Portrait of Haylen

laughing, girl, butterflies, pen and wash, watercolour, watercolor, portrait, cartoon, drawing, painting

I made a few portraits of a Dutch friend of mine over the past few months and when I met his family his nephew asked if I’d make a portrait of his daughter Haylen in a similar style.

Haylen’s a really animated and sweet little girl who laughs a lot and has fantastic teeth; we were all keen that she should show them off in the portrait. Her mum and dad sent me a few recent photos (none with the teeth, however) and one of her laughing when she was two. 

I drew the portrait as an amalgamation of several of the photos and checked with the family that I’d caught Haylen’s ‘essence’ once the linework (below) was finished.

Finally I painted Haylen with watercolours.

portrait, cartoon, girl, outline, drawing, black and white

Portrait of Mike and His Friend

illustration, double portrait, pen and wash, watercolour, watercolor, portrait, cartoon, man, pinkpop, festival, drawing, painting

I was commissioned to make this double portrait while I was staying in Holland. I worked from a photo and made a linework likeness in pencil, drew over it in waterproof pen and then coloured it in with watercolour paints.

pen and wash, watercolour, watercolor,portrait, cartoon, man, pinkpop, festival, drawing, painting

This was a time consuming lesson in getting the brief clear from the get go.

Initially I understood that Mike only wanted a portrait of his buddy, not a double portrait and I went ahead and finished it (below) without double checking. We were both disappointed at the mix up but very happy with the final outcome.