Yorkie Dog Portrait in Acrylic

This is a painting I did recently of a yorkie dog. It is not a commission so it was just for fun. The expression was so funny I had to paint it. I have always loved dogs and used to have a boxer for many years but I am getting a soft spot for the smaller dogs the more that I draw and paint them!

Life Drawing Portrait in Graphite

Well, it is week two of my life drawing class and I decided to focus on just the face for this one. I started quite small on this one not realizing that sustained pose meant for the whole night :) Of course, by the time I got to my second attempt I think I was too tired as he was starting to look very tired in the portrait ;) I used HB and 6B graphite pencils for this one. The likness is not too bad and I think the proportions are pretty close so I am happy with my attempt. Although, he has a bump in the bridge of his nose that I could just not capture .... I am sure I will get a chance to draw him again though :)

Life Drawing Figurative Portrait in Graphite

Yay summer is over and my life drawing class has finally started...hmm perhaps my priorities are mixed up....no, I don't think so :) I have not drawn from life for several years as I draw mostly graphite portraits from photos and usually draw children and animals, neither of which will sit long for a portait to be drawn! This is my first 'attempt' at a 50 minute portrait of Iva. There are many issues with it, her head is too large and the likeness is not what I would like, but overal I am happy with my attempt and I don't think Iva will hold a grudge ;)

Life drawing is very different from the tightly detailed pencil drawings that I generally work on and I am really enjoying it although I am still getting the hang of which pencil to use and when. I generally use 2B, F and B for my detailed portraits whereas with the life drawing portraits I need to use 8B, 6B and HB which encourage me much looser. I will be posting weekly so that I have a record of my 'progress' throughout the year. Should be interesting!

1st Wedding Anniversary Graphite Portrait - wip3

S

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.

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 - WIP4

Well, she looks much better with 2 eyes! More layers have been drawn using a 2B graphite pencil for her skin. Her hair has been drawn with 2B, B, HB, F and 3H graphite pencils, blending as I go and adding some of the highlights.

For her eyes, I used 2B, HB and 3H graphite pencils to draw the iris. The pupil was drawn with 2B and HB only being careful not to add too much of a shine to the paper. I like to bring all of the different areas of the face to near completion and then hone in on the details so no area is complete until the end of the portrait. It is really starting to look like this cute little baby girl though I think :)

Baby Girl's First Birthday Graphite Portrait - WIP2

I have drawn a bit more skin tone values throughout using 2B and H graphite pencils. The lips have been drawn using 2B, B, HB and H graphite pencils. The teeth will be finished last and the lips still need some adjustments which will be done nearer the end of the portrait. I tend to jump around the portrait a bit when I draw as I like to let the graphite settle into the paper.