I've been studying portrait drawing with pencil. I'm struggling with my medium. Often I make marks too harshly to erase later, and my shading feels messy. Anyone have tips for working with pencils?

My first attempt at an oil portrait—not exactly what I hoped for, but every stroke feels like a step forward.

I've not been to life drawing for a while, I felt like I was getting stale and stuck in a rut. So when I went again yesterday I decided to focus on gesture using black Conté sticks on Newsprint paper which is a silky smooth, friction free combination which really encourages fast long loose strokes. Apart from having lots of fun - I really like the way some of these came out!

Gonna call it a day on this one. A far cry from where it started the other day!