Portrait

So I've just finished a portrait that someone on facebook asked me to do. Have given it a good go and am reasonably happy with the face but found the hand really difficult.

The guys hand was kinda supporting his head but at the same time slightly turned. I think I redrew it 3 times before I was anywhere close to being happy. More hand drawing practice for me!

As this piece was for someone else I'll not put it on my blog until I've asked permission

Hands

Look at the hand! Look at the hand!

The portraits not perfect  but I'm quite pleased with the hand which I can proudly say looks quite hand like!  That's opposed to the mangled messes which normally result in me drawing hands!

I'm not saying it's perfect (I know its not) but I could pick apart a picture until I can longer see the good bits. I'm not going to do that any more than I already have. :-)

 Look at the hand!

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Growth

I always enjoy doing these sort of pieces and lose myself whilst doing them.  I used pencils and a rubber to clean up.

I just let the composition grow. I wanted to create the appearance of depth so layered up parts, which I think works well.

Whilst drawing this I got the idea for next piece which has more personal meaning I'll upload that tomorrow.

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Progress

This took me ages to get going on. I found it difficult to think of an initial idea. Eventually I opted for a growth and change sort of theme. I just used pencils for this.

pencil sketch

One of my older works. I used pencil and graphite sticks;  the picture was I think I found using google images.


Overall, I was pleased with this piece. Not bad for a first try at drawing a nude figure. I was especially pleased with the veins on the left arm and generally with the shading. I think maybe the left hand could have done with extra work and some of the shadow work isn't quite right.


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Discovery

This is a piece called "Discovery";  named after and Tinie Tempah's album. This is part of the challenge/project I have set for myself where I produce 30 pieces based on album titles.


I being quite a while since I've last drawn an animal I thought I'd draw a cat discovering something. On the whole I'm quite pleased with the sketch though I do think the eyes are a little close together.

Older Artwork

These are some of my older pieces; there are more that I will upload and share gradually. These were drawn using photographs from the BBC wildlife magazine which has amazing animal photography in it.

"The Meerkats" is a an important piece for me because it was the first picture I drew that made me feel like I had some talent that could be fostered. It was also drawn on a day that proved to be a turning point in my life. It was on that day, I discovered that no matter how much was going on around me I couldn't control; there was a place I could disappear into to escape. Art became my sanctuary and helped me heal.

"The Badger" I drew from a tiny photo that was not much larger than a passport sized photo. I was really pleased with how it turned out.

Sigh No More

This is a piece called "Sigh No More";  named after and Mumford and sons album. This is part of the challenge/project I have set for myself where I produce 30 pieces based on album titles.




I saw this title as a final sigh, it brought the idea of death to mind. Bright colours were used to represent  the soul leaving the body.


I combined pencil sketching and graphite sticks with pastel work to achieve the effect I wanted and am quite pleased with the result. The lips were tricky, there was a sheen that I found difficult to reproduce.... bit more practice needed

The Lady Killer

This is a piece called "The Lady Killer";  named after and inspired by Cee Lo's album. This is part of the challenge/project I have set for myself where I produce 30 pieces based on album titles.


With this piece I was attempting to portray a Lady who kills rather than someone who kills Ladies. I used pencil and graphite sticks with a little red pastel for the eye. I used a painting of Elizabeth Bathory who was a 16th century serial killer and placed the knife infront.


I like some elements of this composition but don't think, now, that I needed the knife (which I also found difficult to draw). I'm not happy with the sharpness of the nose or the lack of shading on the forehead.


I may re-attempt this at some point in the future.