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.

 

Campground Map and Sign

I was staying at Camping Schoonenberg, a beautiful campgound set in woodland in North Holland when one of the staff members saw me painting a portrait. He showed a photo of my painting to the manager who asked me to make a new combined sign and map for the campground. Delighted!

handpainted sign, signwriting, map, map making, campground, forest, woodland, camping schoonenberg, driehuis, north holland, holland, acrylic paint, wood, illustration, leaves, brambles, sign, painting, art

I started by making a rough map of the campground as I walked around it, using an aerial view from google earth as a template for the outline. The manager then helped me number the camping places and mark which ones had electricity.

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I then drew the full size map out on paper and added all the details and text (above). 

handpainted sign, signwriting, map, map making, campground, forest, woodland, camping schoonenberg, driehuis, north holland, holland, acrylic paint, wood, illustration, leaves, brambles, sign, painting, art

Once the draft had been approved I traced it onto a piece of primed marine plywood which had been cut to allow a narrow unpainted border.

handpainted sign, signwriting, map, map making, campground, forest, woodland, camping schoonenberg, driehuis, north holland, holland, acrylic paint, wood, illustration, leaves, brambles, sign, painting, art

Since the sign will be hung in a place which is sheltered from direct sunlight and rain and will be stored inside during the winter months when the campground is closed I chose to use acrylic paints which are water based. That makes the whole process much cleaner and odour free.

handpainted sign, signwriting, map, map making, campground, forest, woodland, camping schoonenberg, driehuis, north holland, holland, acrylic paint, wood, illustration, leaves, brambles, sign, painting, art

 

IJmuiden Port from Forteiland

A quick sketch of IJmuiden Port from Forteiland.
pen and wash, watercolour, watercolor, sketch, sketchbook, art, port, harbour, boats, ferries, docks, lighthouse, IJmuiden, Forteiland, Holland

Wedding Card

love, portrait, wedding, card, bride and groom, wedding portrait, happy couple, marriage, double portrait, black and white, drawing, digital art, illustration

I went to the beautiful wedding of this  delightful couple recently. It was a gorgeous day – really fun and moving.

This is the card I made them, adapted from photos I found on their Instagram feed. 

I drew the portrait in pencil, scanned it into Photoshop where I tinkered with it, then printed it onto card.

Wishing them all the love and luck in the world for a long and happy marriage.