In the eye of the beholder

I haven't had much 'personal' drawing time of late. Since our big move interstate, I've been busy with graphic design work as well as commissions coming up to Christmas.

I started this piece a number of weeks ago and hope to finish it one day... or should I leave it as it is? Sometimes less is more right?

3b & 6b Graphite on UPM Digi Bright White 210gsm

Calling all Facebook fans!

If you're into Facebook and love checking out new pages, feel free to check out and 'like' my new page Jo Holden Fine Art to keep up to date with new portraits, news and information.
Happy drawing everyone!
Jo :)
http://www.joholdenfineart.com.au/

New city... fresh start!

Our little family recently moved (for the 14th time in 10 years... yep, it's true!) to beautiful Melbourne. So, with this huge move, I decided a fresh start was in order. I had wanted to change my business name for a few months and thought this would be the perfect opportunity.

So, "Fine Etch Pencil Portraits" is no more... and I will now be known as "Jo Holden Fine Art". This name enables me to not only concentrate on portraits, but also on other types of art including canvas work and illustration. I also dabble in graphic design and really enjoyed creating my new logo and freshening up my website.

If you're looking for me on the web, you can now find me at http://www.joholdenfineart.com.au/.

Happy drawing everyone!
Jo :)

Hooray - Ribbons!

This weekend, I was delighted to discover that I had won three ribbons at our local shire show for my drawings: “Waiting for the Rain” – 1st Prize, “Almost a Teenager” – 2nd Prize, and “Engraved Elephant” – 3rd Prize. This is the first time I’ve ever had my work judged in an art competition so I was absolutely thrilled to win. It’s a great feeling having your work recognised and appreciated. Now, fingers crossed for the State Show coming up in August.

Happy drawing everyone! Jo :)

http://www.joholdenfineart.com.au/

It's finally finished

Well, I'm relieved to say that I have finally finished my entry for the drawing competition in our yearly state show. It's all framed up and looks great and I'm dropping it off to the competition stewards today. Judging will be on the 20th July and the work will be on display during August.

I'm really pleased with how it has turned out. I keep telling myself that winning or placing is irrelevant - I did this piece to challenge myself. But having my work judged, for the first time in my life, is somewhat nerveracking. I don't know anything about the judges or what they are looking for. We'll just have to see what happens. Watch this space!

Happy drawing everyone! Jo :)

www.fineetch.com.au

Seeking inspiration

It's Sunday and a glorious winter day so I think I'll take my two little munchins into the city. I'll tell them we're going to see dinosaurs at the museum (which we'll have to do first otherwise I'll never hear the end of it) but then we'll pop over to the Gallery of Modern Art and the Art Gallery for some culture and, hopefully, a bit of inspiration.

I love to go to the gallery when I'm feeling creatively challenged (courtesy of two very long weeks of school holidays... groan). The gallery helps get my creative juices flowing again and always leaves me feeling inspired and very 'arty'.

Happy drawing everyone! Jo :)
www.fineetch.com.au

Time is running out!

This year, for the first time in my artistic career, I've decided to enter the drawing competition at my local state show. I have no idea what the judges are looking for but I thought I'd give it a go anyway.

I love drawing faces with heaps of character. I prefer to draw older people who have years of experience etched into their faces. Their faces are so expressive and tell a story of a life well lived. So, bearing this in mind, I asked my darling Dad to be my subject matter. After trying to grow some stubble for five days (upon my request - adds more depth to my work!), Dad was kind enough to let me take a zillion photos of him. I chose a photo which best captures his essence.

I'm only a third of the way through (you can see my first WIP here) and have only a week and a half to finish the piece before it has to be submitted. The original photo has so much fine detail - wrinkles, stubble, dark areas, light areas, spots - which is fantastic but difficult and time consuming to draw. However, the whole point of entering this competition is to challenge myself and, whilst it would be nice, I don't really mind if I win or not.. that's not really the point. It's about the experience.

Happy drawing everyone! Jo :)
www.fineetch.com.au

Through a Child's Eyes

Today I had the privelage of working with a group of 4 - 6 year olds. We went walking in the bush, and afterwards we all sat down on a rug. Each child was given a stick of charcoal and a piece of paper and were told to draw what they saw on their bushwalk.

It was heart-warming and inspirational to watch what they came up with. The simplicity of their thought processes - to literally draw what they saw, with no artistic stresses (eg. 'does it look right?' or 'are the proportions correct' or 'is my composition working?').

It reminded me of when I was little and the sheer joy I experienced when drawing just for the fun of it. It teaches me to remember this joy the next time I pick up a pencil because art, if nothing else, should always be fun!

Happy drawing everyone
Jo :)

Greetings! Let me introduce myself.

Hi! My name is Jo. I’m a self-taught graphite pencil portrait artist, a self-taught graphic designer and a very crafty person.

Drawing is my life's passion. I love to create beautiful and unique graphite pencil portraits from photographs. My portraits strive to be photo realistic and aim to capture not only the features of my subject, but also their essence. Every Fine Etch portrait takes a minimum of 20 hours to create. My portraits are not just sketches but are highly detailed, expertly rendered and almost photographic in appearance. I work meticulously to ensure every detail, every angle and every shadow is accurately captured in your portrait.

I take commissions and would love to create a beautiful portrait for you. Please visit my website http://fineetch.com.auand enjoy browsing through my Portrait Gallery. You can also find me on Red Bubble where I am an active member and happy host or follow me on Twitter and Facebook.

I look forward to blogging about my art and my life in general. Thanks for reading!


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