I was commissioned to draw a pencil illustration of the old school building back in January this year. The drawing was gifted to the school Secretary who retired earlier this year. The school is a beautiful historic building built in 1914.
I was contacted by the school principal Stephen. He took a photograph of the building and decided to commission the 25 x 35 cm drawing.
There are some branches at the top of the photo that my client wasn’t sure about. I felt they add a bit of structure and interest in the drawing and I suggested they be kept in. Stephen agreed on my suggestion.
I scanned the finished drawing on my scanner and emailed the image to the school. Stephen and his colleagues were very happy with the scan:
Hi Ivana! This is absolutely incredible. Well done. I am thrilled with it. Can’t wait to see it in person.
Stephen Flood, acting principal of St. Brigid’s BNS in Foxrock upon seeing the finished school building drawing, Dublin, January 2025
For the drawing, I used mostly Faber-Castell graphite and charcoal pencils Pitt Graphite Matt and Staedtler Mars Lumograph Black pencils of varying softness. I wanted to capture the entire building hence suggesting a wider format of 25 x 35 cm. I removed some of the sky and tarmac from the top and bottom of the photo so the format responds to the shape of the building.
I started with an accurate pencil sketch of the composition before moving on to shading. I really enjoy this process I have developed over the years. Not only do I love creating an accurate representation through the initial line sketch, but with shading I can add my own vision into the artwork. I often accentuate certain aspects of a detail and loosen some background.
I inserted the finished drawing into a neutral coloured mount after client’s approval. I took some photos before posting the drawing to my client. This was the final step in my commission process before posting it off to the client. I always feel so satisfied when this process is finished, especially if the client is happy with the artwork too.
Commission your own artwork by emailing your requirements and photos to me at info@trueimage.ie