Triplex is inked in

Inked in

After the last 5 drawings, I can’t believe how quickly the inking went on this one.  No curves, no offsets, and no complicated shadowing or landscaping meant it went pretty fast.  Since the two main colors are gray and a rich yellow, I’ll have to add some reds and purples to the landscaping and parking area to enhance its appeal.  I enlarged the shrubs and added some flower baskets to soften the porches, too.  The building has some special meanings to the former owners and I would like to evoke fond memories for them.

Surprise triplex commission

Triplex unit

When I had just started working on the four wedding commissions, I received another order.  I told him it would be about a month before I got to him and he said that was just fine.  It’s nice to have work lined up after Christmas for a change.

This is a gray sided triplex with bright golden yellow patio doors.  Two of the three occupants had used the porch area as outdoor storage, so I removed the bikes and other miscellaneous items so you could see the entryways,  I added some bigger shrubbery and a few hanging flower pots for more color and visual interest.

The wedding commissions are finished

Finally finished

The last of the wedding portraits is finished and all are in the mail.  After over a month of steady work, the entire commission is done.  With so many portraits scheduled in a row, I found that working about 2 hours a day kept the creative juices flowing but not staled, especially towards the end.  All four proved to have their own set of challenges,

For this one, because the house was so long and linear, I decided to curve the lawn in front to add some softness.  I rather like the effect now that it’s done.

Inking started on the last wedding gift

Slow going

This is harder than I thought it would be.  A couple of days into the inking and here is where I’m at.  Most of the landscaping is done and the outline of the house is delineated.  There sure are a lot of hip roof lines as well as windows and limestone inserts.  And four chimneys and rounded dormers.  It is a rather stately house and I wonder how many rooms it has.  I  wish I could see that entryway, inside and out.

Final of four

Final of four

On to the last one.  I thought it would be pretty quick work, but it seems it will take almost as long as the two harder ones. There are a lot of windows and chimneys in there.  It is too bad that the entryway is obscured by the landscaping.  I bet the porte cochere is really nice and the doorway is extravagant.  I guess I’ll never know as there are no more pictures to be had.  I’m glad the one I got was large enough that I could make my own closeups.  Rather than make a mass of grass down in the front, I also am going to just curve it.  I will balance the date with the shrub on the lower right.

All done

All done

After nine days of work, a short cut to the final inking on this one.  It was pretty complicated, but fairly straight forward.   No arched, pointed windows and openings to slow me down like that first one.  Just squares, rectangles and plain old siding.  Can you imagine having your wedding here?  It seems like it would be an elegant place inside, with southern hospitality, airy rooms, and cool drinks.

It’s slow going

Slow but sure

After 3 days of pencil up and 2 of inking, it’s going pretty slowly.  I think it will probably take as long as one that I add watercolor to.  It is easily as complicated as that first one, but somehow it feels less so as I work on it.  Once again, I think I will work somewhat piecemeal.  Most of the landscaping is in and I will probably pick an area and finish it out, except for the siding.

Back to complicated

Pencil up

On to gift number three and back to a commercial wedding venue.  This one is more complicated than that first one. It didn’t seem so when I first looked at all of the the photos, but it certainly has turned out to be that way.  Once again,  I limited the pre-drawing a bit. There is so much going on that it is too easy to get lost in the details before I really need them. It can actually get intimidating with a drawing that has so much going on.  After inking the big palm trees, I will again work piecemeal in shorter sessions and finish one section at a time.  And hope my eyes and brain don’t get too crossed.

Simple lushness

Simple lushness

The inking took a while, but it is finished now.  What I thought to be separate houses above and to the left, turned out to be part of this front.  There must have been some massive sprawling additions going on with this ranch style home.  Plus the other part was roofed in metal, so I am glad I asked before I deleted. I would never have thought the asphalt roof was connected to the metal roof.

It sure was nice to have such lush landscaping to work with. It certainly softened the board siding and the brick fireplace.  All in all, it was fun to do.