The One Where I am Reunited with an Old Drawing

Last week my husband and I went to our friend Doug's wedding. The ceremony took place in his family's walnut orchard on a calm summer evening. They began and finished the ceremony with quotes from Battlestar Galactica, which we thought was a nice touch.

During the reception a very petite woman spotted me and said something to me in a thick Southern accent which I really didn't understand. I figured that this was probably Doug's mom, whom I had met once before way back in college, which was, like, forever ago. I assumed that she probably didn't remember me, so I said, "Hi, I'm Kelley-"

That was as far as I got before Doug's mom latched onto me and literally dragged me into her house. She pulled me over to her desk and pointed to a framed picture sitting above it:

It was a drawing of Doug that I had sent to his family over three years ago. "It brings sunshine into my life every day," his mom gushed. "When I first opened the envelope you sent and saw the drawing, I just burst into tears because it was Doug! I treasure it so much!" Throughout the course of the evening, she hugged me and thanked me over and over again for the portrait - which, again, I had sent her three years ago.

I was quite touched by the fact that Doug's mom remembered me and still loved and appreciated the portrait - even though, as I look at it now, it definitely has room to improve. This would be an interesting drawing to do again, and compare the before and after.

Couple Portrait, completed!

Hooray! I couldn't see the top of the guy's head in the original photo, but my co-worker told me that he had an Army buzz. So I looked at some reference photos and improvised it - I hope it looks right.

I added the shaded background to keep the drawing from looking too lopsided, with all the dark on one side and so much light on the other.

And guess what? I got another Etsy commission! My next drawing will be of a grandmother lifting a cute baby into the air. The only problem is that I need to get this drawing done in time for the grandmother's birthday on Friday - so I need to get going!

Couple Portrait

The "Angel" drawing is on hold for a while, as I just received a commission from my coworker!After the last drawing I made for a coworker, word got around the office about my mad skillz. (I guess I have Erik to thank for that. Thanks Erik.) So this lovely coworker asked for a drawing of her and her boyfriend.
"Are you sure you want to use a photo where he's wearing sunglasses?" I asked.
"He's always wearing those damn glasses," she said. "Even indoors."

Here is the basic outline so far. It doesn't look like much yet, but I'm making some good progress on it.

Anniversary Portrait, almost done!

The anniversary portrait is unofficially finished - meaning that I sent it to the customer for final approval before shipping. Once she approves it, I'll post it up here. Here's a sneak peek!
So on my co-worker's last day of work, I left the drawing on his desk while he was away. (I had signed it, so he would still know who it was from.) Soon enough he came over to thank me, and the awkward conversation went something like this:

Co-worker: Thanks a bunch for the drawing, it looks great!
Me: Glad you like it!
Co-worker: Yeah, we'll hang it in our new place.
Me: Glad you like it!
Co-worker: So yeah, thanks again!
Me: You're welcome! Glad you like it!

Geez, what's wrong with me? Oh well, at least he liked it, and I'm glad he liked it. Did you catch that part?

Foo'.

Today at work we had a going-away party for a coworker, who has been with the company for 4 years. We ate burritos and cake and told funny stories for a whole hour. It was awesome.

Another coworker recently discovered my blog. He suggested that I make a drawing for the soon-to-be-ex coworker, and sent me a photograph I couldn't resist.
But since this coworker is leaving TOMORROW, I had to finish this drawing tonight. So I decided on a small 5x7 size, and worked quickly while watching the movie Rainman. (Actually, it was more of listening to the movie; I was concentrating so hard on the drawing.)
Here is the product of three hours of frantic drawing. It's definitely rough, and now that I see it on the computer screen, I see some flaws in it that I didn't notice before. Why does this ALWAYS happen when I upload drawings to this blog? Hmm...I'll make a few finishing touches before I give the original to my coworker.

It's going to be kind of an awkward gift, actually, because I almost never talked to the guy. My job doesn't really require a lot of human interaction. "Um...here...someone gave me this picture of you...I drew it...well, have a nice trip!"

But awkwardness or not, I can't help it! I just love making drawings for people! Even if they didn't ask for it!

The Lady of Devonshire Completed

It's finally done! I'm thinking of giving it to Renee, but I also kind of want to keep it for myself. :)

Photo by Gar Travis.

I changed two details from the original photograph. I didn't draw that blue ribbony thing that's at her left shoulder, because I didn't want to unnecessarily complicate the composition. Also, I changed her collar to a simple Peter Pan style, because the box pleats were ridiculously difficult to draw. I'm sure this is terribly historically inaccurate. Sorry Renee!


Okay, it was pointed out to me that in this photo, Renee is not actually in costume for the Lady of Devonshire. She is in costume as a titleless household servant. She's beautiful either way though.

I'm putting this drawing up in my Etsy shop as a sample for a 9x12 portrait. That listing is in need of some more recent samples.

Okay, I know I said I would draw Han Solo next, but a new commission came in just today! Hooray! Stay tuned for in-progress drawings!