My first charcoal drawing from one of my own photos! I've been doing a lot of copying from Internet photos—a lot of nudes from the site http://artists.pixelovely.com/practice-tools/figure-drawing/ for quick sketch practice, and some figures from Garry Winogrand photos. Copying the Winogrand photos gave me the idea that maybe I could use my own photos. I found it's not that hard to take people on the street photos, and after going through my photo library and clipping out figures I have a large collection to draw from.
This was a 1-hour drawing on a sheet of 24 x 36 inch newsprint. I like working this big. My next step is to get some better-quality charcoal paper and try another drawing, maybe spending more time on it.
The danger is that as I take more time, the drawings get stiffer. I like this drawing because I haven't lost the gesture.
Ken Crocker Artist 