Lima Family Portrait - Completed

Here's the final finished portrait. It's not my best work but the client was happy with it and understood that the reference photos weren't the greatest. She actually stopped by my house last night and picked it up. She also asked me for three 8 x 10 prints of the drawing. I learned a lot doing this portrait and as frustrating as it was, I really enjoyed doing it.

Now onto my next project.

Lima Family Portrait - Progress 6

Here's another update. I have daughter/sister # 2 just about done.

Lima Family Portrait - Progress 6

I'm still plugging away on this portrait. I've started on daughter/sister # 2. I also tried to darken the mother's hair which I still need to tweak to try to add body and make it more realistic looking.

"Classic Love" Won First Place

My portrait titled "Classic Love" won First Place tonight in the Annual Open Art Exhibit held at the First Congregational Church in Woburn. The exhibit was part of the Festival on the Common in Woburn Center.

I'm so happy and honored.

Lima Family Portrait - Progress 5

Here's a small update. I have the boy just about finished. I also made some adjustments to the mother.

Lima Family Portrait - Progress 4

Here's another update. I started adding in the boy (my friend's husband). I'm not sure I'm happy with this. I wish the woman/mother came out better. I know I can do better but I can't start over. I want to try to get this done so that it can be framed.

I'm still using a mechanical pencil with a .5 mm 2B lead. I'm also still blending with a tortillion.

Lima Family Portrait - Progress 3

Here's another update. I'm sorry about the darker image. I took a photo using my Sony Cybershot Digital camera and I'm not a very good photographer. I'm not sure why the paper came out dark, especially since I had three lamps on in my studio on.

I have sister/daughter # 1 just about finished. I am using a mechanical pencil with a .5 mm 2B lead and am continuing to blend with a small tortillion. I may go over the darks with a 4B then a 6B pencil to really push the darks.

Lima Family Portrait - Progress Update

Here's an update on my portrait. It's a slow process partly because I'm just not into this. The woman/mother in the portrait really took a lot out of me and shaken my confidence a little. I'm still plugging away and I'm starting to "feel" the passion come back. I hope it will start to show.

I am using a small tortillion to blend, it just feels natural for me. I've been practicing using circulism and Darrel Tank's technique for a tapered stroke but I always go back to tortillions because it just seems right for me.

I think I'm done with the mother and I've started one of the daughters.

Lima Family Portrait - Progress 1 (again)

I finally think I have an accurate line drawing which I'm going to continue on with. I've gone in and reshaped the woman's/mother's face. I think I have it shaped correctly. I did this line drawing using a 0.5mm Berol Mechanical Pencil with an HB lead. The paper is Kilroy 932 Sulphite Bond Drawing Paper - Mechanical Translucency by the Charrette (Pitman Corporation).

Now that I have my line drawing done, I'm going to now move it to my actual drawing surface which will be 14 x 17 Strathmore Bristol Smooth paper. The pencils I'll be using will be Prismacolor Torquoise drawing pencils. My goal is to have this done by Saturday, November 27th. Once I have the line drawing on my drawing surface, I'll start adding tone, texture, and depth hopefully bringing the drawing to life and making it look better than the actual photograph. Another update will be posted soon!

I'm still working on my portrait titled "The Lima Family". I've been having a lot of trouble with it I think because I think I've been expecting too much. I'm going back to my roots on this portrait. I'v figured out that I can't draw like anyone else - I can only draw like me. I've tried the circulism technique like Armin Mersmann and I've tried the cross hatching technique like Darrel Tank. Neither of which feel natural to me. It's funny, I think this is what Armin Mersmann has been trying to teach is viewers all along. I also think this is why I'm having such a hard time with this portrait. I need to put myself in the drawing and no one else.

I'm learning a lot about drawing and seeing my mistakes but mostly, I'm learning about who I am and where I want to go as an artist. I love drawing and bringing people to life on paper. I think this portrait is helping me to find "me". I've made some adjustments to the line drawing to make it more accurate and will be posting later today then I'll be adding tone. I'm done feeling bad about this portrait because I couldn't get to where I thought I wanted it to be. Now, the real drawing begins!

Lima Family Portrait - Progress 3

Well, I ended up re-doing this portrait again. Good grief, I'm having such a hard time with this one. I think it's because the reference photos aren't that good. The details are lost and the defects of the photographs really come out when I scan and enlarge the images. I think I have started this portrait over like 10 times by now and have invested about 30 hours into it but I have nothing completed.

I think I finally have a good likeness of the mother/wife. I think I'm happy with it so far so I'm going to continue on.

Here's the reference photos that I'm using. For the mother, I'm using the face and hair from one photo and the clothing from another.

And here's a WIP image of my drawing. It's not a very good image, because of the size of the portrait I needed to take a photo using my digital camera which I'm still trying to figure out how to use. I then used Photoshop to try to improve the quality but I'm still learning how to use Photoshop too. So this is the best I could do.

Lima Family Progress 2

Well, I've been plugging away on this portrait. I've re-started this portrait like 5 times now. I finally have it to a point where I'm "OK" with it. I like it enough to continue on (I have to now that Halloween is where - Christmas is right around the corner).

I'm using lighter tones and have the facial features mapped out and in proportion to the face I think.

So far the leads I'm using are HB, 2B, and 5H. On the left side of her cheek (screen's right) I want to curve out the cheek a tiny bit to give her more of a smile. Another update coming soon!

Lima Family Progress 1 - Take Two

I'm sorry this image is very bad. I took this with my digital camera which I'm still trying to figure out how to use. The paper is actually white. For some reason, all of my photographs of my drawings come out like this. I think it's the lighting. I think I'm going to start taking my work outside and then take the photograph. Oh well.....

Here's the line drawing for my newest portrait which is going to be a Christmas gift for the mother in law of a family friend.

The drawing itself is 14 x 17 (the largest piece I've done so far). I'm using 3 different photographs for the reference. I'm combining the 3 photos into this one portrait.

I'm using Strathmore Bristol Smooth paper. The line drawing was done with a 0.5mm Berol Mechanical Pencil with a 2B lead. I'll be using Prismacolor Torquoise Drawing Pencils.

Now that my line drawing is complete, I can now start adding texture and tone. Hopefully I can start bringing this portrait to life.

I'll be posting an update soon.

Green Eyes - Progress 7

Going back to my colored pencil portrait. I've introduced Light Peach, Beige, and Pink Rose to the skin tone. I'm still building up the nose, I have to add more tone to build it up to make it more realistic.

Green Eyes - Progress 6

Here's another update. I used Cream, Deco Pink, and Peach for the skin tone. I think I'm going to add another layer of each color to smooth out the skin. I want to make the light and dark tones transition smoothly to make it look more natural.

New Commission

I just got a commission request to do a 5 subject portrait which will be a Christmas gift. I'll be focusing on this commissioned piece for the next few weeks so I can't dedicate as much time to my colored pencil portrait.

I will be working on both pieces at the same time but most of my focus will be on the commissioned piece because of the deadline. Delivery date is November 27th, right after Thanksgiving. This gives me about 3 months to complete.

The client asked for the portrait to be done in graphite. I've started my line drawing. I completed the line drawing for one subject. Once I have the line drawing completed for all 5 subjects, I'll be posting it which should be in a few days.

Green Eyes - Progress 5

Here's a small update for tonight. I added a little bit of the hair and I added another layer of Light Peach and Peach for the skin.

For the hair I'm using Sand, Sienna Brown, Dark Brown, Goldenrod, and a little bit of Black. I'm still playing with my pallette. I'm not sure what colors to use but I'm just having fun mixing and seeing what I come up with. I'll be posting another update soon.

Green Eyes - Progress 4

Here's another update. I'm still working on adding more layers to the skin. I'm hoping to smooth out the tone and make it look more natural and realistic. I also started adding freckles.

So far I'm using Light Peach, Peach, Burnt Ochre, and Dark Brown.

Green Eyes - Progress 3

I'm working on the second eye and starting to add skin tone. I'm using Light Peach, Peach, and Burnt Ochre. I'll be adding more layers as I go along hopefully to smooth out the tone and make it more realistic.

Green Eyes - Progress 2

Here's a small update. I'm a little nervous with the skin tone and thought about going back to graphite. But I'm not, I'm sticking with it. I also realized that I have to use a lighter graphite pencil when drawing the line drawing. I may actually use a Peach color Colored Pencil to the line drawing on my next portrait.

For eye itself, I used Dark Green, Lime Peel, and Olive Green. For the skin tone, I used Light Peach, Peach, Light Umber, and Sienna Brown. I'm going to be building my layers slowly. I'm not sure if I'll be burnishing or not. I'm using a circulism technique. More to come soon....

Green Eyes - Progress 1

Here is my completed line drawing of "Green Eyes". I call my line drawing the ugly stage of my portraits because the lines are loosely sketched and drawn quickly. The lines are used for placement purposes only. I map out where I want the eyes, the nose, the mouth. Once I have the line drawing at a point I like, I start planning my details.

"Green Eyes"

I've started a new portrait last night. The title of my newest piece is "Green Eyes". This is going to be my first real attempt at a colored pencil portrait and my first drawing that will have a background.

The size is going to be 11 x 14 on Strathmore Bristol Smooth paper. I'll be using Prismacolor Colored Pencils. I'm still working on the line drawing which I'll be posting an image of I hope tonight.

I'm a little intimated by colored pencils. I've dabbled with colored pencils before but always ended up going back to graphite. I feel that I'm growing as an artist and it's time I face my fear and stick with it.....

Portrait of Sharon

It's been awhile since I posted an update on my blog. This is something that I hope to do regularly going forward. I thought I'd post my latest drawing.

Here's a portrait of a good friend and artist. This is a portrait of Sharon Gonzalez as a young girl. She is truly an inspiration to me as an artist and as a person. Her love of life and art has touched me in a way that I feel has made me a better person. Her photographs and paintings capture all that is beautiful in this world and I hoped to capture the beauty of her.

The Incredible Artwork of Armin Mersmann

Here is a video displaying some of the artwork of a Modern Master Graphite Artist, Armin Mersmann. Armin's attention to detail and his discipline is something I hope to learn and achieve. Armin is also one of the artists that I try to learn from. He is my inspiration. Not only is Armin a great artist, he's a great man as well. To see these works and many many others, please visit Armin's web site at http://www.arminmersmann.com Enjoy the video of this amazing and talented artist....I sure did!