“So incredibly delighted to have received the utterly beautiful portrait of my dog. Gail is very talented, with no doubt a super eye for detail. I particularly liked how she went through her drawing journey with me, giving me regular updates, details of her progress and asking my preferences. The fact that she did live YouTube streaming to show how she created the picture was absolutely wonderful. An incredibly happy client. Thank you Gail, you are very talented and your client care was first class.”
— Hannah Fray
Live demonstration
Beautiful Marjorie was my subject for a 3-part YouTube live demonstration. You can watch me chat and draw the whole portrait from start to finish. This includes showing how I transfer the image onto the page, discussing the underlying anatomy, and the use of a separate reference photo for the eyes. Recorded live in real time, you may want to scroll through some of the introduction and chat!
Marjorie's finished portrait, still on the drawing board
Main reference photo
Rough sketch to illustrate composition
My drawings are realistic, but not photo-realistic, so details like the name on her tag are left sketchy. This keeps the overall drawing feeling 'lively'.
Closeup of the business end!
This is the secondary photo which I used to judge the details of Marjorie's eye
The main reference photo had Marjorie's eye in shadow, so I used an alternative, taken at a similar angle, to create the effect of light in the eyeball, and reflected sky on the surface. It always amazes me how even loose drawing can capture the distinctive light effects, as long as the artist judges colour and values correctly.
Lights, camera, action!
Marjorie and friends watching the live demonstration of her portrait drawing process
I'm always updating my giftwrapping, and make adjustments to reflect the individual situation. All original work comes with a signed Certificate of Authenticity, and the customer's personal message handwritten on the tag.