Grandpa Elliott

Grandpa Elliott

A3

Coloured pencils on mat board

The reference photo for this portrait was taken 17 years ago by my brother, when he and his wife were on their honeymoon in New Orleans, when Grandpa Elliott was a little known busker on the streets. Now, because of utube, he has become a legendary and much sought after street entertainer. Please take the time to browse some of the many videos on utube featuring this charming and endearing character and I'm sure you'll come away with a smile on your face and feel better about the world!!! :)

Some of my Christmas commissions

Athena

4x6 inches

Coloured pencils on drafting film

Sophia

4x6 inches

Coloured pencils on drafting film

Zahara

4x6 inches

Coloured pencils on drafting film

Rhiannon

4x6 inches

Coloured pencils on drafting film

Kerry and Craig

8x10 inches

Graphite and black pencil on drafting film

These were some of the commissions that kept me busy between Christmas and New Year. There were a couple more completed in the the week leading up to Christmas, but the clients requested that they not be posted on any websites, and of course I always respect these wishes. The commissions continue to roll in, for which I am very grateful, but I have had to put all the prices up slightly to prevent getting too overloaded with work. My preference this year is to work on quality, rather than quantity so that the customer feels they are getting something they will treasure for many years to come!!!

Latest Commission - Soulful

Soulful

7x8 inches

Coloured pencils on drafting film

I know I said I wouldn't upload the second pug portrait, but it's a woman's perogative to change her mind, but no progress shots this time. After doing two portraits of pugs in a row, I have fallen in love with these beautiful little dogs - so much character in their wrinkled little faces.

A wonderful day full of smiles to all of you!!!! :)

Latest 4x6 inch artwork - Santa Claws

Santa Claws

4x6 inch

Coloured pencils on drafting film

Christmas is a funny time of year. As the decorations start to appear on the shelves of all the stores, I am filled with a sudden panic at the thought of all that has to be done in the 8 weeks between now and December 25th - shopping, cooking, cleaning, wrapping, cards, the list is endless and overwhelming. But then the inner child emerges and the bright colours of Christmas, the joy of listening to much loved carols, the anticipation of the season to come takes over and I am filled with an urge to kick the season off with a Christmas OSWOA. I hope it brings out your inner child as you all face the weeks to come.

Commissioned Portrait - Poppy

Poppy

4x6 inches

Coloured pencil on drafting film

Since my last post, the illustration job I was working on has fallen through as the client guided me through some of the sample illustrations she had seen and wanted me to do similar. However, all the illustrations she had seen had been done with a computer illustration program and there is no way I could hope to achieve the same effects with coloured pencil, so we mutually agreed to end the project. As an artist who prefers to work with materials I can use with my hands, it is hard to compete sometimes with the world of technology. Hopefully, there will always be people out there who still love to see a drawing or painting created by hand. At the moment, however the commissions are coming in droves, and I must say I'm enjoying them - The joy and appreciation that comes from the clients makes it all worthwhile!!!

It never rains but it pours!!!

To all my blogger friends, please excuse my absence of blogging and commenting on your own wonderful blogs lately. After a quiet couple of months, in the last two weeks, I have been inundated with 6 requests for commissioned portraits, and a large Illustration job. These are some of the commissioned portraits - the illustration job will keep me out of mischief for the next few weeks. So, I hope you understand if I am a bit more quiet than normal. It is always wonderful to have the extra work, so I'm not complaining!!!!

Little Flower Girl

Little Flower Girl

5x7 inches

Coloured Pencil on drafting film

Oh what fun I had doing this piece, especially after doing a few graphite works. I just loved doing the colours and textures and was quite happy with it until I started on the legs, where I struck a few problems with the darker shadows. Not to worry - I have decided to frame and keep this piece (something I rarely do) because the colours make me happy. A huge thank you to Juno Kughler Carlson from Artist Friends Network for supplying the gorgeous reference photo. :)

More Graphite with a hint of colour - Peeping Tom

Peeping Tom

12.5 x 14.5 cm

Graphite and coloured pencils on drafting film

This is the third in the series of graphite pencil portraits with a hint of colour. The reference photo for this lovely little fellow was kindly provided by Juno from Artist Friends Network.

I approached North Light Books to see if they might be interested in a book on producing photorealistic work on drafting film. They were very interested in looking at a book proposal, but only on traditional supports, rather than the drafting film. I feel there is an abundance of books out there about achieving photorealism on paper and more traditional supports, and will persevere with the idea of a book on drafting film, mainly because there is so little information out there about it. From the publisher's point of view, I guess it is best to stick with safe ground. From an artist's point of view, I feel we are always hungry for that elusive medium or support that will help us achieve what we would like to achieve in our minds eye, and it is always so exciting to try new mediums and techniques.

Latest Graphite portrait - Wonder

Wonder

5x7 inches

Graphite and coloured pencil on drafting film

I started this one again, after getting halfway through and being dissatisfied with the smoothness of the skin (my husband says I'm a perfectionist - how rude!!! LOL ). The next day, I went out and bought some graphite powder, emptied out my minerals powder foundation from it's container, and filled it with some graphite powder; and dug out some of my softest makeup brushes. I then applied the graphite in much the same way you would buff mineral foundation onto your skin and was much happier with the results. The mineral powder foundation container has little holes in the lid, so I could give it a shake, and get just a hint of powder and then use the makeup brushes to pick it up. Perfect!!!

Graphite with a hint of colour - Pippa

This is the first in a series of portraits I would like to do combining graphite with a hint of colour. The reference photo for Pippa was kindly provided by Andrea (Pencil Painting Network) and is of her delightful daughter Pippa - isn't she a cutie!!!! In future, I am going to try to avoid portraits with too many dark areas, as blending the dark to light proved a frustrating challenge, but we got there in the end.

Graphite Portraits - latest artwork 'Bright Eyes'

Bright Eyes

10x14cm

Graphite, black pencil and sgraffito on drafting film

I have always preferred working with colour, but lately have been dabbling with graphite pencil, and think I could become addicted. Whilst I adore colour, it is such an interesting exercise to focus only on shade, light, tone and texture. This latest work is of my neice Katie, and I will now be offering Commissioned Graphite portraits on Ebay and Etsy and from my website. My next project is to combine a bit of graphite with colour for some variation. Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful day!!!!

Latest OSWOA - Whistful

Whistful

4x6 inch OSWOA (Original Small Work of Art)

Graphite and black pencil on drafting film.

This is my latest 4x6 inch artwork. I will now be offering graphite pencil commissioned portraits from my Ebay, Etsy and Artfire stores. This original is available for sale now on ebay.

Self Portrait

Self Portrait 10 x 15cm

One of my goals for this year was to do a self portrait, and so I took this opportunity, whilst having a bit of a break from doing art to sell. I must admit it is a little bit confronting as you map each line and contour that has slowly etched itself onto your face. I am long past that age where you stand in front of a mirror for hours, and our loved ones are probably much more familiar with our faces than we are ourselves. I still feel twenty, but doing a self portrait reassures me that I'm definitely not twenty - however, I wouldn't swap those hard earned lines for a smooth face now - they are a part of me and represent a wonderful life for which I'm very grateful!!!!