My portrait of Clarence Darrow - Monkey trial lawyer

[lunatica]

I love faces that tell a story of the life and character of the subject.



https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Clarence_Darrow

Clarence Seward Darrow (April 18, 1857 - March 13, 1938) was an American lawyer and leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union. His opposition to the death penalty and his work against racial inequality furthered the cause of human rights early in the twentieth century. He is best known for defending teen-aged "thrill killers" Leopold and Loeb in their trial for murdering 14 year old Bobby Franks (1924) and for defending John T. Scopes in the so-called "Monkey" Trial (1925) where a dramatic confrontation took place in court between Darrow and fundamentalist Christian William Jennings Bryan.

Darrow remains notable for his oratory utilizing the wit, compassion, and agnosticism that marked him as one of the most famous American lawyers and civil libertarians of the twentieth century.

[emmaverybo]

1. Lovely work!

[lunatica]

4. Thank you.

[MLAA]

2. Wow, outstanding portrait!

[lunatica]

8. I prefer to draw portraits rather than paint them

Drawings are what inspires me when I see them by other artists.

[MLAA]

10. I like to paint it is more forgiving! 😉. Mess up, just try, try again with another layer.

[lunatica]

11. I like to paint everything else

And, yes, it’s more forgiving. It’s just portraits I like to draw.

[KT2000]

3. Wow -

you got his spirit.

[lunatica]

9. What attracted me to his face is the incredible character in it.

[democrank]

5. Impressive work right there, lunatica.

Thanks for posting

[KY_EnviroGuy]

6. Great job, Lunatica!

Love the way you use shadows and wrinkles to create a strong impression of personality.

May I ask what is the medium and tools you're using? Asking for a granddaughter who loves to draw.

KY.......

[lunatica]

7. I used a light grey paper with pencil

It’s important to use a soft pencil so you can blend the shadows. I also use a smudger and eraser when I draw. I don’t use my fingers for blending a lot because the smudger has a point that is better for control. Erasers are the best way to bring the highlights back after touching the paper while drawing. A pencil eraser is great for those small and delicate highlights.

And I use fixative to seal it so the lead or charcoal don’t dissipate or blow off, and it protects the drawing.

Thanks!

[Duppers]

12. Most impressive! Amazing!

A web-link to your work?

[lunatica]

13. Thanks!

I don’t have any web link.

My art had been put away for decades. Occasionally I created more and that usually ended up put away too. Due to a divorce, having to work and take care of my bedridden mother over the years I had no time for art. But I retired and moved to another state and dragged it all with me, still packed away. So now I had the opportunity to take it all out and look at it again. This was just in the last year or so. I photographed it and put it into my Photobucket account. I have started drawing and painting again.

I posted one of my recent drawings of Mexican cuisine vegetables last week and it was received very favorably. It made me feel better about my art than I have for a long time. So I felt encouraged to post this one.

It’s all about baby steps. If people keep liking my art I will continue to post it. Who knows what may come of it.

[fierywoman]

14. Wow! Such richness, and I love the variation between very soft lines and super hard lines: a

beautiful rhythm/dance. Brava!

[42bambi]

15. My art teacher would always tell us when

pencil drawing, there is only light and dark, and you nailed it Lunatica. Very charming indeed!

[Martin Eden]

16. I recognized Darrow immediately, before I scrolled down

As a side note, I've visited the old courthouse in Dayton Tennessee where the Scopes Monkey Trial took place. There is a nice little museum in the basement about the trial and related events.

[UTUSN]

17. *WOW* - I'm glad you're cross-posting since I only go to GD & Lounge. Congrats for your talent!

[lunatica]

18. Thanks!

Maybe I should consider cross posting. It’s the only time anyone gets to see my art. Especially old drawings like this one which I did in the late 1990s.

I haven’t shown my art to a lot of people. Some of it no one has seen.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

19. Nicely done!

He was fierce-looking, wasn't he?

[lunatica]

21. Oh yes! He looks like he could wither you with a look!

It amazes me that he took on entrenched societal views in light of the difficulty we’re having with the same issues now. The struggle continues!

I wonder what he would have to say now, a hundred years later.

[GreenPartyVoter]

20. I love this! Such character. His eyes are just piercing!

[lunatica]

22. He was a man who lived up to the character and intensity you see on his face

Thanks!

[bif]

23. Wow! Nicely done!

I wish I could draw like that!

[lunatica]

24. Thanks!

I like doing portraits because it’s always a challenge. There are no lazy shortcuts or faking it. You get it right or you fail.

What I can’t do is watercolors like yours. That’s the truth!

[bif]

25. That's funny!

I can't do figure or faces well at all. They end up looking like a kid did them. Which I go with. And my paintings are actually acrylics. I may explore watercolors, but I'm not sure I'm ready for them yet. Thanks again!

[lunatica]

26. I paint with acrylics so I understand how well they work to

look like other mediums. The effect you give is of watercolors.

Watercolors are sooo unforgiving!