Descriptive Essay Final 2011

“How do you unwind? What entices you and excites you? All I need are a few simple tools; a pencil and paper. These things help me create my world and bring me one step closer to being able to step inside it. Would you like to experience it with me?

Start with a line. A fine curved line to outline where you’re going. As the pencil gently scrapes across the beautifully white paper I decide where to go from there. Connecting to the first curved line is an adjacent curved line sweeping in the opposite direction making a soft face shape. My eyes tell my hands to guide the pencil off in between the lines to define a nose slightly tilted upward with each nostril easily identifiable. The lush top lip is placed a little below the nose as the wonderfully plump bottom lip is connected to the top with a slight seperation near the middle to show a somewhat sexy and alluring expression on the increasingly curious face.

Then two almond shapes are placed on either side of the nose and placed accordingly to where eyes usually reside. Soft curving lines are produced out of the almond shapes creating lashes and shading in the eye area to define a very feminine pair. The scent of rubber and graphite fill my lungs from the characteristics of perfectionism in me as the half-eaten eraser lies to the left of the girl’s face.

Soft music pulses through the room as the pencil softly graces the paper once more with diagonal lines creating soft impressions of hair from the girl’s head. Long flowing locks dance around her as they are born from the pencil’s tip. Small details in my head entice me to draw more as my fingers command the pencil to adhere to my every whim.

Curves and curls, twists and turns; these transitional features piece a voluptuous figure together. My eyes eat up the imagery as my mind places more and more curves and colors onto the page. My imagination takes over as I start seeing bursts of images that aren’t there. Blues and greens and yellows and reds breed on the page in billowing smokey patterns before my fingers ever even reach the intruments of color.

Now for the best part; the irises. Knowing about anatomy, I know what goes where. But being an artist gives me every right to change it up if I feel the need to. The irises are the gorgeous part of a girl’s face that show her personality in just a glance, as suggested with the quote “The eyes are windows to the soul.” With this in mind, the pencil and paper collide once more with the intent on creating a whole new work of art inside of another work of art.

As the greys of the lead breed on the page before me, my pencil moves to the almond shapes mentioned before. A circle is produced from the end inside the almond shape. To show that she’s looking right at me, I place the dark pupils off-center inside of the round features or the iris. Shading around the edges of the iris gives the effect of mystery as highlighting certain spots gives the essence of light.

Finally, our eyes connect. It’s a strangely wonderful feeling similar to giving birth in under five whole minutes. I put my weapons of construction down, I turn off the music, and I wonder if she sees me the same way I see her.”