Drawings from my sketchbook

I thought I'd post some sketches I did a while back - some a few years old, others a bit more recent - I was experimenting with portraits as I hadn't done any since my A-Levels. The portraits are all from photos of my niece and nephews.

Ollie

Oliver is my sister Rebecca's middle son. It was my first attempt at sketching a portrait - some of his features are a bit off and his mouth didn't come out as well when I photographed this sketch but it was my first one so I was quite pleased with how it turned out.

Sammy

Samuel is Rebecca's youngest son. This one makes everyone laugh as he looks so round and chubby, but I only had a tiny passport sized photo to draw from and he was just a little baby with not much hair! He 4 years old now with beautiful blonde curls. I've noticed I've got a tendancy to make the eyes really big in all my portraits - something I'm going to have to take care over.

Thomas

Thomas is Rebecca's eldest son and again I've gone a bit mad with the eyes, but it is a good likeness (I wish I could find the photos I used as a comparison but you'll just have to trust me!)

Lucia

Lucia is my sister Elise's little girl. This is my favourite sketch - I really enjoyed doing it, even the difficult fabric. Elise even recognized the top she was wearing as I spent loads of time on the detail.

Callum

This is my sister-in-law Sonya's eldest Son. This was from his school portrait - when he was told to smile he did a big grin to show all his teeth - funny how kids do that!

Kieron

Kieron is Sonya's youngest son. I've had to re-do parts of this a few times - I made hm look a bit like a chip-monk at first, so I've done some more work on it and was happier, but as with Ollie's picture, it looks a bit strange on screen - his features are a bit uneven. I must keep practicing then!

I have my youngest nephew, Harrison, via by brother Paul, and my eldest niece, Jordan, via my baby sister Bobbey to draw yet - plus Bobbey's got another one on the way, so they should provide me with lots of practice! All of my siblings have kids but I haven't started my family yet and I'm the eldest (by 7 mins to my twin Elise), and I'm starting to get on a bit, so I'd better get a wriggle on!

Quick sketch of my hand - veins to rival Madonna!

Bowl of fruit (apple and grapes)

Peacock feather

This is my most recent sketch and it took quite a while as the individual pieces that make up the feather are very fine. I used a hard pencil to draw those lines, so they made an impresson in the paper and when I came to do the shading, it made a nice effect.

I get completely lost in time when I'm sketching - much as I do when I'm crafting, and time simply flies. It's very therapeutic though I always end up with a sore neck and back from sitting too long - I never learn!

One day I might get brave enough to progress to colour and do some paintings but for now I'm sticking to my pencils as it's my favourite medium.

Tan xxx