Author Archives: julia

Portrait Commission “The Happy Couple”: The Home Stretch

Well, here we are, one week further into my latest portrait commission as promised…. And voila, a beautiful smile for my girl!

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“The Happy Couple” Portrait Commission – Work In Progress

My latest portrait commission is of this very happy and gorgeous couple. It is moving along veeery slowly as I want to create a portrait that the couple and family will cherish. There are quite a few challenges here: a … Continue reading

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Portrait Artists Know How to Party!

A few posts ago, I mentioned that I had joined Julia Kay’s Portrait Party on Flickr. It’s a virtual portrait party where portrait artists working in all styles and media come together to create images of each other. It is … Continue reading

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Portrait Painting My Way: Workshop 4: Colour Theory

This isn’t so much a workshop as an information portal on colour. There have been millions of words written about colour theory, some fascinating and some bamboozling. I want to show you what I have found helpful so far in … Continue reading

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Portrait Painting: “The Path to Enlightenment” or “The Penny Drops”

The never-ending quest for artistic improvement is a search for “eureka” moments. Those moments when the penny falls with such a clatter that your art jumps up several notches out of fright. Here are a few of my past eureka … Continue reading

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Child Portrait Painting: “Ruby” or “Why can’t I beat my record number of Likes??”

“Perfectionist” is not a word used to describe me. If I get the job done in a satisfactory and efficient manner, I am happy. Usually. Until now. I want each painting I create to be better than the last. And … Continue reading

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Child Portrait Painting: “Tea Party” or “The Bossy Artwork”

Six years of a delectable bottle green in high school has led to my disaffection for green in most of its manifestations. The more observant of you will have noticed that there is not a whole lot of green in … Continue reading

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Portrait Drawing My Way: Workshop 3 – Smudge It!

Now we’re going to produce an expressive drawing using charcoal. I’ll share some of my charcoal portrait drawing tips – also bear in mind the proportions discussed earlier and how to hold your charcoal to keep loose. You’ll need at … Continue reading

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Portrait Drawing My Way: Workshop 2 – Let’s Hatch!

Drawing Facial Features During my initial, tentative efforts to draw the face, I consulted books and copied drawings from the books. While the books helped with general anatomy and portrait drawing tips, the best way to learn for me was … Continue reading

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Portrait Drawing: Workshop with David White 4 February 2012

What a wonderful day! Seven hours of drawing and creating surrounded by David White‘s very impressive portrait works. It is enough to inspire anyone.

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