Nervous as hell.....

Nervous now, got a couple of commissions to do. One pair of child portraits and one single child portrait, just waiting of the reference photos to turn up.

This is the first time I've been offered commissions and I've accepted both. ....If there's anyone up there watching out for over-ambitious portrait artists then keep your fingers crossed for me......

Self Portrait 2

After having fun doing my 'Seal' portrait I thought I'd have a go at something a bit more disciplined, rather liked the 'Proximo' drawing I did last week so had a crack at doing myself in charcoal. Pushed the contrast right up in this as I like to do, along with my drawing style this has aged me rather but I'm pretty pleased with it as a drawing exercise. Took about two and a half hours.

Ref Photos:

Drawing:

Seal

Portrait of the singer 'Seal', soft pastels on black velour.

Last night I started 2 pictures and both came to nothing which was a bit dis-heartening but I'm pretty pleased with this one I did this evening.

Bro2

My Younger brother Sam on a very windy day, actually the same day as the ref for the painting 'Wind' so it sort of goes with that one. Soft pastels on 24 X 30 yellow pastelmat.

Proximo

Proximo, a grumpy old bastard from the movie Gladiator, wonderfully played by the late Oliver Reed.
15 min charcoal sketch, this was going to be another pastel portrait but I quite liked it just as a sketch so left it at that. Sometimes things just work (wish it was always that easy).

"Ultimately we're all dead men, sadly we connot choose when or how...but we can choose how we meet that end....so we are remembered as men"

Dad

My father Richard Cockwell, soft pastels on 30 X 40 orange pastelmat. This is based on a rather poor quality photo of an old photo (it's a good original, just a bit faded and behind glass). Interesting to work from a reference like this, up till now I've used high resolution reference shots, surprising how little you actually need from it when you're painting a subject you know well.

Reference photo:

Finished painting, quite pleased with this.

With the exception of my 'toddler' portrait I have not really done much more than headshots up till now, doesn't look like much but incorporating a hand in the portrait was quite a step for me, I was considering leaving it out but I felt it was essential to the image.

Bro1

Finished this yesterday, my elder brother Adam sitting out at a picnic last summer (must have been one of the better days).  Soft pastels and pastel pencil on 24 X 30 beige pastelmat.

I'm entirely satisfied with this which concerns me a bit, not sure that complacency about ones work is very useful.

Busy day

Started three pictures today, a portrait of my brother Adam in soft pastels, still from the movie LA Confidential in soft pastels and a drawing of our other dog Jill in coloured pencils.
Finished Jill this evening along with another painting I'd started last week....Phew!


This is the painting I finished this evening, Giant petrels (local name: Stinkers) fighting over carrion in the water, soft pastels on 30X40 pastelmat. Not particularly pleased with this, it did what I wanted it to, just not that happy with the look of the birds...more practice.

Our black, short haired border collie Jill. This is her 'glum' look (just been shut into the pack of the pickup with Boom, she loves being out but hates travelling, especially with that barking oaf). Polychronos coloured pencils & black sketching pencil on A4 cartridge paper.