JT Complete

Here's the finished version of my portrait of JT.  This is 11 x 14 graphite on Strathmore Bristol smooth paper.

I had a lot of fun with the shadows in this one.  To do the shadows, I took a 2B pencil and worked the dark areas.  I then to soft bathroom tissue paper and blended the dark area.  I then added another layer of 2B graphite and blended with a blending stump.

I also loved the intense focused stare he has in this piece which is really what I wanted to focus on.

Portrait of JT (work in progress)

Here's an update on my portrait of JT.  I am still working on tone and texture of the skin.  I'm blending using a blending stump, a cotton swab, and soft bathroom tissue paper.  For dark tones, I'm using a 2B pencil and for lighter tones, I'm using an H pencil.  For the highlighted hairs of his beard, I'm using a Tuff Stuff eraser stick/pen I cut at an angle to get a nice sharp edge to "draw" the highlighted hairs (negative drawing - taking away graphite instead of adding).  More to come soon!

Portrait of JT - Work in Progress

Here's a portrait I'm working on for practice.  Lately I've been wanting to draw deep shadows.  I really love a face in shadow and how the light plays off of the features.   I love the dramatic effect.

With this portrait, JT's face is mostly in shadow with just the left (screen's right) side of his face is in the light.   This is my interpretation of JT.

This is a work in progress.  The size is 11 x 14 graphite on Strathmore Bristol Smooth paper.  For pencils I'm using Prismacolor Torquoise drawing pencils 7H, 4H, H, 2B, and 4B.   I'm blending using bathroom tissue paper, a medium tortillion, and a cotton swab.

Update coming soon!

New Portrait WIP 2

Here's an update on my newest portrait. I'm working on building the tone and texture of the skin.  This is 11 x 14 graphite on Strathmore Bristol Smooth paper.  For pencils, I'm using Pentel P205 mechanical pencils with 4H, 2H, H, B, and 2B lead.  More to come soon!

New Portrait

Here's an update on my newest portrait.  I started this yesterday while at the Northeast PAC Arts and Crafts Show in Wakefield.    It turned into a demonstration.  As I started drawing, I noticed more and more people around me, next thing I know - I have a crowd....I was a rock star!!!

This is just the initial tone.  I will be adding more texture to the skin as I go along.   More to come soon!

Martin King Cavataio - Complete

Here's my finished portrait.  This is 11 x 14 graphite on Strathmore Bristol Smooth paper.  For pencils, I used a Pentel P205 mechanical pencil with a 2B lead.  I also used a 2H and a 4H lead for the lighter tone.  I blended using a medium tortillion and soft bathroom tissue paper. 

Here's one more update.  I've started Martin's other eye.  This is going to be real dark, I'm going to darkening the entire paper and will try to bring him out of the shadows so to speak.  I'm still using a Pentel P205 mechanical pencil with a 2B lead.  I'm also starting to add a 4H and a 2H lead for the lighter tones on the face.  I'm blending with a medium tortillion and soft tissue paper.  I am overlapping my light and dark tone then blend them together to try to achieve a nice smooth transition from dark to light.  More to come soon!

Martin King Cavataio (Work in Progress)

Here's another update to my portrait of Martin.  I have his hand complete, just need to make some minor tweaks here and there; but for the most part, the hand is done.   I added tone to his fingers by applying graphite by making tiny overlapping circles (circulism) then blending with a medium tortillion, also using a circular motion to achieve a smooth blend.  I then add another layer of graphite and blending some more.  I repeat the process until I achieve the darkest value possible by applying a slightly harder hand pressure each time.  

I'll be moving onto Martin's face as I focus on the shadows and try to manipulate the light.   I will save the background for last since that will be completely black.  

More to come soon!!!!

Portrait of Martin

Beginnings of a new portrait.  This is 11 x 14 graphite on Strathmore Bristol Smooth paper.  So far I'm using only a Pentel P205 mechanical pencil with a 2B lead.  I'm blending using a medium tortillion.

To begin, I print out my reference photo in gray scale.  I then create my line drawing which I call the ugly stage of my process.  The line drawing is drawn fairly quickly and doesn't really look like much at this point.   I also map out where I want the facial features as well as shadow and light.  Once I'm content with the line drawing, I can start to bring my subject to life on paper.

WIP 1

WIP 2

WIP 3

Portrait of Allison

Here's my finished portrait of Allison.  I've sprayed the drawing with fixative and now can package up and ship the drawing to her new owner (Allison herself)....I hope she likes it

Here's a work in progress scan of my newest portrait.  This is Allison, she's 11 x 14 graphite on Bristol Smooth paper.  I'm using Pentel P205 0.5mm mechanical pencil with a 2B lead only.  I'm blending with a medium tortillion and soft tissue paper.  For the highlighted strands of hair, I'm using a Papermate Tuff Stuff eraser stick which I've cut at an angle so that I get a nice sharp edge.  I then "draw" the individual highlighted strands of hair.  More to come soon!!!