So many pencil drawing commissions are awaiting decisions. I’ve sent sketches and more sketches. Can’t start drawing until I know what the customer/commissioner wants! Sketches, called “thumbnails” or “thumbnail sketches” were required in most of the assignments in art classes, both in high school and college (I went to 4 different colleges – a full-fledged […]
Challenging Pencil Commission, Finished!
I made the changes suggested by Cowboy Bert’s wife. She is very aware of what a mule looks like from all angles, and very observant of details. (As a retired law enforcement Captain, she sometimes refers to herself as a “trained observer”.) Here it is: The customer requested color, in a hand-tinted old photo sort […]
Working Through a Challenging Pencil Commission
There I was, faced with the necessity to draw the north end of a mule headed south, and no reference material! What’s a Central California artist to do? Call in Cowboy Bert, of course. That would be Cowboy Bert, Equine Photographer, who graciously set up one of his mules and positioned him for numerous photos. […]
A Challenging Pencil Commission
A regular customer wants to republish a book. The original drawing from the cover is missing, and it doesn’t look very good when scanned from a printed book. They asked me to redraw it, and to add color so it has the look of an old hand-tinted black and white photo. All I have to […]
5 Things in the Life of a Central California Artist
Aren’t lists helpful? Back in the olden days (the 1970s), I was working some dumb boring job. At the end of some days, I got to see my best friend who was in college in the same town. I’d trudge through the day, doing my mindless boring job, and every time I thought of something […]
Cabin Commission
The upcoming book, The Cabins of Wilsonia, will have 268 pencil drawings of cabins and cabin details. Not everyone is pleased with the way I have represented his cabin. Most people are gracious about it and know that the book is an overview, rather than a documentary or a complete album. One friend was not sure about […]
Fancy Drawing of a Not Fancy Cabin
This is the final drawing of the commissioned pencil drawing of a Wilsonia cabin. The customer chose “A”, asked that the sign size be reduced and that plenty of scraggly branches be added to that large tree in front that she affectionately referred to as “the old man”. It was fun! Drawing cabins is one […]
Complicated Drawing of a Simple Cabin
A nice lady wrote to me to ask if I would draw her Wilsonia cabin for her. She said it is plain, or perhaps she said “it’s not fancy”, but it means a lot to her family. I knew which cabin it was. It wasn’t one that I planned to show in the upcoming book The […]
The Cabins of Wilsonia Book and Blog
This week on my other blog, www.thecabinsofwilsonia.com, I will explain what these sketches are, along with some other sketches, and also explain that the special pre-order price of the upcoming book The Cabins of Wilsonia has expired. Join me over there?
Crazy Hard Pencil Commission – DONE!
Remember that crazy hard pencil commission of those two miniature fuzzy faces? (You can see it in the October 2 blog post.) The customer/friend asked me to make an adjustment to the boy’s cheek because his face was more narrow than round in real life (couldn’t prove it by me or by that photo). Adjustment […]