Drawing from African photographs

For my first drawing I decided to do a large scale piece using ink, charcoal and chalk.

I came up with the idea, throughout the process, to use bleach in the piece by dripping it from the top of the ladies head and down the paper. This created a really interesting effect and brought the facial features of the lady together. I wanted the bleach to bring out a yellowy tinge on top of the black paint, however, it came out colourless. Because of this, I decided to try using some henna powder, mixing it with water and leaving it on the piece until dry and then scratching it off to see what effect it created under the surface.