Pencil portrait exercise number 55 by Alan Green

I should imagine you're in the same company as many of us there .... getting a likeness is hard work: I don't always achieve it, which is probably why I don't do much portrait work. But the advice I've received is basically to keep the pencil lines light to start with; measure everything carefully, being aware that there's a strong tendency to paint noses too long and eyes too big, ears too high on the head in relation to the eye line (ie, they're usually lower than you expect). And try to avoid painting teeth! Teeth are the devil's own device to ruin a drawing or painting - but of course there comes a time when you just can't avoid them, so - better learn how. Whole books have been written on this subject, some a lot more useful than others I find. So - probably the answer is to keep doing it, read up on it, but above all practise - don't know about you, but whenever I've drawn a face (sometimes even a dog's) I've found a bit of myself in there..... not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Thanks. Yes, I've run into the teeth problem