Value Sketch for the "Children of Cambodia"

This is a value study for a painting that will be part of my upcoming show called "the Children of Southeast Asia".

This little one lives (2007) in a refugee camp on the Thailand/Cambodia border. She was born there and at this rate, she will live her whole life in the camp.

This sketch was done on a piece of 90# rag with a 6B pencil mostly. Value sketching can be an important part of the creative process. They are quickly done. This one took 20 minutes or so. This piece will be an important reference for me when I begin the painting. Already I have established lost and found edges, paper doll and silhouettes, lights, darks and middle values are addressed. The details that are significant to the story I want to tell with this piece are in place.

It seems to me that it may be helpful to you students out there to see the photo from which this sketch was done. Perhaps it will give some insight into my creative process. The values have been changed and the original photo has been cropped in Photo Shop. Beautiful isn't she.

Well, here is the finished piece. As you can see, I invented a background in order to serve my purposes. On the right side my interest was in a lost edge into darker values. On the Left side a silhouette shape. Darks imposed over light background. I created a window shape above and to the Left in order to lose the upper Left into the light as a lost edge.

the child aged a couple of years in the process but, I think it is a successful piece anyway.