Sylvia

I was commissioned to do this pastel portrait of my late friend Sylvia, the mother of my friends Jessica and Rachel, by Rachel. She was a special lady, and it was a neat experience drawing this. I didn't have an exact photo reference, so we had to improvise and I had to go on memory and gut a little more then I'm used to. 

I like that in the final product she looks happy. I think she is.

Initial sketch for the family's approval and feedback:

Final portrait:

Donation

This is the 2-tone charcoal sketch for the people that purchased it at Jenecee's auction in March. This was kind of a weird situation. To me saying that you buy "1 portrait" means ONE person. I tried to tell him this multiple times, but he would just ignore that I had ever said it. I finally gave up and went from the picture they wanted. Not my favorite piece ever, but hopefully they liked it. They got a killer deal.

pencil, flowers, tablet

So once again, things have been crazy and I haven't been posting as I should. But I've still been creating. I co-created a whole class reunion! But I don't have any pictures of that here. It wasn't very visual.

So here's some catchup:

A sketch of Frankie's Sunday nap on the couch at the beginning of the month:

Bridal bouquet and groom boutonniere for bridal pictures. The rest of the wedding is this weekend. Sadly, I don't get to make her bouquet again. It was a really fun one. (I may have stolen the second two pictures from the bride's facebook. She wanted to be my friend, she probably didn't know the risks.)

And lastly, I am helping my brother in law Nick illustrate a new game he has created.

The game is based in the future, in space. This is for a card that involves you transporting the circus on your ship in return for payment.

Sketch 1

Sketch 2 after looking up some visual sources. (Bad picture, I was being lazy.)

First session with my new tablet, my payment for helping Nick with the illustrations. 

It connects to my desktop, acts like another monitor, and I can draw/paint right on the surface with a stylus. 

It still makes me drool every time I take it out. 

Final product after finding some better sources and getting the hang of the tablet:

2011 Search and Rescue Portrait Charcoal Study

Charcoal Portrait sketch of Frankie

This is my beautiful son.

I'm kind of cheating this week, this is actually the example portrait I completed for my niece's cancer benefit auction, which was in December. But I figure on the weeks I end up slacking off, I can play catch up.