A Christmas sketch

My first day off work, and I've managed to spend the afternoon sketching!

I got the idea for this piece about a week ago after seeing a picture hanging in the window of a gallery in Cambridge. The painting of the woman had simple lines and bold colours, and I wanted to see if I could achieve the same effect.

Eventually, I'd like to do this as an acrylic, but for now it's just a pencil sketch, with the outline drawn over in dark charcoal (which unfortunately smudged a little). The colours aren't quite right -- I'd like to get a more vivid mix of red, orange, and blue than I've achieved here --but they're along the right lines.

Since it's Christmas, and this will be my last post for at least a few days, let's call her Mary.

Have a happy Christmas!

Update: If you'd like to read an article about how I developed this picture further, click here.