I created this portrait to mark a one year wedding anniversary of the beautiful couple pictured. It was a gift to the bride in the image commissioned by Andrew, the groom. He wanted to gift his wife something a little unusual and special to mark their first anniversary celebration.
Carol, the gorgeous wife in the photo, was delighted with the portrait and posted a lovely comment on my Instagram page:
This was a gorgeous surprise for our first year anniversary. Your talent is absolutely incredible!!!
Carol, the bride in the portrait commenting on the post on Instagram, July 2024
Check out my Instagram post of this portrait, comment or follow me at https://www.instagram.com/true.image.portraits/?hl=en.
The portrait was based on one wedding photo of the couple. Andrew emailed me a couple more images for reference which are always helpful when capturing the true likeness of the subjects.
The portrait is a graphite pencil drawing on paper. I used Mars Lumograph Black pencils made by Staedtler. As a support I used Fabriano 5 50% cotton paper which is great for layering pencils. I work in a pencil outline sketch at first, working in shading and finally detailing the portrait in many layers. I work over facial detail in most layers and I need a paper that can withstand a lot of pressure. The Fabriano brand is just perfect for this. It is sturdy and has a lovely smooth texture.
The drawing is quite large at 50 x 40 cm. I cropped a good bit of the surrounding interior to feature the couple in more detail. I wanted to be able to capture as much detail in the faces, the bride’s dress, hair and flowers as I could. It is always important to me to fully represent the likeness of the subjects of the portraits I create. Wedding portraits are always an enjoyable challenge 🙂
Get your own wedding photos recreated, whether vintage or current day, they make for great gifts not only for anniversaries but also for birthdays or just as keepsakes to remember that special day. Email me at info@trueimage.ie with your photos and requirements. Unusual requests are welcome!
