Off Skiing

Off Skiing, Soft Pastels on Sennelier Pastel Card
Size 11 x 15 inches
Artist's Collection

For this, I used a reference photograph of my son I took in the studio a couple of weeks ago. He'd just returned from a skiing holiday, so the hat and scarf seemed apt. I love the way the turquoise of the hat brought out a similar colour in his eyes.

I don't normally crop for my head portraits, but this really called for it - Those shapes would have been so much less interesting if they'd been allowed to remain whole.

I am really happy with the palette I chose - the deep red, turquoise and yellow ochre. And although I used a lot of greys on the skin, I think the variety of other colours keep it fresh and I believe the whole thing fits.

I hope to create more of this style in the very near future.

Waiting

Drawing eyes can be a challenge but hugely rewarding.

Waiting, Pastel Pencil on Strathmore Paper
Size 40cm x 30cm (mount size 50cm x 40cm)
£250 / $350

The iris is a disc inside a reflective, transparent sphere. In eyes with little pigment, such as blue eyes, the obvious thing to concentrate on is the patterns in the iris. There are many techniques I use in this case, but it's important to remember not to follow a set procedure as each eye is different. Even so, we can make some stunning drawings where, even with a sanguine pencil on grey paper, the eyes can be made to 'glow'.

Dark eyes are different. Sometimes the irises are so dark they are indistinguishable from the pupils - as with this little girl. The eyes are so huge that I really had to make a feature of them - they are the first thing we see in the girl's face, the photograph and inevitably the drawing. So, what to do when there is nothing to see within the eye - as far as I could see the irises are featureless? What we can see however, which is often overlooked in lighter eyes, are the reflections. Young children's eyes sparkle and these huge marbles reflected so much light I could almost see exactly what the girl sees - the sky, the sun, the landscape.

Max

As mentioned yesterday - I just love to catch that shine in the hair that describes the shape of the head. I tried to capture this here, along with a little of the texture in Max's cropped hair.

Max, Pastel Pencil on Strathmore Paper
Size 40cm x 30cm (mount size 50cm x 40cm)
Available to buy as a canvas print and a greeting card.

When shooting for this portrait we experimented with various poses and lighting. The photo I chose to draw captures this twelve year old boy, who is generally nothing but sweet and lovely, with a look of insolence - possibly a glimpse of the future. The tagline I used on my website perhaps says it best: 'Twelve Year Old Boy - That Elusive Moment Between Innocence and Insolence'.