Genie Art

New Forest Pony

With most of my drawings being completed in black and grey, I decided that I wanted to use colour pencils so that it would provide a different finish to my projects. I carried out a lot of research when it came to deciding the brand of pencils that I wanted to use. After much deliberation, I decided to purchase a set of polychromos pencils as they had some great reviews. I also found a website that would allow me to buy individual colour pencils to complete my set as and when I required them. The next thing to consider was what did I want to draw next, and what type of paper would work best?

I had recently been out for a walk in the New Forest; I’m lucky enough to have it really close to where I live. We managed to take some really great photos of the New Forest ponies without disturbing them. I decided on a photo that I wanted to use for reference and then chose pastel paper to complete the drawing. This is the finished result:

Whilst I was happy with the feel of the pencil, the paper that I had chosen wasn’t particularly suitable for what I wanted; it was far too textured. I think that had I chosen something with a smoother surface, the quality of the picture would have been totally different and would have looked a lot better. During the process of completing the picture, I found that it was getting away from me a bit. The quality of the paper didn’t allow me to draw it in the standard that I was happy with. I’m happy with the proportion of the pony, but I think that I will draw it again in the future using Strathmore Bristol vellum. It will be interesting to compare the two side-by-side to see how different they look. When it comes to drawing and experimenting with different media, it’s always a learning curve.

Werewolf

When I’m drawing, I like to vary my topic, so that I can practice drawing different subjects. If I am in between working on projects for other people, I like to draw pictures for my family. This next piece was at the request of my husband, who is a huge fan of the film “American Werewolf in London”, and I must admit, I love the film too. After going through various stills of the film, it was decided that the picture that he wanted to me to draw was when the main character, David, was changing into a werewolf for the very first time. This picture captures his transition:

The picture took a week to complete and was drawn on Strathmore Bristol vellum using Derwent Graphite 2H, HB, 2B and 6B pencils. The fur was a particular challenge to complete, but I really enjoyed doing it, and I must admit, out of all of the pictures I have drawn in the past year, this is one of my favourites. It was quite a technical piece of work and I am really pleased with the standard in which I have drawn it. My husband is also really pleased with it, and is currently looking for a frame so that he can hang it on the wall.

Football

My son is a huge fan of Manchester City, so he asked me to draw a picture of his favourite footballer; Sergio Aguero. After searching the internet for a decent reference photo, I began preparing the page on my sketchbook using the grid technique. After carefully sketching the outline, I began shading. The whole process took me just over a week to complete, and here is the finished drawing:

I had some difficulties with the eyes, and altered that area of the face quite a few times, especially the left eye (as you look at the picture). I had to try and position the eyes so that it appeared that he was looking out into the distance. I completed the drawing using 2H, 2B and 3B graphite pencil on standard sketchbook paper. Despite the difficulties in completing parts of the face, I am pleased with how this drawing turned out.

Third Portrait

After the last portrait, I decided that I wanted to attempt another one; this time I wanted to have another go at doing another self-portrait as I was feeling more confident in my abilities compared to the last time. I chose a recent photo of myself as I wanted more practice doing hair compared to the last photo I chose to draw. This is the finished piece:

I’m quite pleased with how this has turned out. The hair was a bit of a challenge, as I was trying to show that I’ve got curly hair. There is definite room for improvement in that area. Another area that needs more work is the mouth; the shape isn’t too bad, but I think there is a slight issue with the lower lip. I used mechanical 2B and 2H pencils again to complete the shading, and the original composition was drawn using the grid technique. I think this is a vast improvement on the original self-portrait that I drew in the summer of 2020. The next challenge, in a few months, will be to draw another self-portrait, but this time I will complete it in colour using polychromos pencils. It’ll be interesting to see how all three portraits compare.

Second Portrait

I decided that I wanted to have another attempt at drawing a portrait, so this time I decided to draw my husband. I found a photo for reference, and began the grid method; one on the photo and the other on the page of my sketchbook. This was my first drawing of 2021 and my first in two months. The portrait took about two weeks for me to complete. Here is the finished drawing:

I completed the portrait using 2H and 2B mechanical pencils. I think that I could have shaded in the hair a lot better had I been using a wider range of pencil; I will use my Derwent range of pencils for my next drawing. I’m pleased with how this portrait has turned out, as I think that I have managed a likeness to the original photo.

If you like what you have seen so far of my drawings, I have now set up a new website where you can view my work. The web address is: https://www.debbielouart.co.uk.

Green Lady

For my next project, which I completed on the 22nd November 2020, I wanted to draw something using colour pencils. The majority of my previous projects have been in black and grey, and so I wanted to do something different that would also ensure that I practiced in a slightly different media. I was sent a reference picture of the Green Lady to draw. It was quite a difficult drawing to do, and was one that I had to keep going back to, in between other projects, as I was having problems getting the perspective right; I almost gave up on it completely as I really didn’t think the drawing was going anywhere. This is the finished picture:

I’m so glad that I didn’t give up as I’m pleased with the end result. I’m sure there are many improvements to be had with this picture; the colour pencils I used were quite basic, and it would be interesting to see what it would look like if I had completed it in polychromos pencils, which I now have access to, as well as completing it on better quality paper, for example, Strathmore Bristol vellum. Whilst the drawing, itself, was quite a challenge, a found the colouring part quite relaxing.

Portraits

When I was young, my go-to for drawing was portraits, I even submitted a portrait as part of my art exam at school, but for some reason, after leaving school, I stopped drawing altogether. It was thirty-one years later, when I picked up a pencil again, and decided to draw regularly again. Five months into my return to drawing, I thought it was time to attempt portrait drawing again. I drew a self-portrait last year, but that was purely for practice.

One evening, my son and I was watching football on television, and he was just sat there really concentrating on the game. I know that a lot of portraits are completed when the person is sat facing the artist, but I wanted to catch him in a fully relaxed pose. This is the finished piece:

For my first portrait (other than myself) in so many years, I’m really pleased with how this looks, not only because I think I got the proportions right, but I also successfully drew in a background to make it look more complete. Hair isn’t usually a strong point for me, but I think this is an improvement on previous pieces I’ve completed. I know that there is much room for improvement, and the more I practice, the better it will be. The picture was completed using 2H and 2B mechanical pencils, but I think it would look more effective using other tones of pencil, or maybe colour pencil.

Holding Hands

This piece of art was one that I finished on the 25th October last year. I’d been thinking about drawing another part of the human anatomy, and this time decided that I wanted to feature hands as I think, depending on the pose, it can evoke a lot of feeling and emotion. I wanted to draw a piece featuring holding hands, so I asked our son to take various pictures of my husband and I holding hands. I then went through the various photos waiting to find “the one” that I could feel a connection to. The photo that I chose was a picture of us holding hands, and includes the forearms; I didn’t think that it needed any more than that in final drawing. Here is the completed artwork:

I love the way this has turned out as I think the image shows affection and intimacy; hands are very expressive in that way. This was quite a straightforward drawing to do, and once I had got the position correct, was able to proceed with the shading. My husband liked it so much he got the picture framed, and it is now hanging on the wall in the lounge.

Golden Eagle

It’s been a few months since I last shared a picture on this blog. Whilst I have continued to draw, I’ve not found the time to write a blog due to working on my degree, as well as carrying out genealogy research for my genealogy business.

I was given the idea to draw an eagle by a friend; I had found a picture, for reference, that I wanted to draw, but I didn’t have the confidence or the belief that I could do it. I finally took the plunge and began. The first thing I did was to draw a grid, as I wanted to get the proportions right, I then marked out some of the feathers as a guide. This is the finished piece:

This picture took the best part of a month to complete as I found the feathers so difficult. This was my first time drawing a bird, and it was such a challenge. I began with shading the beak before moving on to the eye. Even with just that part complete, the picture was beginning to come alive. I moved on to the feathers on top of the head before continuing on to the feathers below the beak. I then moved across, completing the remaining feathers on the body, moving on to the feathers at the side, and finishing off right near the eye.

There was a number of times where I felt like giving up because I found this so difficult to draw, but I am so glad that I persevered, and I am really happy with the outcome. I think that I will probably draw a bird again in the future, but at the moment, I have many other subjects in the pipeline.

Anatomical Human Heart

I’ve always been fascinated by the human anatomy, and to coincide with my passion for drawing, I decided to draw the human heart. I carefully researched different images of the heart and then settled on an image that I wanted to draw. The next step was to sketch the image, which I did by using a 0.7mm HB Derwent Precision mechanical pencil. This is my favourite pencil that I like to sketch with as I like the grip on the barrel.

Once I had completed the outline, I proceeded to shade the image using a 0.5mm HB mechanical pencil and a 2H mechanical pencil. I began at the top so as not to cause any background smudges. The whole picture took just over a week to complete:

I’m really pleased with the finished sketch and particularly like the fact that I made it look three-dimensional. It’s not a dark image, but I have managed to capture light and dark shades to make it look like it’s not totally flat on the page. I’ve really enjoyed doing this project, and I know that this won’t be the last part of the human body that I draw.

I have already completed another piece of work since doing this drawing, and I will share this shortly; it was particularly challenging.