A portrait commission is a great and unique gift for just about anyone. Valerie, my client, decided on gifting her daughter and husband with a pencil portrait of their two little girls. Cara, the older 6 year old girl, is sitting while holding her baby sister Fia, only 3 months old. Their grandmother was going to visit them back in March this year and instead of bringing with her the obvious gifts or vouchers, she decided to reach out to me to enquire about a pencil drawing of ther grandchildren.
She told me she finds it impossible to select a suitable gift for her daughter and tends to resort to vouchers. She got this great idea for a portrait instead this year. I was so delighted she chose to contact me with her idea!
About the portrait commission
And that is what it was! An idea and a couple of photographs. One was of Cara on her own with a unicorn headband, the other was of her holding her baby sister. I suggested using the stand alone photo of the older girl as her expression there is so unique and eye-catching. Each of Cara’s eyes is a slightly different shade and my client tells me everyone comments on this. She was very keen for me to capture this in the portrait. This had to be very subtle in the portrait as it was drawn in monochrome.
My client was travelling with the finished drawing. Therefore she wanted it to be small enough to fit into her luggage. She opted for a 30 x 20 cm sized drawing. I prepared a composition first from her photos and emailed her the image. She was happy with the idea. She didn’t want me to include the background, but keep Cara’s unicorn heaband.
The photograph I based the portrait drawing on
Reference Photographs for the Portrait
Once we agreed on the final photos, size and composition, I was ready to start my work. My first step was to create a detailed line sketch of the two girls. This is to capture their main features and likeness. Following was the second step of the drawing progress – first shading. Because I am right handed, I tend to work from top left to bottom right. However, I do think it is important to move across the entire drawing too, as each section, light or dark, influence each other. Therefore, I like to put some basic highlights and shadows across the entire page in tandem.
Documenting the portrait drawing process
I took some videos and photographs throughout the progress and you can see them put together on my Instagram page. Besides the videos I documented the drawing process with photographs that include my hand to show the scale of the portrait.
What my client thought of the portrait of her grandchildren
Valerie, my client was really delighted with the drawing of her grandchildren. She sent me an email in response to seeing a scanned image of the finished portrait:
Hi Ivana – and thank you so much – it looks really great and you have captured Cara’s eyes especially well! I can’t wait for my daughter to see it – I know she will love it!
Thank you again – it’s lovely to see the finished article
Valerie in response to me emailing a scanned image of the drawing, Portobello, Dublin, March 2026
The Finished portrait mounted
Once I made sure my client was happy with her finished portrait, I sprayed it with a light fixative. This creates a light coat of protection for the pencil and paper. It means the pencil does not smudge and can be handled when mounting and framing.
I post all my drawings mounted in a neutral coloured mount. I insert the mounted drawing into a clear plastic sleeve and wrap it well for posting. A lot of the times, my clients choose to collect their portraits from my studio if they live nearby. The mounted portrait drawings are ready to be framed professionally or inserted into a ready-made frame.
I always include some aftercare information when posting portraits. Pencil drawing are best framed under glass to protect the paper from dust. With this I add some business cards and more information on the portrait services I provide.
I am accepting commissions as always. Just email me your ideas to info@trueimage.ie and I will respond within 24 hours. You can also fill out my contact form on my Contacts page.
