I first developed my idea for this project by watching the class presentations on different genres of art. I was inspired by photorealism because I love to draw people, and I'm always trying to make my faces better than the last. Then I had to figure out who I wanted to draw, and I decided to go with my favorite drag queen, Willam, because I wanted to improve my colored pencil skills, and drag queens typically have a lot of color on their faces. To plan, I created a mind map first. I then created a Pinterest board for photorealism and drag queens. Finally, I began to sketch Willam without a reference photo or a grid, and although it didn't turn out well, it helped me understand the proportions of his face.
My friend Molly inspired me to create this project, because she's always talking about her love of drag queens, which got me interested in them. The photorealism pieces in our class' art presentations combined with Molly's love for drag queens inspired my idea for this project. I wanted a drawing where I could work on my Prismacolor skills, as well as get better at drawing realistic portraits. I thought that the colors that drag queens use in their make up was a really interesting thing that I could draw, so I found a reference image and began to sketch. Overall, I'm very proud of my final artwork. It is the best realistic portrait I have ever done, because I put so much time and effort into not only the proportions but also the colors of the make up. I'm also really proud of the textures that I incorporated into the hair and the skin, which helped to make the piece more realistic.
I love having the freedom to select what I want to work on. I have a lot of ideas, and I like to have creative freedom to carry out those ideas in the way that I want. Having lots of choices means that I can try lots of different projects, and even if I fail, I can try another. I create my art for myself and I don't like to be held back by other people's restrictions, because I like to have my art reflect my feelings and my vision. People work best when they do what they want or what they're passionate about, and I think people create better art when they have more choices.