Some thoughts on selfies

This week I've been mainly sketching selfies. Sort of. The first was a consequence of sitting in a waiting room with absolutely nothing inspiring to draw. I mean it was a perfectly nice room - they'd made an effort: brightly painted walls, a plethora of squishy bucket chairs, graffiti art on the walls - a fine place to sit and wait, but strangely flat to draw.

So, after repeatedly looking around for inspiration, I looked down. And saw my leg. Now I'm not about to extol the virtues of my right leg - it's just a leg - but what interested me was the foreshortening effect of crossing it over my left, plus the curves of my shoe and the angle of my foot. So I sketched it, and I was really pleased with the results. I think it's an odd image; you can't see my left leg and the angle is unexpected - but it was true to the moment and it's honest.

The honesty continued through the week. A few days later I zoomed in on my foot. I grant you it's an ugly sketch - bunions and all! But I love my feet - always have - I think they are beautiful. They can run 10k in under an hour, they can dance on point, they can leap streams and climb trees, and speed me on my bike. They are perfection to me. So I dedicate this ugly likeness to my beautiful feet.

It was time to tackle the rest of me. I've tried drawing my face before with mixed results: they have either been too flattering, stripping back the years, or too brutally honest, without the softening effect of the animation of human expression - I'm not sharing that one!

This one, however, is okay. I'm in proportion, my face is a good likeness - although my hair is swept back off my face, which is not my usual style.

I'm pleased with the results of my daily practice; I'm definitely making progress. At the start of the year there were more duff sketches than good ones, now I think the balance has shifted the other way. If I continue on this trajectory then I hope to take a life drawing class. In fact, *looks over shoulder and whispers* I've always wanted to be a model in a life drawing class...but I think I need to leave my day job first...