I finished on this drawing only a couple of weeks ago. It was such a lovely commission to work on, so unusual having the main characters lying down. The two sisters are so cute in the photo, holding hands and sharing a beautiful moment. It was commissioned by their aunt as a gift to their parents. The drawing is 30 x 25 cm in size and there was a lot of detail in the sketch. It took over a week to complete (mind you, it was during the summer and time is not on my hands when my daughter is on holidays from school :)).
The portrait was based on one main reference photograph, which I cropped a little. I didn’t fully finish the blanket on the side to give the drawing a little more interest. The client emailed me a couple more photos of each girl for reference. The Lion King patterns on Edith’s dress and Nell’s onesie was a fun addition to the portrait and I wanted to keep it in. It will bring a lot more meaning to the portrait for the parents and family.
Starting with a line sketch, I worked on the girls first, jotting in the pattern of the blanket as I moved around the drawing surface.
The client was very pleased with the drawing:
Hi Ivana!
Oh my god, it is stunning! The likeness is incredible! Thank you so much! I can’t wait to surprise my sister with it…Thank you so much! My sister and the girls will treasure it. Such a special picture.
Siobhán, Dublin, Ireland
I worked with graphite pencil on paper as usual, with Staedtler Mars Lumograph Black pencils on paper. The drawing was sprayed with a fixative before being inserted in to a neutral coloured mount, as you can see in the photo above. I then wrap the drawing and mount in a clear plastic wrap before posting.
