Yvonne
8x10 inches
Coloured pencils and Pitt pens on Canson Pastel Grey Mat Board

This is the next portrait in my Beautiful Human Landscapes Project. I was contacted by Yvonne's Granddaughter to see if I would be interested in including her in this project and when I saw Yvonne's joyous face, I jumped at the chance. You can watch a speed drawing of this portrait evolving on YouTube and also learn how you can do wonderfully realistic portraits of older people by following this 28 page Step by Step Tutorial. Also please don't hesitate to get in touch if you know of someone of have a loved one that you think might be suitable for this project. They do need to be hi-res images and preferably candid and emotive shots that capture the character of our older folk.

Beautiful Human Landscapes Project underway

Ruth
8x10 inches
Coloured Pencils on Mat Board

Val
11x14 inches
Coloured Pencils on Mat Board

These two beautiful ladies are the first to be featured in my Beautiful Human Landscapes Project. Val was the Mum of one of my good friends from school and was like a second mother to me when I was young. She sadly passed away a couple of months ago and this was my gift to her daughter, Lynne. Ruth was the mother of an artist friend Jonathan, who kindly shared the beautiful reference photo for this precious moment and to both Lynne and Jonathan I say a huge thank you. This project is all about celebrating the older folk in our society. If you have a high resolution, zoomed in reference photo of one of your loved ones that you think might be suitable for this project, then please don't hesitate to contact me.

Calling for Help

For a couple of years now, I have been mulling over a project that is close to my heart, which I am calling Beautiful Human Landscapes. I would like to create a series of closely cropped, highly detailed portraits of some of the older folk in our society. These is so much emphasis in our society today on the beauty of youth and the importance of looking younger than your years. As an ex nurse and artist, I find far more fascination in a face that has endured life's ups and downs and tells a lifetime of stories. I would like to focus on people in their 80's and 90's across all nationalities. If you have some loved ones that you think might be suitable for this project then please do get in touch. I need closely cropped, high resolution and detailed photos so that I can recreate all the wonderful features of an older person's face. If I draw your loved one, you will be sent a free print of the artwork, however this is a long term project, so if you do send me a photo of your loved one, I will assume that consent is given for me to use the reference in the coming years as well.

Thanking in advance for any help that you can give. :)