soul,
make sure to bring light to the bottom of the iris, just like Leonardo did for his Mona Lisa.

The parts that seem empty,
are empty because there is nothing there.

If you see an empty shoulder for example, but you still want that angle,
ask the person posing to touch their shoulder with their hand.

But move quickly,
explain that most people need to meet up again for a new portrait.

A portrait is an expedition,
and not all editions succeed at first.

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Sometimes if you have time you can do multiple sketches scattered throughout the paper,
this looks especially nice when you took multiple photos in multiple angles.

And remember your signature,
mine was just a litter kitty cat with ears perked up.

Ask if you can keep the photo photos,
and make a few more portraits this time for a local gallery.

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Please whatever you do,
don't do art at home.

You have to go outside,
half of art is teaching others how to do it.

The true connection to art is not the beauty you capture,
but all the different things you will learn about yourself, and others along the way.

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There is one more thing,
always be ready to give some of your kit away to whoever was made speechless by your art.

Have an unfinished Mona Lisa at hand,
some extra pencils, and a mini kit, that you can just gift them.

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We are all Born Artists,
and we have to remind each other, to no end.