Shell Drawing: Protection

My intentions of this piece of artwork was to convey a message about a father's protection towards his daughter and how that relationship can be created through inanimate objects such as shells. I was able to focus on the sources of light and darkness in order to accomplish the goal of drawing these shells, the light and darkness help bring out the drama of the portrait. My portrait is about light and darkness, how darkness can make a drawing so intense and deep, and the light brings out the shadows and creates a beautiful but simple balance. The most difficult challenge I had to face was trying to blow up the portrait and make these shells a lot larger and more detailed, because in the original photo and real life, the shells were a lot smaller and didn't look as detailed. But when you got closer and realized all the shadows and light, the detail grew greatly. I was able to meet this challenge by using a view finder to help size out the image and draw the different parts of the shells on a larger scale. My portrait works in the in that it leads you to the darkest shadow in the center, meaning the flatter shell moves your eyes back towards the dramatic shadow. I have learned a lot about drawing to scale and how to blow up a drawing and add detail. I have also learned how to make the shadows and light very bold. I was able to use Peggi Kroll as a mentor, because I learned to focus on patches of shadow and light instead of drawing out distinct lines. I learned from Mr. Gaudrea as well that the bolder you make your shadows the more intense your overall portrait can be. If I had to do it over I would probably focus more on the little details in the shell so that it makes it more realistic. I think best about finishing the portrait and having drawn it to scale. I think I was able to do a nice job of blowing up the image and creating depth and intensity by creating darling shadows and brighter light sources.