Images

Carrie Fisher

Carrie Fisher as General Leia

I’m participating in the Brooklyn Art Library’s 14 day portrait challenge, although it’s now Day 4 and this is the first day I’ve felt inspired to draw a portrait. Every day for 14 days they email a prompt for a portrait but the first three prompts didn’t excite me enough to make me want to draw the suggested portrait. But today’s prompt was to draw someone, living or dead, who I’d like to have a meal with.

And I came up with a very long list, but I would love, love, love to have a meal with Carrie Fisher. And not the young Carrie Fisher, but the older wiser Carrie Fisher. Because while I love the actor I adore the outspoken courageous sassy mental health campaigning Carrie Fisher most of all. That’s the woman I would love to sit down and share a meal with.

This is the third portrait of her I drew. The first two weren’t right. The likeness was fine but somehow they didn’t capture her. And suddenly I realised why. She needs to be among the stars – that’s where she belongs. So when I drew this third portrait I was imagining her as a constellation.

I drew this on my iPad Pro with the Procreate app.

Juliana

Juliana

I’ve been trying to access NHS talking therapy during the lockdown and it’s such hard work trying to navigate a system that makes no sense and I’m getting nowhere. The only other way I have of processing my emotions is to draw them out.

I drew Juliana in my Midori Cotton sketchbook with Copic markers and Prismacolor coloured pencils.

Julie

Julie

This is Julie. I think it’s the first portrait I’ve ever drawn on black paper. I saw the photo of the plague mask and it made me think of the UK as the plague country of Europe, with the highest number of coronavirus deaths. So it seemed only right to draw on black paper and I changed the scarf to a Union Jack. The black mood, lightened by my drawing marks, seems appropriate.

I drew this on black Strathmore artist zentangle paper with Polychromos and Prismacolor coloured pencils.

Christine’s husband

Today’s Sktchy portrait is of Christine’s husband. I don’t know his name; Christine posted his photo on Sktchy but didn’t add his name. I love his wistful expression. Last week I made a commitment to draw a portrait of an older person at least once a week in honour of all the older people dying in care homes in the UK in the coronavirus pandemic. This is this week’s portrait.

I drew this on my iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil using the Procreate app.

Laura

Laura

This is Laura, a wonderful Sktchy artist and my model for the day. I love her gaze in the Sktchy photo I used for this portrait and I’m really pleased with how well I managed to capture it. I’m beginning to feel like I’m developing a style with ballpoint pens that I like and can really work with. Drawing with them is starting to feel natural rather than like the battle it was just 5 or 6 portraits ago.

I drew Laura in a Moleskine sketchbook with a range of Bic 4-colour ballpoints.

Seyede

Seyede

I have a beautiful set of Japanesque watercolours in shades of black. I don’t use them very often but when I do they always perform beautifully and I tell myself I must use them more often. The Sktchy inspiration photo of Seyede that I used for this portrait cried out for me to use them and I’m so happy with the finished portrait. I used the blue black, red black and green black.

This portrait is the last one in my latest Moleskine watercolour sketchbook. you can see a flip through of the entire sketchbook on YouTube here.