Jennifer, A Pencil Portrait.

I had all intentions of completing three or four pieces for my independent study course this fall. Four months later, the one drawing I tackled is FINALLY finished. At the urging of my professor, I decided to get out of my (very tiny) comfort zone and work closer to life-size on this portrait of my friend, Jenn. After the reality of my school schedule sunk in, however, I was only able to squeeze in around ten hours of work per week on the drawing. If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you can find a couple progress photos of this project. Here are a few detail shots of the finished portrait.

Pencil on paper. 18" in diameter.

Now I need to track down a giant scanner.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Double Portrait in Pencil.

I've been pretty busy lately (no complaints!), so here is a belated post. 

10" x 10" pencil drawing on a 12" x 12" piece of Rives BFK.

Dudley & Winston - Acrylic on Canvas.

A pair of paintings recently commissioned by a friend. We strayed from the original concept (creating these portraits digitally) and decided to go for a stylized look using paint on canvas. Here are a few shots of the finished pieces.

16" x 16" 

Holiday Gifties.

We're closing in on the holidays, so it's time to get your orders in!

A hand drawn portrait of your loved one is a great gift that becomes an instant family keepsake, so if you're at a loss for what to give that special person this year, you're in the right place. You can find listings for a few standard portrait sizes and options over in my Etsy shop. Easy Peasy!

Interested in something a little more custom? Contact me directly (kb.drawingroom@gmail.com) and let me know what you have in mind.

I look forward to hearing from you!

~K.

Pencil/watercolor Sketch.

I bought a pack of precut 5" x 7" watercolor sheets and have been trying to come up with a use for them. Here's a mini portrait of myself with my lovely friend, Beth.

Mixed media portrait + a bit of news.

Things have been super busy lately, and I've found myself in the midst of several unfinished pieces. I was finally able to wrap up this little portrait last night. I started with graphite to create a fairly refined drawing and then went in with layers of watercolor after spraying with fixative. It is 8" x 10" in size on Rives BFK.

I promise I have a good excuse for the infrequency of posts in the last month and the big news is that we've bought a house! We started renovations last week and hope to be moved out to the country sometime in the next month. In the meantime, everything is in limbo. We're mostly packed up at our current home, but have quite a bit of work ahead of us at the new place, both indoors and out. Maintaining acreage is going to be quite different than the apartment life Sean and I are both used to living.

That being said, we're super excited to be officially starting our lives together in a new home. As things start to settle down and we settle in, I'm sure there will be plenty to post about (I can't wait to set up my new studio space!).

Mixed Media Portrait.

I've been working on this drawing/painting off and on for quite a while now as a surprise for a friend, but couldn't decide if it was finished or not. Now that I've taken some time away from it, I'm going to go ahead and call it done. As you may recall from previous posts, this started out as a pencil drawing. Afterwards, it received a dose of fixative followed by glazes of acrylic. I topped it all off with colored pencil. I would have liked the white highlights to pop a little more, but at least it was a lesson in process for next time.

11" x 14" on Rives BFK.

Work In Progress - Pencil Drawing.

Here are a couple of peeks at my current project. I'm hoping to get it finished up sometime this week, but all of those little details are time consuming. 

On Your Birthday.

After Sean's grandmother passed away at the beginning of the year, it fell to me to scan and make copies of a bunch of their family photographs. Along with them was a box of Sean's baby books, in which I found some of the sweetest pictures of a newborn Sean and his mother. Her birthday was just around the corner, so I chose to do a mixed-media piece of the two of them as a gift.

I don't know how many times I almost ruined this thing along the way, but it somehow survived well enough for me to be happy with it.

Graphite, acrylic paint, and colored pencil.

Approximately 10" x 10" on a 12" x 12" piece of bfk. 

(I wish I had thought to take pictures of it before it was wrapped; Sean did a beautiful job picking out the matting and framing).

A New Double-Portrait & Etsy Updates.

A new portrait on Rives bfk. I'm not certain that it's finished, but it's sprayed and put away for now.

6 1/2" x 11 1/4"

I've spent the morning winding up on coffee and making some much needed changes over at the Etsy shop. You'll have to go check out the updated/additional shots I've added to some (most) of my items!

www.inthedrawingroom.etsy.com

A few updates.

I recently finished this portrait on commission. Due to the size of my scanner, I had to scan this in sections and then stitch together in photoshop.

11" x 14" - pencil on Rives BFK. 

Sparked by an upcoming local art event (helped run by my former/now and again employer), I've been back at the marker and pencil drawings. I hope to submit a few new pieces since I wasn't able to take part in the show last year. I had a drawing crash and burn yesterday, but there has been one survivor and potential show piece so far:

In other news, I recently had a nightmare experience with an out-of-state printmaker come to an end. Luckily, I found another company that has been nothing but a joy to work with so far, and I look forward to seeing a few artist's proofs from them soon. I'll be updating on that process along the way and hope to be offering giclee prints from my Etsy shop soon!

Rachel & Boog - Double portrait.

A drawing of Ms. Rachel & the sweetest little low-rider dog I know.

Graphite on Rives bfk.

8" x 10"

This piece can be seen as an example for a custom drawing here at my Etsy shop. If you know anyone with a special occasion coming up, or just want to get a jump on the holiday season, a custom portrait is a fantastic gift idea that will be cherished for generations. More size/subject options coming soon!

I have never excelled with watercolors...

...but I tried them out today after what must be years of neglect. I can't say I haven't used them at all since college; I just never use them as they are meant to be used. You know, that flowing, billowy, blended looseness my professors always hounded me about.

I think I'm doomed to spend the rest of my life sharpening my pencils to a perfect point, pressing my nose to my desk, and ruining my eyesight attempting to get all the details.

These are bad, but I'm sharing them with you anyway. =)

Portrait of Rylan. Graphite on paper.

A few progress shots and finished portrait I did of my dear friend's little one, Rylan. I debated the entire time I worked on this whether or not to add color. For now, I believe I'm going to play it safe and leave it as is.

Graphite on BFK

Paper size: 8" x 10"

Portrait Sketch - Color Pencil.

Double (?) Portrait of S. - Mixed Media.

Progress shots of a mixed media piece. Currently: graphite, charcoal, and watercolor on Rives BFK. I really do intend on getting a scanner at some point...really, I do.

Portrait of Lauren - Graphite Drawing.

Still in need of a scanner, but here is a shot of a portrait of a friend's daughter. Graphite on bristol board. 11 x 14.

WIP - Self Portrait, continued.

WIP -Self Portrait In Oils.

In progress: Acrylic and oil on canvas. More updates coming soon!

Self Portrait in Oil - Progress Shot.

WIP. Oil on canvas.