WWII Charcoal Portrait

This piece was a struggle because of the low resolution, damaged, then scanned, reference photograph. But I used a little Photoshop magic to burn in the face so I could see some details; then I just drew it the best I could. And even though it is still somewhat blurry looking, I like it! It keeps the feel of an old photograph because of the smudgy details. And the charcoal texture adds even more to the old timey-ness. 

This is my first time drawing an airplane cockpit, and I'm pretty frickin proud of myself. It actually looks like a plane! Cheers :)

After dark

I finished this painting a couple months ago, but have struggled to take an accurate photograph of it due to the color scheme. Cameras are not a fan of black next to bright oranges, yellows and reds apparently... So this is the best I've got so far! I guess this is when seeing the painting in real life is the best thing :)

Click the "Gallery" tab to see more details about the painting. Cheers.

Monty Commission

Below is the finished commission piece of Monty.

This commission was especially fun because I took the photograph, so I was able to do exactly what I wanted in terms of lighting and angle. Because Monty is such a bright white I was worried that the photo would be either blown out, or lack contrast. So I had him sit half in the sunlight, and half in the shade. Although Monty was not very happy about it! Haha.

In the end, I think the painting turned out beautiful! And Monty looks very regal :)

Check out my other commissions...

http://devonartgallery.blogspot.com/p/murals.html

LGBT Weekly

Some photos from my show at the Art of Pride Office were printed in the LGBT Weekly magazine. And in sweet color!

Retro Wedding Portrait... in charcoal!

Did this charcoal commission over winter break. I included the original photograph underneath.

Double Charcoal Portrait

Another charcoal commission completed!

It took way longer than I thought it would. I struggled with the section where her black hair is next to his blonde hair. Blonde hair and blue eyes can be difficult to portray when using a black and white medium such as charcoal. Also, I manipulated the original photograph to make the two subjects more centered, which caused some difficulty in the shadows between their two faces.

Below the drawing is the original photograph.

Finished Commission

Here is my completed commissioned oil painting. I'm really happy with the finished product!

I worked directly from a photograph, except for some minor changes that I made to the background. The colors in the photograph were already so beautiful, as was the light. So I was excited to paint this to begin with. It's not that often that a commission uses a reference that is so lovely to start out with. This painting is listed under "Paintings" in the Art Index. The size and medium are included there.

I've included the original photograph underneath the painting.