Here is the commission I worked on last, a portrait of the singer Vicente Fernandez. I started this one 2-17-09, so far I have worked on and off for one week. The reference photo was good, small but clear enough to print and see details, I blurred all the trees in the background so that Mr. Fernandez is the main focus. I've been using a 3b mechanical, B, H, Powder graphite, blending stumps and plain tissue, drawn on smooth Bristol. The powder is mainly used for the background, I usually don't tape off the border but it's pretty messy so I decided to do it this time.

In the 4th update I have gone back over the face and worked more on the hat and also the background. Now I am working on the leather jacket, still need to draw in the stitching. I am enjoying the different textures in this piece very much.

Here is the finished portrait (3-3-09)....I worked on this one very slowly, each area I mainly used the 3b mechanical, H, and a small blending stump. There are a lot of different elements and textures in this portrait such as the background with it's play of light, that big black hat with it's subtle highlights, the skin tones of the face and hands, the leather jacket, and lets not forget the tree stump. I love when there are many things to draw in one piece, it tends to become an elaborate puzzle so to speak. I will upload a scanned image soon. Thanks for watching! :)

I worked on this 11 x 14 inch commission from 1-9 to 1-24. The hand was very challenging to draw and fun, I had to go back over each area several times to build up the tones. The flower design was a bit time consuming and yet fun to draw also. I used a 3b mechanical, B, H, blending stumps and plain tissue, drawn on smooth Bristol.

This was the last commission I worked on (12-20 to 12-31). The husband is gifting his wife with this portrait, the reference is a photo from there wedding day. Such happiness is seen in her face. I used a 3b mechanical, H, blending stumps and a new product called ArtGraf, drawn on 11 x 14 inch smooth Bristol.

Progress image and closeup:

Thanks for stopping in and if you have any questions please email me. ~Linda
imaginee_art@midtel.net