Baby in Graphite Finished

This little guy has been finished for awhile now.  I have been letting him sit until my eyes can take a renewed look at him.  The little nubby shirt that he has on was a little flat initially.  I went back in with the click eraser and rubbed in some details.  This subtle addition made me happy and did not give overwhelming clarity to an area that should be understated.  Over all, I am extremely happy with the finish. 

 

There were some challenges to this portrait.  To begin with, the initial photograph was done in a studio.  By the look of the eyes, I question that the trick of digitally enhancing the pupil and life spot was put into play.  Although this can come across as a sharper image in a photograph, it looks flat and lifeless when translated into a graphite drawing.  I took some artistic license and came up with matching reflections to help create a translucent covering to the iris and pupil.  Also, every part of this photograph appeared to be in focus for the most part... Great in a photograph-- distracting for a graphite portrait. So, I let his left arm become less defined as it projects toward the viewer.  It gives some depth to the composition and leads the eye to the main focus of the face.  My final challenge on this piece resides in the completion of it.  Just look at this little guy.  How do you get over the cuteness?  I mean really?  I feel like he is a part of my life now... Captured in a time capsule of my own creation.  Now, I prepare myself to sign my name and move on... With the completion of a piece, there is always the overwhelming sense of accomplishment mixed with a slight twist of emptiness...  *sigh*  This can only be lessened by starting a new adventure.  So, I will move on to a new beginning.  

 

 

 

Anne Hatheway Graphite Portrait ~ Finished

The weather outside was filled with  sunshine and warmth today.   Beautiful weather for the local Easter egg hunts.  :)  My morning was spent running errands and the afternoon cleaning our little pond.   After all the days activities came to an end, I was able to spend the evening drawing in my messy little studio with windows wide open. *sigh*    As you can see below, the portrait has been completed.  I am pleased with the results and feel that I have learned a lot during the process.   My fear of doing human portraits has been lessened by sticking with this one till completion.  I am so happy that I didn't shelve it a few posts back. :)   

 

 

I look forward to relaxing tomorrow... Easter will be a day of enjoying a visit with family and contemplating my next subject.  Although there are a few animal compositions that would be fun,  I find myself wondering how difficult an infant portrait would be to render on Bristol.  The features would be such a challenge from everything that I have done before.  Of course, a bigger challenge would be finding a descent photo to draw from! ;)  I will have to go on a mad search of friends, family or the Internet again.   I will more than likely have to draw another subject in the between time and that's okay, too.  :)  For right now, I am ready to put away this piece.  Since tomorrow will be here soon, I would like to wish you all ...

A Happy Easter!

  

Gord the Hamster Complete

What?  LOL  Yep, the little guy is now forever immortalized in graphite.  Whew!   My son and I discussed the options, after my last post.  Due to the light box throwing off the intensity of the darks in the hamster, my son still wasn't 100% sure how it should be finished.  But once he viewed the original art in natural light, he was adamant that the drawing should have the background added.  (He worried initially that the dark lettering would over power the main focus.)  We both felt that the added letters would or should push the central focus forward... We were not disappointed! :) 

As I finished up the details this morning,  my son ambled into the studio to see the progress.  His facial expression was the same as when viewing the "Dani" drawings.  I knew then,  this composition had been completed to his satisfaction; although, I still agree with my initial feelings and blog comments that this drawing could have been just as effective with or without the background. 

This is just a fine case of familiarity bringing a personal touch to a drawing.  Even though the hands were distinctly my son (by far my favorite hand model), the sweatshirt brought him into the composition in a stronger sense... for him and even for me too.  This feeling was all wrapped up in his choice of apparel. ;)  The shirt was bought on his first major trip without the rest of the family.  It was purchased right before graduating high school and not long before acquiring his first two pets (the little hamsters!).  After giving the situation many hours of thought, in a serendipitous way, the shirt represented the hamster's owner just as much as the hands.  Just one of those quirky things, I guess. ;)

This brings another interesting question floating into my thoughts.  Had my son wore a plain or raggedy work tshirt, would this discussion be taking place?  I seriously doubt it.  After reading the comments left by fellow artists in the blogosphere, I am even more certain that it would not have taken place.  That is a main reason why I do not list original photos with the work.  It keeps my followers from becoming tainted by a preconceived notion of how the finished work should look.  In a sense this is unfair to my viewers, but I am lucky to be in a group of very talented individuals that will speak their piece when different scenarios are played out.  I am forever grateful to have their opinions.  The day that I stop listening to their thoughts is the day that I no longer grow as an artist.  I hope that day never comes! :)

Many thanks to the comments from Andrew, Sally and Teresa.  Their sites can be visited by clicking their names in the comment section of my previous posts.  And before I post this up for view, I will be putting a blog roll to the right side of my page.  Each of their sites will be listed for viewing, along with some other talented people that I like to follow! :) 

Double Yorkie Portrait ~ Finished

Here they are finished and ready to be matted!   (As with all my pics, you can click on the image to enlarge them.)   I opted to go with a blank background that dealt only with the light source and shadows that were created.  Shadows add so much to the dimension of a drawing.  I just love the impact that they have on pushing the subjects forward.

Although this is a terribly bright photo, I had to take a quick pic of these two that I matted for the purpose of protection on their travels home.   I am in love with black core mats.  Bristol, although very light, is far from being white.  The black core of the mat brightens up the Bristol by kicking up the highlights and bringing out the darks. 

Well, "graphite" Bella and Chester are in their new home now and are awaiting the moment to be given as a birthday present.  It almost seems like stillness has fallen over my house, since the excitement of final touch ups and delivery are over.  I took a moment before writing this entry and read back through the posts on the creation of these two.   I laugh at how much was happening in my life while this commission was taking shape.  It has been quite a journey... :) 

Baby Turtle Finished

Here he is finished!  You all know the drill.  I will leave him up for a few days and do a little touching up and smoothing before it is put away.  But, he is definitely finished enough to post. :)   I didn't add that much sand (which is very hard to see in the photo), because it would be to distracting.  It was definitely something new to work on a reference in a macro setting.  It was a touch more difficult  to get the details in such a small size work, so a little artistic license came into play on some of the details.  It is also interesting to note how the shadows that surround the focal point become so blotchy looking.  When looking at a photo, your eyes correct to see it more smooth.  This could also be contributed to the dark skin tones of the hand.  At any rate, it meant a lot of going back and darkening / smoothing of tones. 

What's next?  I have a commission that I need to get going on of two Yorkies.   There will not be a background with these two.  Haven't completely hashed out the composition yet, but the initial sketches will make that pull together.   One of my son's hamsters, Gordy (I haven't drawn this one yet), has passed away.  Thankfully, we have some photos of him being held.  So, a special request has been made of me to immortalize this little guy in graphite.   So it looks like there will be a lot of fur in my near future!  :)

Yorkshire Terrier Finished

I am proud to announce that this little girl is finished.  My poor 9b pencil is half the size that it started out as.  It kept shrinking layer after layer. ;)  The real payoff was when the tape came off.  I love the crisp lines.  This was the first time that I have had a black background.  I found it to be very messy.  The drafting tape is priceless in keeping the edge sharp and providing a white area around the drawing.  When cleaning up the white border beyond the tape, I picked up the wrong eraser and created a smudge. :(   Although it lightened up considerably, the tape has made enough of a border to mat around the drawing.  *whew* 

I will leave this little girl on the board for a few days before considering her finished.  My next pic is ready to be put into a line drawing, and there will not be any fur on this one! ;)  Just taking a little break to practice some hands again.

Finished Drawing of a Boxer

I am so happy to say that the Boxer is finished!   Believe it or not this is a little girl, too.  The photo was generously made available at a picture library, and in the file it stated that this cutie's name is Lucy.  It must be a lucky name for me! :)  The background is blurred out grass.  In retrospect, it would have been easier to do a faint cloudy background to this one and probably would have been just as effective.  Of course, I planned to keep with the photo.  After completing the background, the pattern and depth of graphite seemed to be overpowering.  My husband agreed.  So... the background got some rework :( and a considerable amount of lightening to it.  Now, both of us are happy with the result.  A lot of time could have been saved by opting out of the reference background, but of course as most of you know,  my preference has always been for busier ones. :)  (Of course during the rework, I might have given a different answer!)

I did go back and work some 9b into the dog's face and ears.  It helped to define the whiskers as they went in.  Quite a few of the hairs around the lower jaw were not defined.  Sometimes it is tempting to get carried away and put them in there, but then it throws off the natural appearance and makes the subject come across flat.  I remind myself of that all the time, since whiskers are my favorite part of animal drawings!

  

So what is next for the drawing board?  I have a lovely shot of my son with a little tree frog sitting on his hand that I would really like to do, but my husband is pushing for another dog.  His choice is a darling picture of a little Yorkshire Terrier.  I might do a line drawing of each and decide then, since I'm sure both will be renderings for this year. ;)    

Drawing a Bulldog FINISHED

Here is where I was 2 days ago, and this is how I drew in the back of the couch. Had I done the whole drawing left to right, the drawing would not have needed to be rotated 90 degrees. I actually like drawing this way. It trains my eyes to see small areas and shapes instead of the whole picture. The surprise comes when I turn it back, and the whole picture comes together.

 Well, here he is finished. There might be some tweaking in the next couple of days, but I am very happy with how this one turned out. I hope his owner will be also. It's funny. I thought that it would be hard to give a drawing away, but as with the dog in the photo, it felt as if this work was never mine to begin with. I will miss him though. This was a very relaxing piece to work on. It was the first piece that I felt great confidence in to translate to graphite. Okay, okay, honestly... if the owner didn't want this piece, I would frame it for my own house! Look at that face... how could you not fall in love?? ;)

So now what is next? Well, the first thing is to decide on how to sign my artwork. None of my graphite work has ever left the house, so I have never signed any of them. This has been on my mind since the first drawing. I am very determined that my work be the total focal point, and a long signature would be too distracting. My thoughts have turned to using my initials BLNS in a jumbled format. I have the next few days to decide. Oh... and I guess I had better pick out another subject to draw too!

This Little Wonder Finished

 Happiness is calling a long work in progress finished! This artist will be smiling when I hit the 'publish post' button. I will then be able to enter the blissful state of a clear mind and new ideas...

Well, the background is complete. I honestly thought my last background on the 'Chick in Hand' was busy, but that was nothing compared to this one. It took me way more time than I had bargained for. I made myself walk away from it a few times, because it felt like the process was becoming a chore instead of a joy. The logical solution would be to do the background first in my drawings, but I can honestly say that idea does not set well with me. It is just a stumbling block to think that I have to do my main objects while being careful of graphite on the outskirts. (My preference is the most precise areas first with no distractions.) Another solution would be to go from left to right, but that scenario (in my opinion) only works in certain less busier compositions. The final and best solution is to work on my background in more sessions with less time spent. (I'll make a note of that!)

Where was I going with this?? Just rambling on a tangent... Okay, what did I do to finish up this drawing. Well for starters, I darkened up some of the folds and lines on the hands after the chick was rendered. The majority of this was needed due to some smearing that took away the deep values. Then onward to the background, its values were darker than the hands which made the very edges (of the hands) look light. So, out came the blending stump, and I made a smoother transition between the two. After that, it was simply a matter of being happy with the values of the background after the details had been put in. ( I use an eraser for most of my detail work, so I am constantly going back to darken.) Oh and almost forgot to mention, you'll notice that I did shave about a half inch from the left side of the composition. It was going to be a distraction and would add nothing to the finished work.

I hope this is all making sense. It is always hard to write a post on a day that I finish a drawing. I guess, my brain is still a jumbled mess. It was just important to me to get this one up right away and call it done!

What is next on the drawing board? Well, I have some really nice people waiting for their bulldog to be put into graphite. I have some reference pics that are very small. My cannon will get a run for its money while trying to enlarge and keep the details intact... might just have to call on a few friends for some photo favors on this one! I felt terrible not starting into this commission right away, but my mind was so deep into this project that I didn't dare start another one simultaneously.

Chick in Hand Finished

Happy Birthday to me!! I kept a promise to myself that I would be able to put this one up in its entirety on my birthday, and I am happy to say, "Mission complete." My first completed work of the start of my 42 nd year of life. I look forward to completing many more!!

It seems like a long time since the word finished has been written here. It will sit on the board for a few days before I revisit and touch up. The finished work is 8 x 7 inches. The background photographed a little grainy. It must be the work lights, but I was determined to finish up and post tonight. I look forward to moving onto a drawing with a little less detail!

Squirrel Drawing Finished

Here it is finally completed. Or at least close enough to post! I will let it sit on the drawing board for a few days and look at it with fresh eyes. Finished drawing is 9x7". I am very happy with the finished product but think I will stray away from the animal scene for the next one. I ended up using a lot of 9b in this one. That made for many layers. On to the next, hopefully lighter, subject!

Self Portrait Finished

It took me awhile to get the hair done! I honestly thought it would be easier, since it was pulled back, but that was not the case. As you can see, the light was coming from the back on the right. I took the liberty of making the light not as harsh. If the drawing had a darker background, I could have made the light hitting the hair more stark. Honestly, I prefer it like it is. It was a very harsh photo with stark lights and jet blacks. I also gave the shirt more detail and a nubby finish that it should've had. For my first profile portrait, I am very happy. It is unanimous here that it does in fact look like me and the photo. So, that is a plus!!

What to do next? I am not sure. No predictions this time, since they never seem to work out. I will just take a day to think about it...

Otter Finished

 Here he is finished! The darks might get worked on more later. For right now, I decided to take the edging tape off. It worries me that it might start to adhere to the paper to well and cause some damage. I will just put some new tape on later if needed. It is always fun to pull the tape away and see the nice clean edges to a drawing. The color of the tape being lifted out of the picture makes the graphite take on another dimension.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Scott Liddell for a wonderful reference photograph. He is a very accomplished photographer and is generous enough to share his talent with the artistic community. I try to work from my own photos but could not pass up the opportunity to draw this little guy. You can check out Scott's photography at http://www.scottliddell.net/ and from there you can check out his blog also! So thanks again!!

Tonight will be spent picking out a new composition. I am not sure which direction to go next. A busier composition would be nice...or something on a bit larger scale...I have a feeling it is going to be a late night filled with contemplation!!!

Gorilla Study Finished

Well the Gorilla is finished. I had thought about putting some blurred out bamboo in the background, but it is a rather striking pose with just the foggy graphite. It will stay on the board for awhile until I am sure. The hair was time consuming and made me glad that this was in a small format. It was fun to draw the facial features with the high contrast in values. I used my usual 2b mechanical pencil but had to bring in a 9b for the really dark areas. This drawing was not as busy as some of my compositions, but I think he is pretty strong all on his own.

The next drawing is a head shot of an otter. I did the line drawing while working on this piece. It will be simple in its composition. I think sometimes one can study an animal better without all the noise of a background. The overlapping piece will probably go back to something a little more complicated. I might have to corner a human subject this time. We'll have to see!!

Dani's Exercise Drawing Completed

Nothing like starting off the month by finishing up a drawing! I will let it rest for a couple of days and see what might need some rework. I might give the shirt some more definition mainly in the sleeve and waist area. (My son had his shirt tucked in well in the reference photo, which took away any chance of creasing.) We'll see. My eyes need a rest from this drawing for right now. I am not to happy on my time frame with completing this one. I did a lot of slacking off. Hopefully, the next composition will go faster!

This drawing completed is 8 1/2 x 8". I used a 2b mechanical pencil and enhanced the darks with a 9b. I pulled highlights with a kneaded eraser and a smaller sized click eraser. The belt kept its original details from the photo reference. I chose to alter this same belt in the other drawing of Dani. I thought that in that one it would be to much of a distraction. It seems to anchor this drawing well. The shirt is lighter, and like I mentioned earlier, I might put some more definition into it. The lighter fabric seems to brighten this composition and push the focal point forward. With regards to Dani, he got a little teasing to his hair and darkening of values. I felt he needed it in order to hold his own in this composition.

Now onward to thinking about the next composition. I have been challenged to do a self portrait. YIKES! Trust me I am in NO hurry on that one. My husband wants me to do a drawing of our cat (his little princess!) who happens to have black fur. YIKES, again! My brother in law would love a drawing of his cat (black and white fur...), but you can't get within 10 feet of that cat without him attacking and drawing blood. Time to break out the zoom lens! I do have an interesting pic of a squirrel that has strong possibilities. I'll have to look around and see what I can dig up. I might work on two studies at the same time. It would be interesting to see if I could make the jump back and forth...

Handsome Dani Portrait

Here it is! Or at least I think it is. I do not want to remove it from the drawing board until I have had a few days to reflect on it. The final background decision was to stick to my original photograph. I kept to a very dark more out-of-focus background and ran highlights in with the kneaded eraser. The only minor change was the shirt behind the hamster might be about two clicks lighter than the photo. I think that makes a better back drop to Dani. Overall, I am very pleased with how this portrait turned out. I had been given the suggestion to not have a background. This was an idea I actually had played around with in the planning stage, but I thought two hands that were floating free holding a hamster might give a more memoriam feeling to the piece. This was combined with the mistake of transferring my initial graph to the whole drawing surface and it would not have been easy erasing all the remnants! Live and Learn.

My Son's Portrait

This is a picture of my son that I decided to dive into the land of portraits with. Actually it was more like guilted into with. I have only done 2 portraits in my life (Neither of which, my son made clear, were of him). Both were on paper that would have been better suited for pastel, and my style mixed with graphite left a lot to be desired. Like I have said before, I see images in shadows and have a tendency to map my skin tones. Unfortunately, not translating very well for portraits. During my search for literature on the subject, I came across Lee Hammond's book "Lifelike Portraits from Photographs." Our styles were very similar, but she worked on Bristol and blended a whole lot more. So after much contemplation, I started to make my first layout graphed onto tracing paper. I think that will be how I start all of my drawings; it works well just in case I need to erase. I used the reference photo in a 8 x 10 size and enlarged the finished portrait on the graph to 16 x 20.

The graphed version was then transferred to Bristol and a light graph was made on the drawing surface to keep the shadows in place. I used a 2b mechanical pencil for this piece, several sizes of paper stumps, kneaded eraser, and pink pearl in a stick form. The blending on the Bristol went well. I could go back and darken areas and use the kneaded eraser to lighten mistakes. Once I had the facial features in graphite, the piece became very exciting to me. The jawline ended up being the place of most challenge. The shadows can mislead the eyes. So I had to keep true to the photo. A kind of leap of faith thing! Then all that was left was the hair, which to me is a form of fur, and something I am comfortable with.

Oddly enough, I loved working from a colored photo. I find the values in the shadows a little easier to distinguish than black and white. Black and white makes me think flatter tones. So I didn't even attempt making a black and white reference pic. I unfortunately did not do a progressive coverage on this. So all that I can show is the finished piece. My son gave his approval on it, although he said that I could have left out the small chip in one of his teeth. (That realism gets you every time!) The joke will be on me after I get the bill from his next appointment with the dentist!

Finished Opossum

Well he is finished. I am pretty happy with him overall. It was a good piece to get back into the swing of things. So many lights and darks to work with. I think I will branch out into some softer pencils to hopefully make the darks easier to achieve. I am happy with the opossum himself and feel he springs off the page well. The background (which is something new to me) could have been a little more smooth. I think I would have done more muted shapes and took a little more time building values. I will have to do a little research in that area. Working with a stump can tend to have a mottled appearance. Less could have been more. Maybe just a little more of a blurry effect? I'm not sure. Now that I have said all that! I can say that I will mat and frame it for me. I do love it! I just need to keep it real and understand where improvements can be made. Backgrounds are foreign to me, and I know there is a lot to learn. The main point is I am willing to learn it!

My next piece was actually in the works before this one. It is a portrait of my son. I didn't do a picture documentation of it for fear I would jinx myself! I have only done 2 portraits in my life and never on Bristol. But after seeing Lee Hammond's Dvd on portraits from pictures, I thought I'd take a stab at it. My other 2 drawings were on a colored surface many years ago! I do feel that I am doing well on a first attempt. It is in the "touch up" stage right now. If it is nice out today, I will try to get some pics of the finished piece.

I took some photos of my son's pet hamster last week and believe that he will be the star of the next progressive work. I have been getting the reference pics off my camera and picking the best angle. I thought I'd make a better plastic graph to cover my pic and decided to cheat by letting my copier do the printing. It was a moment I'll never forget. I completely blanked out that I have a thermal copying machine. Yes, you heard it here first! I said, "THERMAL." Heat and plastic --- plastic and heat. Either way you say it, it is not a good situation! I must say, the smell will be hard to forget. But you will be happy in knowing, that once the situation physically "cooled down" (machine and myself included!) I did learn: how to dismantle a Brother 7020 (with the great help of my husband), find the best method to cut melted plastic from newly fused rollers (wire cutters did the work), and systematically reassemble the whole machine. I suppose I now could impress you by telling you the exact degrees my machine sets ink at, since there are warning labels all over the inside of the machine, but I don't want to overwhelm anyone with my newly found intelligence!! Believe it or not the machine actually WORKS. I feel sorry for it , since I bought it refurbished a year ago. I hope it didn't have this happen before! Heaven help me, but the drawing better go easier than that 2 hour excursion.