portrait

I really love it when I get commissions to do personal pieces. For people who want to gift something to people they love. It makes me work all the harder to give them something everyone will enjoy, to liven up their wall and make them think fondly of each other.

However, at the same time I also really fear these commissions out of worry I won’t do the real person justice in my image. Yes, an artistic image does not necessarily mean it has to represent absolute likeness and I am aware of my artistic freedom, but you do worry that if they can’t see themselves in the image, or a bit of their soul, their personal essence, then have you failed?

It’s a bit of a tight rope to walk on. But usually the rewards are worth it.

This time I actually surprised myself with the ease of drawing, I had so much joy bringing the faces to life from a simpler pencil sketch to a full ink drawing with some light watercolour shading. I actually added some gold pen geometric details after, but somehow I totally missed taking a final picture! If I get a hold of it, I will post it back here.

Time spent: 4hrs ttl (incl sketching)

If anyone would like to request a commission similar to this, just contact me! I will also happily answer any questions.