Mouths, Lips, Teeth
I’ve been doing a lot of drawing practice to improve my people portrait drawing skills. Mouths and teeth are the most challenging I think of all the features. All done in Procreate on the iPad.
More mouths!
Millie at Rest: Doggie Eyes and Noses
Millie at Rest, Sketched in Procreate on the iPad
Sketching my dear little Millie, the Formosan Mountain Dog, a rescue from Taiwan and always a source of inspiration for drawing, painting, and getting out in nature every day for a walk.
Sketching TV: Project Runway People
I’m going to be posting daily in order to catch up with a bunch of work done previously and never posted. Then I can be current everywhere instead of just on Instagram and Facebook. So here are some sketches I did from the TV while watching Project Runway’s last season. All were done on the iPad in Procreate last year! Above and just below the lovely Maragarita from Puerto Rico.
Sketching People on the iPad Pro
Lady in Red (from Sktchy)
While my backyard and the entrance to my studio were inaccessible due to construction I did more drawing and painting on my iPad than on canvas. The 12.9″ iPad is just the right size for me and the Apple Pencil makes it just like drawing with a great pencil or pen except so much easier to erase or start over without fear of “wasting” paper. Here are a few of those sketches from TV and photos.
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- My niece Sophie and Grandbaby Madeleine iPad sketch
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- Sophie and Madeleine Photo
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- Lady in Blue (from Sktchy)
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- Broadchurch: Actress Olivia Colman
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- Uma Birthday Sketch in Procreate
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- Lady in Red (from Sktchy)
The Problem of sketching before breakfast
And here it is below in my sketchbook before adding color in Procreate.
Not sure which I prefer. I couldn’t finish the drawing since I ate half of a peach and a banana for breakfast and then needed to refrigerate the rest.
Oil Portrait of Baby Toa; Painting with Joy and Freedom
Portrait of Baby Toa, oil on linen panel, 10×8 inches
I really enjoyed making this painting of my friend’s grandson Toa. The biggest challenge was working from a cellphone photo taken in a carseat in the dark where his skin looked dark and bright orange. Fortunately I was able to see some other snapshots with better skin color.
I’ve been taking a new approach to painting; focusing on the joy of creating and letting go of the internal “committee” that demands perfection. I have accepted that my work will never be perfect and that perfect art bores me anyway. A bit of wonkiness, even in a portrait, is ok with me, if I feel I have captured the spark of the subject. I’m painting for myself; if it pleases someone else too that’s a bonus, but not at all a requirement. Giving myself this freedom has completely changed my life.
Below are my initial sketches, a picture of the setup with the photo, and an early stage in the painting.
Toa Preliminary sketch on paper
Toa Preliminary sketch edited in Procreate
Toa, initial stage of painting
Painting on easel with reference photo on iPad
Sketching from TV
I’ve been enjoying using my new jumbo iPad Pro 12.9 and Apple Pencil with the Procreate App to sketch interesting characters on TV shows I watch. It’s fun getting back to drawing faces, especially when the actors are emoting. It’s fun and addictive experimenting with what the app has to offer and trying to learn about all the different brushes and features.
Above from Broadchurch — not quite a likeness and lots wrong with the drawing but had to stop sketching and watch the rest of the episode! ( (it’s back for Season 3 on BBC America). All of these sketches are done in Procreate, with Apple Pencil and jumbo IPad Pro. This one used a combination of airbrush and technical pen. The other two below mostly used the 6B pencil. Read More
