My Portraits

While at my nephew's house celebrating the third birthday of his triplets (yes, I'm a great aunt), I noticed his mother-in-law standing by the stove.

Mrs. G. is a lovely lady, and was recovering from a bad fall. As she rubbed her neck with one hand, and dipped her hand in a bowl of potato chips with the other, I took her picture. There was something magic about the whole thing - the lighting, the way she helped her daughter in the kitchen, the way she hugged her grand children - that just seemed like magic to me.

This one photo was my inspiration for a series of what would be a lifelong commitment to promoting the art of the family.

The lovely lady you see in this portrait is the lovely daughter of Mrs. G. This is the proud mother of five, three are triplets. This art was based on a photo I took at the triplet's birthday party. Another example of my 'poetic license.' This sepia tinted photo illustration printed on parchment is another example of how I see parental prestige.

This is the grand daughter of a very special person who I consider one of the family. One day she saw me working on some art cards, and asked if I could do portraits of her grandchildren from her photographs. She said her pictures were not that good. I told her to give me what she had, and I would try.

When doing an illustration from a photograph, often I see things that aren't there, and eliminate things that are there. I guess that is an artist's 'poetic' license. This drawing was done with forty colored pencils on 8x10, 140 lb. water color paper.

More often than not, many unsung heroes are the Mothers and Fathers of handicapped children. This particular mother's first born child was healthy at birth. At six months old, her pediatrician erred. It was proven that her once healthy baby was over vaccinated, which left this mother with a permanently disabled child who would live with seizures the rest of her life.

This mother is special in that she is my sister, and her oldest daughter is my niece. Although her daughter is over 40 years old, my sister has home cared for her since birth. I took a picture of them last year in our Mom's kitchen. When I took the picture, I did not see a disabled child, or an overworked mother - I saw the utmost example of The Greatest Love Ever.

My drawing was done on 90 lb. water color paper with colored pencils and a prismacolor black pen.

My friend in Japan is a fine professional model. This is one of several portraits I've done of her. This composition was done with 40 colored pencils and black fine point marker on 140 lb. watercolor paper.

Drawing this portrait was a reminder that not all colored pencils are alike. A Berol Eagle Blue Pencil is not the same as a Prismacolor Blue Pencil. One has a softer lead, one has a more vibrant hue, or different shade of blue. One pencil will layer colors better than another, and others are totally non-erasable.

My odd colored pencil mix is due to my not wanting to waste anything. I use a pencil until I can't hold the stub between my fingers anymore. The colored pencils I use are a remnant mix of odds and ends acquired throughout the course of my lifetime, and range from the old Dixon, SpectraColor Venus, and Berol Eagle pencils, to the more modern Kodak, Crayola, and Prismacolor colored pencils.

Over the years, pencil manufactureres have come and gone. Different types of materials are used to make colored pencils now, and the methods for their manufacture have changed. When I run out of something old, it is sometimes difficult to match a color or product that is not made anymore. This is one reason why most professional artists prefer to use one type of pencil, pen, marker, or paint for their compositions

This is one of four portraits I've done of Mikayla about six months ago. When I first saw my Aunt's Great Grand Daughter, she instantly became my new muse. As I worked on this drawing until the wee hours of the morning to finish it, I realized just how much we were alike. At that moment while putting on the finishing touches on our hand work, we were both dozing off at our desks.

The 2008 Presidential Election had some historic moments. Hillary Clinton's magnificent run for the Democratic nominee for presidential candidate was something to be applauded.

Above is my ACEO portrait of Hillary Clinton at the 2008 Democratic Convention. The art card is a drawing composed of colored pencil and black PrismaColor marker on watercolor paper. This art now resides with a private collector.

Sarah Palin made history in 2008 by being the Vice Presidential candidate of choice by the Honorable John McCain. Ms. Palin was well qualified for the position, she is well spoken and loved by the people she represents.

Above is my ACEO portrait drawing of Sarah Palin. The art card iscomposed of colored pencil and black PrismaColor marker on watercolor paper. This art now resides with a private collector.