The challenge for 52Frames this week is to show emotion in your image. I looked at ways of displaying emotion; colour is important and in portraits you are advised to concentrate on the eyes.  A lot of images showing emotion seemed to concentrate on sadness or fear, but I wanted something cheerful. I was tempted this week to draw my cat asleep to show contentment. However when looking through my photos I found this one of one of our guides on Safari in Malawi. He looks so happy, not just smiling… his eyes also show real merriment.

I have used Derwent  Coloursoft crayons. I am pleased with the overall result. I am very happy with the eyes and nose, but struggled a bit with the mouth. Compared to the photo the face is a bit long and not quite round enough. Portraits are tricky. I used a limited number of colours and think that has worked well. The purple for the shadows has helped to keep it warm.

Derwent Coloursoft crayons