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My home studio is located in Western Massachusetts. Here I am trying something new: a profile self-portrait.
Study for A Gift of Mugwort, 2026, charcoal on paper, self-portrait using two mirrors, 24 x18".
I go by Hei-Ja [hedge-ah], or simply "hedge." My logo is my name in Korean.
I started this website to share what I am calling "Charcoal Studies." As an emerging artist, I have so much to learn, and "studies" reflects that - an emphasis on process, rather than on a finished drawing, which is why you may see some of the guidelines, structural underpinnings, and notes intact.
I work only in charcoal. I love this medium for its range of mark making, and for the simplicity of black and white. There is something compelling about trying to capture a person's spirit using light, shadow and line, without the distraction of color.
One of my current projects involves self-portraits using mirrors - one and sometimes two. In our life drawing sessions, typically a figure model holds one pose for 45 minutes. A few of my drawings are based on two or three hour poses. But in a self-portrait using mirrors (versus drawing a self-portrait from photographs), I can work on one life drawing (me in a mirror) for days, weeks, and beyond. The possibilities open up, and the time I can practice drawing - from life - greatly expands.
Hei-Ja Martin, September 2026.
SELF PORTRAITS AND MIRRORS
SP1. I wanted to draw a self portrait of me offering a gift that I am holding in my hands - a bouquet of flowers. I wanted my head to be tilted down and my eyes looking up.
SP2. In a self-portrait, I learned that my eyes in the mirror must be as close as possible and in line with the eyes I am drawing on the paper. In this way, only my eyes move from mirror to paper, and my head stays very still, so it can be drawn,
SP3. The mirror edge and the paper's long edge are side by side, even touching, to make this possible. I learned the hard way to fold the long edge of the paper over, leaving three extra inches of paper on the right side, so that later, if I wish, I can crop and mat a drawing without "losing an eye." See L6.
SP4. Now for the hands. In a self-portrait using a mirror, I must draw my dominant left hand with my right hand. I had never thought about this.
I must remind myself that this is a one-mirror image, so the hand in the top position is actually my right hand, drawn with my left hand. The bottom hand is drawn with my right hand, which doesn't know how to hold a pencil, no less draw a hand.
SP5. I decided that in the previous composition, the hands looked too linear, so I switched to posing the hands like this. I am still having so much difficulty drawing both hands. Again, I had to pose one hand and duct tape it in place while the other hand drew. I guess the hands need to be closer to the face to make this easier. (You can see the line showing the folded paper on the right side, allowing for three extra inches to "breathe,"
SP6. Now I would like the head to tilt down even more. I have drawn a curved line following the curve of the skull, from the top of one ear to the other, to try to figure out how to make the head tilt further down.
SP7. Here I am using the proko skull to tilt the head in the way I am imagining I want it to be. After drawing a similar curved line from the top of one ear to the other, I realize that the ears are much higher than the brow, an eye-socket's width higher, whereas in OF7, the ear line is a lot closer to the browline.
SP8. As the saying goes, "It's back to the drawing board." Here is a sketchbook drawing of the proko skull in the tilted position I want, giving me some clues about how to proceed with the next draft...
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