Sometimes I make a portrait that I’m really happy with. This is one of those times. I love this portrait of Claudio. I feel like I got just the right combination of light and dark in the watercolour and then just the right amount of pencil marks to enhance it and not overwork it. That doesn’t happy often but when it does it’s good.
I painted this in my Laloran sketchbook with Zecchi Toscana watercolours and finished it with Prismacolor coloured pencils.
This is Brooke, drawn in my A4 Moleskine sketchbook with Copic markers and coloured pencils.
This portrait of Sktchy muse Veera is my submission for this week’s Old School Sktchy challenge, the word for which is “masterpiece”. I didn’t really want to try to reproduce an Old Master and I’m not brave enough to attempt the style of a great painter but I loved Veera’s photo of herself standing in front of a projection of Van Gogh’s ‘Almond Blossoms’. So this seemed a good choice for my masterpiece.
I drew this portrait in my A4 Moleskine sketchbook with Copic markers and Prismacolor coloured pencils.
It’s hard to focus on drawing today while the future of the UK is being decided in Parliament but I’m doing my best. Diana has provided a good distraction. I drew her in my A4 Moleskine sketchbook with Copic multiliners, Copic markers and some Polychromos coloured pencils.
This is a commission that I received through Sktchy. Commissions are always a double-edged sword for me; there’s the thrill that someone wants to pay me to paint a portrait for them, but then there’s the pressure of having to live up to their expectations, to produce something “good”, worth what they are paying.
The way it works on Sktchy is that the artist receives a request to draw a particular photo, which you can then accept or decline. When I saw this photo my first instinct was to decline because the thought of painting a curly haired dog filled me with fear. But, of course, I didn’t, because I love a good challenge – and I’m so glad I didn’t. This dog is a beauty and painting it was such a pleasure. I had to work hard to figure out how to paint that curly hair but I worked it out and I’m so happy with the finished portrait.
I painted Joni’s dog in a Laloran sketchbook with Zecchi watercolours and finished it with Prismacolor coloured pencils.
Coco’s portrait is my entry for this week’s Old School Sktchy wax challenge on the theme “literature”, referencing the novel ” Memoirs of a Geisha” by Arthur Golden. It was a really difficult draw because the heavy face makeup means there are so few skintones to work with – and that’s where I focus most of my energy. So I had to concentrate more on the hair decoration, the clothing and the parasol, which aren’t really my strengths. So it was a good challenge for me.
I drew this in a Moleskine sketchbook with Copic markers and coloured pencils.
I’m working hard at a more minimal approach to watercolour, trying for a “less is more” result. I’m so happy with this portrait of Haley because this is close to what I want. There’s none of the horrible overworking I’ve been guilty of a lot recently. I feel like I’m getting better at gauging when to stop, though I think I could (should) have added a last layer of yellow tone here.
I painted this is my Laloran sketchbook with Zecchi Toscana watercolours and finished it with Prismacolor coloured pencils.
Playing with line over my watercolour in this portrait of Sktchy muse Wael and struggling to get my drawings finished in time this week as I find myself obsessing over British politics. But I tore myself away from Twitter and drew. I worked this in a Laloran sketchbook with Zecchi watercolours and Prismacolor coloured pencils.
Worked really hard at not overworking this one after a whole series of overworked watercolours. Very happy that I managed to keep the colour in this portrait of Sktchy muse Lana simple.
I worked this in a HannehmĂĽhle Nostalgie sketchbook with Zecchi watercolours and Polychromos coloured pencils.
This is my very beautiful friend Georgina, aka George. I first met George 3+ years ago when I was just beginning to draw faces. She has seen my portraiture develop on Instagram and a few weeks ago she messaged to ask if she could be one of my daily faces. I jumped at the chance of having a live model and we had a lovely time chatting while I sketched yesterday. I thought the portrait was a bit of a disaster when I started to add colour to it this morning but suddenly, after about an hour, George appeared on the page in front of me.
Drawing someone you know is always a little more anxiety-inducing than drawing a Sktchy face because capturing a likeness feels so much more important – so once I could see a likeness I was happy. I don’t need to have a perfect likeness but I do want to capture the essence of a person and I feel like I’ve done that here. There is something very “George” about this portrait.
I drew this on Bristol paper with an HB pencil, Copic multiliners and Copic markers and finished it with Prismacolor coloured pencils.
drawing faces 