boys

I just finished this commission last weekend. a friend of mine, Terri, has twin sons who are in the military, and has long desired a "prayer portrait" of her 3 boys. 

she wanted the drawing to be of her sons as adults, and also as children. so between the 2 of us we did  little brainstorming about the composition...

and this is what came of it:

(unfortunately, it's slightly bowed, the left side turning back a bit)

 

i was nervous, at first (well, i'm always nervous when starting a piece), just because i wasn't sure, even after doing the preliminary, what the final drawing would look like. but i'm more than happy with the result, and i learned SO MUCH while doing it (again, as i always do).

here are some detail pictures...

let me know what you think!

hey

brand-new finished commission pictures coming soon...stay tuned...

1 new drawing, 1 in process

ashlee

9x12, graphite

2009

rebekka (#2)

9x12, graphite

2009

finished!

"Five"

24x36
2009

"Five" detail photos...

real quick...

Pictures of the FINISHED DRAWING (see post below) coming soon!

for now, some profiles i did of fourteen 8th graders i helped teach over the past school year (the girl in the picture is in 7th grade)...

thanks for your patience. it's been a tough couple of months for a lot of reasons...one of them making me physically unable to draw for a while. but thankfully i'm getting back on track :)
~

3 (almost) down...

i finally have jude in. i know it's been a little while since the last update, and you may be saying to yourself "wow...not much to look at after 3 weeks..." but i have good reason...

first of all, keep in mind that the piece is life-sized, and i am constantly reworking little areas. (i spent a lot more time back in the hands, for example) also, i'm lucky to get more than a few hours a week to work on it (and that's scattered throughout many late nights) and, well, on this particular portrait, i ran into some problems.

jude (the middle boy)'s face holds the most subtle, soft, sweet, mischeveous expression...and i had to redraw it multiple times. finally, after i had erased it completely yet again, i realized i had only one last chance to draw it and get it right because the charcoal just wasn't lifting anymore. i stayed away from the drawing for a few days just to clear my mind of it.
i then attacked it again about a week ago...and i got it!! at least, i got it pretty close. it was such a relief...if i had screwed up one more time it would have ruined the drawing. (WHEWW)

can't wait to work on it more this weekend :)

the preliminary sketch...