Elena Kalis Photography

http://elenakalisphoto.com/#goto=portfolio

Beautiful underwater photography: I'm amazed!

Sketches

One possible look for the main character of the book I'm illustrating for the Children's Literature final project.

Feet. They're beautiful.

This I did a while ago- it's based on an image I found by a comic book artist.

I'm not sure where this one came from... might be that I'm missing having a pet around.

Flickr Fun

Unfortunately I don't have links to these images, but I found them all on flickr. Every time I get on the site, I find new inspiration, and I end up saving at least a dozen images to my "found on Flickr" folder. So here you go: enjoy!

Details

Skull Study, detail, 10/09

Self-Portrait, detail, 10/09

Kierra, detail, 10/09

Detail shots from the drawings posted below.

Self Portrait

Self-Portrait, graphite, 10/09

A self-portrait drawn during class- again, the value is lighter than I would like, but I think I got most of the proportions.

Early Skull Studies

These are my studies of the skull from earlier this semester. In the first few, I'm attempting to simplify the form, become familiar with it again, find the plane changes, etc. In this last drawing I changed to graphite, and it was the most successful of my attempts at that 3/4 view.

Portraits

Emily, Portrait Study, 10/09

Kierra, Portrait Study, 10/09

Portrait Critiques

Last Monday we had critiques on two portraits, and all our comments had to start with "I noticed..." It was... different. I see the merit in just "noticing" rather than making judgements, but I also appreciate hearing other people's thoughts, especially constructive criticism. I got the feeling we were all trying so hard not to "judge" that it was very hard to tell if what someone noticed was a positive or a negative. I like hearing suggestions on what to improve or how to try something different, and I felt like that was missing in this critique. Still, based on the comments, I would look at how to finish the drawing around the neck/shoulders. I'd like to add more color to the pupils, and also achieve a greater range of value. I realize there are beautiful, delicate drawings with only light value, but I personally prefer more contrast.

This semester I've been drawing in graphite, because it forces me to slow down, because I can't get dark marks without being very deliberate, and because it makes corrections easier. The problems then come when I do want that darker value. I think my second portrait (Kiera) is more successful in terms of value range, and also mark making. The linear, hatch-like marks I've been trying are a bit outside my comfort zone- I've never been a big blender, but it's tricky achieving smooth or subtle shifts in value with just lines. I haven't decided whether I will continue with graphite for the rest of the semester... we'll see!

p.s. Sorry the posts have been so few and far between- I'll remedy that today!