Portrait Commission

I have just finished a portrait commssion of two lovely children, in Colour Pencil. This is a great medium, which gets a bad deal. Many people think of it as pale or lacking intensity, but with the right paper, the right pencils (magic ones, obviously) and the right amount of Observation, colour pencil is as strong and wonderful as you could wish for. Its also a fabulous way to learn about colour, and how they mix and blend, so that just 15 or so pencils can give you the whole spectrum. This portrait is on Bristol Board, which has most of the qualities of an ice rink, but without being just so cold... It takes a mulitude of layers without complaining, but is Unforgiving of a heavy hand or a little slip of the pencil - you can't rub out easily. (so its handy to not let the kids share the table while you're working if its a little wobbly, for example, and if you're a bit jumpy when the phone rings, well - turn it down... those moments only happen when you're working on a delicate area. One slip and your model is scarred, or aged by 20 years) The photo isn't great, but here's the end product.