This commission query arrived in my inbox from a client returning for a second portrait. I drew a pencil drawing of my client’s grandmother Nora in September 2025. Emma, my client, wanted a memory of her grandfather to hang beside the one of her grandmother. She was so happy with the first portrait, she decided to ask me for another. Ultimately I was thrilled of course and happily obliged. I love working from older / vintage photographs and have drawn and painted from on many occassions. They have a sentimental quality modern photos don’t. I love to capture this sentiment in the form of an artwork that has a lot of meaning for my clients. I believe pencil drawings in particular work really well with vintage photos.
The Background to the Grandfather Portrait
In Nicky’s drawing, Emma wanted me to capture how happy he was working on his farm. He is photographed here busy at work driving his tractor. It was wonderful capturing the surroundings this smiling man felt most comfortable in.
I based the drawing on one photograph, which my client emailed me when she enquired about the commission. A graphite pencil was the perfect medium to re-interpret the photograph to an artwork.
The reference photograph I used for the portrait
As I knew the portrait will be displayed beside the first one I drew of Nora, I suggested a drawing of the same height. The drawing is 30 x 20 cm in size, the same as Nora’s. This worked out really well and Emma, my client, was very happy with to order the portrait based on my suggestion.
The Portrait Drawing Process
There weren’t any adjustments needed for the photograph as it worked so well already, so I decided to use it fully with just some slight cropping applied to fit it into the required size.
I took my usual steps to work on this portrait. I started with a detailed line sketch with a print-out of the photograph beside the Fabriano 5 paper I was working on. Once I was happy with how I captured the original photo and the likeness of Nicky’s character, I could move to the next step in my process. For the sketch, I used a HB pencil. I was now ready to pick up my softer pencils. I like to put down the main darkest areas in the face first with a 6B pencil.
I use Staedtler Mars Lumograph Black pencils for the shading process. Once these are down, I work from dark to light, ending with shading the skin tones. In fact, the most important to capture is the transition areas between the darkest and lightest on the page. For white areas, I let the paper do its work and I didn’t add any shading at all.
What my client thought of the finished portrait she commissioned
Emma was very happy with the finished drawing of Nicky.
Hi Ivana!
Happy Easter to you too. The portrait is amazing. It really looks like him, the detail is incredible. I love it! Thank you very much.
Just emailing to let you know I received the drawing. My family couldn’t believe it when I showed them. They thought it was amazing. Thanks again.
Emma about the finished drawing of her grandfather Nicky, April 2026
Final steps
I sprayed the finished drawing with Artist Fixative after it was approved and good to go. The fixative is an excellent way to keep dust and scratches away from the surface of the paper. It only takes a few minutes to dry and keeps the tone of the graphite fresh and crisp looking for a long time to come.
Furthermore I enclosed an aftercare information card together with the drawing when posting and added some of my business cards too. After this, I inserted the drawing into a neutral coloured mount and took some photos of it on the shelf in my studio.
Finally, to keep the drawing safe during the posting process, I wrapped it really well in layers of cardboard. It is important to me to keep packaging as sustainable as possible. Therefore, I tend to reuse cardboard boxes I receive when I order materials such as canvases or paper from my local art shop.
I posted the drawing with registered post and my client received it the next day. Over the years, I have developed a great process in completing my portrait commissions from the initial contact stage all the way to the packaging and posting. I love what I do and it is always a pleasure creating something special for my clients. Therefor I am always looking forward to what I am going to be working on next.
I am happy to work on any type of commission, so if you have something in mind, just drop me an email at info@trueimage.ie and I will be more than happy to discuss your ideas.
