Pencil People

Following on from last week’s pencil drawing I thought I’d show you a couple more. I've always liked to work in graphite as much as I do pastels –  I also prefer black and white photographs, especially of people. Does that make me a tonalist? But I love colour, and would rarely dress myself in black and white. A recent impulsive purchase of an over-priced lichen green camera bag demonstrates that I am attracted to colour – or is it the light that grabs me? Anyway, what I was getting round to is that I find human portraits using colour a great challenge, give me a pencil and the end result is more satisfying. I have a lovely little book my husband bought me, “The Craft of the Lead Pencil” by Mervyn Peake. When I get frustrated with my efforts I have a read of that and resharpen my pencils.

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What's in a commission

I normally have a commission for a pet portrait on the go, and so my diary has quite a few images of me at the easel. There can be a lot more that goes into a commission before handing over the final painting. It’s essential to have a range of good photos for reference and sometimes I am asked to take the photos myself. A recent experience proved to me that I needed a faster camera to catch an equally fast and bouncy dog (plus a change of clothes!). Before I get down to the pastel drawing itself, I make a series of sketches to get a feel for the subject and the best pose or composition for the picture, especially if I’m doing the whole body. The reward for me is seeing the client’s face when the portrait is unveiled – I’m always a bit anxious beforehand but elated afterwards, and proud to add another image and positive comment to my testimonials (see page under commissions tab).

   

     

Springtime

Earlier in the month I was feeling cold but admiring the snowdrops and the promise of spring. Now it is so warm that it feels like it is already here. The pond is alive with romantic frogs and the  jonquils are nodding alongside the snowdrops. To complete the springtime scene, there are now lots of wobbly-legged lambs in the field next door – so definitely a sketchbook day tomorrow. I am considering making some giclee prints from the graphite picture below which will be available from the Gallery later in the year.