Portraits

Depending on which photo you choose for your portrait the look and feel can be quite different. I am always happy to offer guidance if you are having difficulty in deciding which photos to submit, but there is really no right answer as to what sort of pose that will make the best type of portrait. For example you may prefer to go for a smiling photo with the subject looking straight ahead, or you might just prefer a three-quarter view looking off in the distance to convey a more contemplative appearance. You might prefer a more formal look, or you might choose a picture where you have captured the subject in a more relaxed manner. It really depends which photo best represents the subject, my advice would be to try taking a variety of photo's and then see which one best depicts the individual.

Pose/Orientation:

I create all my drawings directly from your photographs. Unlike other artists that require an extensive series of sittings. I work entirely from photos, which the customer can mail, or email over to me. If you prefer to send photos by mail to me, first make sure you have copies, original negatives, or digital copies, and remember all photos will be returned with your original portrait. There is a very small chance that photos sent via regular mail might get lost in the mail. There have also been times when photos do not arrive via email properly, or have a filesize that is either too small or too large. If this should happen I will contact you about mailing them.

I offer a friendly and professional service, and I believe the key to a beautiful portrait is good communication with my customers. When you commission your portrait I will speak to you by phone or email to discuss your options. I truly want you to be completely satisfied with the end result. I supply portraits unframed, however I am always happy to offer advice on what kind of frame will complement your portrait. I usually recommend taking your portrait to a local framer who will have good experience of which colors and styles will suit your portrait needs and the sort of decor that you have in your home.

What Sort of Photos I Need:

Pictures taken on phone cameras or even with an iphone are normally not the best candidates, because of the small wide angle lenses built into most smart phones, so if you do not have any taken on a good SLR digital camera or film I will probably suggest or ask if you could arrange a little photo shoot and take some new ones. The best photos are taken in natural light (daylight) especially outdoors and they need to be close-up. Remember your photo is standing in for the subject actually sitting in front of me. I need to see a lot of details. Photos that have dark backgrounds, with dark clothing and hair, are impossible to do. Remember if I can not see the details of the photo, I can not complete them to your satisfaction. I am also happy to have a chat with you. Please feel free to get in touch with me.

Artist Insight:

I think the secret to a good pencil portrait is a light touch. I try to keep the shading on the face, as delicate as possible, to preserve the impression of the natural luminosity of the skin. This is important for drawing children's portraits, to convey their very delicate and clear complexions. When drawing faces a technique with minimal smoothing allows the brightness of the paper to shine through the pencil. I like to concentrate most of the detail around the face, hair and neck, becoming less detailed around the upper arms and chest so as not to draw the focus away from the character of the subject. My second bit of advice is that you do not want a person's head to be drawn larger than it actually is in reality. For a full-body portrait with one or more subjects within one drawing then you will need a larger size portrait.

Pricing:

On the pricing page you will find a full cost list of different sized portraits.