This one was done in conte. I spread the conte shavings with a paintbrush, and then erased the lights out with a kneaded eraser. I apply the dark values with a darker conte stick. I tried to really push the darks to create more contrast, and focus the details on the face to establish a focal point. I wanted to show the figure in the context of a background without taking away from the focal point, so I avoided using lines as much as possible. 
Here's a portrait of a fellow artist who volunteered for a portrait. He has strong facial features, especially the nose and the eyebrows, and I thought a profile would be the best way to show these features. Feel free to comment or criticize.
Happy New Year to everyone. I just realized that I hadn't posted anything in a while, so I'll start off by posting a still life. I've been working on a lot of these lately and I'll upload some more work in upcoming posts. As always, your comments and criticisms are welcome.
