The second wedding venue portrait finished

Inked

The second wedding venue portrait is finished and they both have reached their destination.  I really enjoyed doing this one.  It is stark in its own way, as a simple brick-faced building, but its details are quite charming.  Wooden shutters block the lower windows, but the fanned, vertical brick archtop above them and the iron gated doorway add much needed visual interest.  The eye is drawn up to the second story windows with their overflowing flower boxes and striped awnings.  The trees soften the harder angles and add texture.

Number two wedding venue gift portrait

Pencil plus

Number two was started but I forgot to take a photo before beginning the inking.  I was in a bit of a rush as I wanted to get these out before my trip to Boise, and I had a senior moment about the photo.  Still, I managed to catch myself before I went too far.

This one was a bit easier than the last one as I didn’t have to cram so much building into the 10×8 space.  Still, it had its own issues.  This is peeling white paint over red brick.  No color to help delineate that. It has black wooden shutters over the first floor windows and lovely arches in them.  The entryway is  recessed in its own archway and has half circle window above the door.  Grilled iron gates protect the enclosed area too.  So, in its own way, it is packed with detail, too.

The first wedding gift portrait finished

Inked in

It seems so simple to just do black and white.  But it’s not. The first portrait for my wedding venue gift is finished and there was a lot of work to it. Not just in the shapes but in the balance of black and white as well.  These can take almost as much time as a portrait in color. Without the “crutch” of color I have to work carefully with the ink to not over do it and end up with a black blob and no detail in the shadows.

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.

Next one up

A simple ranch

I opted to take the simplest one of the remaining three to do next. My eyes and brain need the rest. LOL  It would appear that this was a wedding at someone’s residence.  The house has white siding, asphalt shingles and a massive stone fireplace.  It’s not quite as exotic as the last one, but it is lovely in its own way.  I will enjoy all of that lush landscaping, too.