Family Portrait Commission - the daughter updated

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Well I think the daughter's portrait is looking much better now :) It is a bit of a tough photo to work from as were the boys as the photos are a bit blurry and over flashed so alot of the shadows and features are washed out, but they are such great expressions! It really helps to have photoshop (or any other software to work with) so that the tonal values can be adjusted back and forth depending on where you are at in the drawing stage to exagerate the shadows. You can get the same effect from squinting, but this is much easier on the eyes ;) I will leave her for a bit and may come back and make minor tweaks along with the rest of the family.

Family Portrait Commission - the boys

Wew, the boys portraits were tough for some reason but I am pretty happy with them now. There will likely be a few tweaks such as darkening the hair, adjusting the hair line and minor adjustments to their faces but I think the likeness is shining through now.

It really helps having a bit of time between working on the portrait and coming back with fresh eyes. I find that often something is bothering me that I can not figure out. I go and grab a cup of water and it jumps out at me. It is even more so with watercolors. I often leave thinking I should give up watercolors and take up oils or acrylic and I come back in the morning and am amazed at how all the pigments have come together and meshed. I think the graphite pencil also behaves the same way and settles into the paper more.

Another trick I find invaluable is viewing the reference photo on the computer along side the portrait. As soon as you see the portrait online the trouble areas jump out at you. I am not sure if it is due to the fact that the computer limits what you see and flattens it but whatever it is, it works!

Family Sketch Commission - Grandmother

Well the grandmother is starting to take shape but still a ways to go to adjust the likeness and complete the range of tonal values. Many adjustments need to be made but I think already her warmth is coming through. Of course I am adding much more detail than I should for a sketch rather than a full portrait but I just can't help it :) So far I have used 2B, H, and B graphite pencils.

Family Portrait Commission - Sketch and Reference Photo

This is the start of my latest commission. It is a sketch of the grandparents, father and children which will be a birthday gift for the father from a very nice friend. The artwork is 15 x 19 on a sheet of 16 x 20 Arches Hot Pressed watercolor paper.

The layout took a bit of reworking both by the client and myself and I think it was well worth the effort. It has a very nice flow which draws the eye from the father around the portrait to the other family members.

As this is a larger commission, I will start with the grandparents and work my way down from right to left, top to bottom, to the kids, house & then the father to avoid smuding and keep the drawing fresh. Generally each portrait is completed to roughly 90% before moving onto the next and then final adjustments and tweaks are made at the end. Time to jump in!

Watercolor Portrait of Baby Boy Completed

This commission for grandma is completed! This baby was alot of fun to paint as he has such a cute expression and amazing eyes! I love painting or drawing children as they just have the funniest expressions, you can almost hear the thought process!

1st Wedding Anniversary Graphite Portrait - wip3

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till lots of tweaks to made to the bride as well but the main features have been blocked in. Several layers of H, B and HB graphite have been used to draw her skin and hair. The graphite pencil is then blended, features redrawn and blended again removing highlights where needed. Each pass further refines the features as the graphite absorbs into the paper. I will likely draw both of their faces to near completion and then move onto the rest of the portrait and then finish up with their faces again to keep the features crisp. As their faces are smaller than I generally work with I find that I am almost working in reverse for this portrait. Laying the features down and then removing excess graphite to refine their features more.

1st Wedding Anniversary Graphite Portrait

This is the graphite sketch for a commission that will be a gift for a first wedding anniversary. I was not able to capture all of the portrait with my scanner as it is 11x14 and my scanner...even though it says it scans A4...seems to not want to go larger than 8.5 x 11 argh, may be time for a new scanner ;)

I have transferred the drawing onto the watercolor paper and have darkened the outline of the bride and groom with HB graphite pencil. The background is hard to see right now but is sand and rocks with will be loosely drawn in.

Custom Graphite Portrait - sketch

This is the sketch for a custom graphite portrait I have just started. It is a very rough outline at this point as I am working from several reference photos. The quality of the photos are poor so it is a bit of a challenge but the concept is quite cool and the main reference photo has great lights and darks and she has such a sweet smile that even at this very rough stage she brightens up my canvas.

I am still working out how the hair will fall, how the eyes will look as in the reference photo the eyes are open and some other details need to be addressed but they will sort themselves out as I go. The words Happiness, Peace, Comfort, Understanding and Beauty will be slightly hidden throughout the portrait as well which will be very cool. I will wait until the portrait takes a bit more shape before I decide where each word will be drawn.

Baby Girl's First Birthday Graphite Portrait - Sketch

I have drawn the rough outline with an HB graphite pencil and darkened it in photoshop so that the lines could be seen on the computer. The reference photo is below.

Baby Girl's First Birthday Portrait Commission

This adorable little girl is the subject of my next graphite portrait commission. She is such a cutie and looks like she is full of spunk! This portrait will be in celebration of her first birthday which is coming up shortly.