This is a portrait of one of my favourite singers, Ani DiFranco (reference used), primarily in commemoration of International Womens Day, and secondly as a contest entry to The Pencil Club. I missed the IWD mark by like five days but it's not my fault. I blame the hair.

Feminism

I also wanted to make a bit of a point, and figured a good place to do it would be the description of this portrait (Ani DiFranco is a feminist, in case you don't know). A lot of political discussion time, these days, is being devoted to reminding people of the proper definition of the term "feminism." A lot of people have lost grasp with what it actually means and this is because of many reasons. Feminists who recieve the most media attention are often the more out-going ones, who also tend to be a bit extreme and not necessarily properly representative of the ideology I'm referring to here. Also, a lot of people take proper feminism to be an encroachment on their lives simply because it is a major deviation from a norm we've been practising for centuries, and thus it is seen as extreme. Another reason is a lack of correct information, or perhaps just an unwillingness to seek out correct information. These are just some of many possibilities for why the term has become confused over the years with psychotic, male-hating, hairy-arm-pitted women who seek a revolution in hopes of leaving all men castrated and weeping into their beers.

That is simply not the case, and many people (including myself) seek to clarify. Feminism is simply the belief in social, political and economic equality of both sexes. A feminist wishes only to narrow the gaps in society that are products of a history of unequal distribution of treatment and resources. It is not a labelling of all men as evil, suppressive monsters; it is not hatred of the opposite sex; it is simply a desire for equality. Keeping this reality in mind, I would hope that all people, men and women alike, might identify themselves as feminists.

Etc.

Anyway, that's my civic duty fulfilled for the year. On to the technical crap. I'm actually satisfied with how this one turned out. I'm a bit unsure about the face, and there's too much of a contrast between the hair and the rest of the drawing; but otherwise I'm satisfied. I really enjoy working with tedius little details like the braids or the folds in the clothing, despite how long it takes. There is a tattoo on her chest in the original photo, which I tried to draw about fifteen times and couldn't get right. It was getting to the point where it was becoming too much of a burden on the paper and it wasn't fully erasing, so I had to just give up or risk ruining the final product. I should probably start my drawings with my weaknesses from now on, and do the easy stuff last.

Done entirely with a 0.7mm HB graphite mechanical pencil, and two paper smudging sticks on good old Hilroy 22.9 x 30.5cm. Signature added and darkened with Photoshop 5.5. Approximately ten hours.

The Pencil Club "Favourite Song" Contest

This drawing was my entry for the Pencil Club's contest that ended on May 11th, 2005. Unfortunately she didn't win, but it's understandable because there were some excellent entries from some extremely talented people, and the winning piece can be found here:

[link] by

...and the full list of all of the entries are here: [link] .

So congratulations to the winner! And to all those who entered as well. And thanks to The Pencil Club for their community's work, the contest, and their consideration. I'm looking forward to the next one.