Back in the land of the living

It appears I am not done with art after all. Or perhaps I was done with art, but art was not done with me. In recent times, I once again found myself drawing and painting. Once the bug bites, it never lets go, it appears.

I spent some time working from reference, such as stills from a film (in this case, The Name of the Rose):

Or trying somewhat detailed sketches from various reference photos:

But, as I have discovered before, I seem not to really enjoy working from photos. I am not too sure why, but whatever the reason, I am now back to working mostly from life. One evening during a power cut, I sketched this self-portrait by candlelight:

It's a bit lopsided, if you ask me. In my defense, it was really dark and by the candlelight I could hardly see my own image in the mirror, let alone the drawing. You can it was winter by the way I am bundled up in wool - when the power goes, so does the heating!

Under better conditions, a sketch of a pine cone, a challenging but interesting subject: