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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