My Dad...at 21

I spent the better part of my day at Trails End Market last Saturday working
on a portrait of my dad from a photo taken about 1956. The small snap shot
is the one my mother carried with her the whole 2 years he spent in N. Africa 'dong his bit'
 for Britain. I really enjoy doing portraits from old photos; there is something
 rewarding about making those little tiny, sometimes damaged pictures into
a larger, clearer portrait.

( I've attached a copy of the reference photo here for, well, for reference :)

a little colour for a change:)

This is graphite on white paper...the fur effect is done by applying the graphite to the paper in large sections and then erasing the graphite off, leaving white fur  effect behind. I used a little coloured pencil on the eyes,..this kitty had such lovely violet eyes it was a shame to only do them in black and white. I really enjoyed this 'reverse drawing' and adding just a touch of colour. It's about 10 x 7in.

Not Everything Goes Smoothly...:)

Already March!:) We here in southern Ontario practically count the days to spring, and sunny warm weather, even when the winter is as mild as this one has been! I have been in my studio drawing up a storm..... it is a great place to spend dull dreary February days.

I had in mind to do something for my husband, Ted who has been in the trucking business for over 30 years and has a passion for anything large on multiple wheels. I dug up a photo of one of his favourite trucks, a 2003 Peterbuilt sleeper cab and thought I would do a "technical" sketch for him to hang in his office. I was going along quite well and was pleased with the effort,  when I did an artists' no - no!  : never leave drawing work on the easel while messing about with paints.  I had taken a break from the eye-straining detail of the drawing to dabble a bit in watercolour and - alas - splashed blue watercolour paint on the drawing which I had left on my easel behind a "protective" (ha) paper. The paint had landed right on a highlight area.....couldn't have been on a black wheel well area.....ah no.....

Needless to say, I was a tad disappointed. At that point I was about 12 hours into the drawing. Now, for anyone who is not familiar with drawing paper you need to know it absorbs anything liquid you put on it, unlike paint papers where the paint sits on the surface. Not knowing what to do - how does one get paint pigment out of a graphite drawing? - I put it aside, seriously considering trashing it.

The next day, I posted it to my online artist group and asked for suggestions on how to repair it. The responses were very helpful and encouraging although no one had ever actually dealt with this specific issue, but, inspired, I decided to employ coloured pencil - white, grey and silver to try to cover up the blue.

Check out the finished picture! I am pleased with the repair and Ted is pleased with his drawing....just shows a little perseverance pays off!