I have been drawing for as long as I can remember, but I have never taken any art classes except for those that were mandatory in elementary school and junior high.  I would rather teach myself how to draw so I can avoid any outside influences in my work.

    A lot of drawings that I do are very detail intensive, but detail should not be taken too far.  I think in a perfect drawing every pencil stroke would serve to add to the illusion that is trying to be created- nothing lost, but nothing unnecessary or redundant.  Detail, to me, should be used sparingly in art the way words are used sparingly in poetry.  There should be economy of detail the way there is economy of verse.  Part of the reason I believe this is that the purpose of art is not to expose everything like in a photograph but to create in the recipient's mind an illusion of his own making.  Art is a way for the recipient to escape reality by entering a "make believe" world, created by the illusion of the artist.  An example would be a story that describes every little detail about the setting and appearance of the characters.  The reader wants to decide those things for himself, right?

    But when it comes to the face, it just seems like there is so much there that tells the recipient a little something about the subject of the drawing.  Usually every part of the face is interesting to me, so I try to capture all of it.  What I don't try to capture is what I view to be unimportant.  Where they are or what they are wearing means very little to me.  The whole point of my drawings is usually to allow the recipient to get to know the subject.  Learning about people by observing them has always been something I've loved, so I guess drawing is an indulgence of that.

    My goal for the next step in the development of my drawing is to get better at drawing from life so I can start creating something entirely new instead of copying from a photograph.  I rarely ever get an opportunity to draw from life, but hopefully I can start seeing the opportunities when they arise.  I don't think I am mature enough yet to look at a nude model and just think "art", but I am more interested in the face any how.  Drawing from life shouldn't be that much more difficult than drawing from a photograph, but what will make it hard is the limited amount of time I will have to complete a drawing.  If I could capture everything I wanted to capture in three hours and go back and add some details later, that would open up a whole new door to where my drawing could go.

    The materials that I have been using lately are Faber-Castell graphite drawing pencils, primarily F, HB, and B, and occasionally the 2H for detail, the higher B's for the darker areas, and a white pencil for highlights.  The paper I use is regular Canson drawing paper, available at any Hobby Lobby, Michael's, or art store.

    For the longest time, I would never draw a light sketch and then go back and do the shading and detail work, like I think most people do.  I would start with the eyes and work my way out, finishing almost completely each part of the face before I moved on to another.  With Peggy, I decided to do a light sketch and go back and do the dark shading later.  It was a thousand times easier and more enjoyable.  The proportions were easier to draw, because I could actually erase completely the light sketches, and, after the sketch was completed, I could focus completely on shading without trying to draw at the same time.  This process is probably common knowledge to most artists, but I am just now coming around to it.  I would highly recommend it!

    Proportions are still the hardest part of drawing for me, but using the technique I mentioned above of creating a light sketch before I do any dark shading is working out nicely.  One thing I will not do is trace or use grids.  I guess they are legitimate means of creating art, but it seems like the drawing loses its soul when it is traced.  It is a little like performing a symphony with computer generated instruments.  Also, I do not think an artist can ever grow if he is confined to using grids or tracing.

    I am a recent graduate in Mechanical Engineering from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX, the home of Bobby Knight, Buddy Holly, Pat Green, Waylon Jennings, and thousands of crazy Red Raiders.  Currently, I am in my first year as a Development Engineer at ConocoPhillips in Houston.  My hometown is Wharton, TX (pop about 9,000), located about 45 miles southwest of Houston.  Famous people from Wharton include Dan Rather (news anchor), Horton Foote (playwright and novelist), Lamar Lathon (Pro Bowl NFL player), and Tone Loc (a rapper from the '80 's!).