My goals for this artwork was to draw myself with heavy shadows and light highlights with charcoal. I used an eraser to carve out the light parts of my face and hair, and then I used a dark charcoal to go over the shadowed parts. My painting is about contrasting shadows and creating a mood/ tone through the shadows and highlights. The most difficult challenge was creating dark shadows and getting the proportions right. Another challenge for me was getting the lips and hair right. It was hard because the lips were dark and I couldn't get them proportionate to the rest of the face. I learned how to blend better and create different textures using charcoal. If I had a do-over I wouldn't make the shadows as dark as I did and I would tone down the highlights on the forehead more. I think my eye and my hair is the best in my work.
