Daffodil Sketches - Pen and Ink

I had a chance to sketch some beautiful yellow daffodils that I bought from the store. These are done in pen and ink on Strathmore drawing paper. I haven't had time yet to add color - perhaps soon! I just loved seeing these in various stages of opening up. I practically itch to draw as spring comes around. So many flowers, buds, branches, and leaves - so little time! Getting a head start with some store-bought flowers will help prepare for when the flower beds and trees start blooming. Fingers-crossed that it will be soon! :)

House portrait - pen and ink. Finished!

I just completed another pen and ink house portrait commission. It is a beautiful home that really worked well for this format/style of drawing. This one is approximately 10 x 8 inches and done on smooth Bristol paper using a 3x0 (.25) Rapidograph technical pen.  

There were lots of fun details on this home including the wrought iron stair railing, front yard light post, stone work at the foundation and beautiful plants and foliage which help to soften the overall drawing and give it some warmth and dimension. I hope you enjoy this one!

Blog Giveaway! A set of my notecards...

My friend Anna Mae is sponsoring her first blog giveaway this week and she's giving away a set of 10 of my note cards!

Check out the details for entry on her blog:  

Ann Arbor Area Events & Activities for Preschoolers.

You have until February 25th and have up to 5 ways to win. Go ahead - take a look and enter today!

House Portrait - in progress (final pencil draft)

I think I have finalized the pencil draft of this house portrait. I added the landscaping in the front and actually had to tweak the perspective a bit as the line from the back of the house to the front flower bed was a bit off as I worked. I also finished penciling in the siding - it looks a little rough here, but when I do the final inking I will be using a straightedge for some of it to make sure it stays on track. I did some additional adjustments with the front steps, sidewalk, and also added some foliage to the side beds, working closely with the client.

I should be ready to start inking now. Stay tuned for the final artwork!

House Portrait - in progress (pencil draft)

I have been working on an 8 x 10 house portrait this week. I thought it would be interesting to post some in-progress scans so you can see how the process works. I always try to get as much detail down in pencil before I do any inking. It's much easier to correct pencil, of course, and so the longest part of the process is getting the pencil just right.

What you see above is the first pencil draft I scanned. Here I am still working on the siding and adding details in the landscaping as well as some details on the home. It is starting to come together nicely, but still needs to be finalized. 

Stop back to see an update on the pencil scan as I finalize it. Then onto the inking!

Car Commission (ink and colored pencil) - Completed!

I've been busy working on a commission over the last couple of months, and I just completed it. It's a birthday present and represents the hobbies and interests of the recipient. The main features are two cars that the recipient has raced in the past and also two of his other hobbies. The drawing was done in pen and ink and colored pencil on Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 lb hot press watercolor paper. The paper size was 12 X 18 inches and the drawing filled up most of that space.

It was a different sort of drawing for me to do and so it was fun to explore how to render the cars, include graphics for the hobbies and add color to the whole thing.

Now, onto a pen and ink house portrait - stay tuned!