Launching a new series

Scent of a Rose
12x16 inches
Coloured pencil on Canson Ash Grey Mat Board

A big thank you to my son's beautiful girlfriend Tash who allowed me to do a photo shoot with her and I am going to use these photos for my new series which will explore the use of the human face as a canvas for creativity. I want to combine the elements of realism, trompe l'oeil and whimsy to try to develop a bit more creativity with my portraits - an area I have always struggled with.

Tash is an extremely talented musician, singer and song writer and has a big following on YouTube, has won many awards for her singing and song writing skills and is constantly in demand for gigs so I was extremely grateful when she gave up an afternoon of her time to help me out.

My Selfie

My Selfie
8x10 inches
Coloured Pencil on Colourfix Suede board

I can't decide at the moment whether to do another project for my Beautiful Human Landscapes Project, whether to do another tutorial, or whether to do something completely different. So whilst in that indecisive phase, I decided to do a little fun piece entitled 'My Selfie', which combines some of the things I love the most - colour, realism and a touch of Trompe L'Oeil. This was a struggle though because of the surface I chose - Colourfix Suede. No matter how many layers I did, I couldn't cover up the texture and since I always go for that nice smooth look, this was a bit of a distraction for me.

Anyone have any ideas for my next project? I'm always open to suggestions :) 

Bill's Selfie with WIP's

Bill's Selfie
12x16 inches
Coloured pencil, pen and ink on Pastelmat
Reference photo kindly provided by Bill himself

I was quite shocked to see that it has been almost 6 months since I posted anything on my poor blog and that is in large because we have been renovating our house and I have been madly painting and doing lots of things other than sitting at my desk. Happily, the renovations are all completed and so I can get back to the drawing table and this is the results of my first portrait fort the year. It is 12x16 inches, and has been drawn using Polychromos, Prismacolors, Verithins, Derwent Artists, Coloursoft, Pablos, Lyra Rembrandts and Bruynzeel pencils, along with some Faber Castell pitt pens and a touch of white paint on Clairefontaine Pastelmat. A huge thank you to Judith Crown and her Father Bill for providing me with the fabulous reference photo for this artwork - he truly was a joy to draw.