NOT DOODLES: Bespectacled Portraits

New portraits for the May/June 2017 issue of In Touch magazine!

Layers! Textures! GLASSES!

All images copyrighted ©In Touch Ministries. Used with permission.

NOT A DOODLE:’Nother Portrait, or Perfect Imperfections

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not implying my painting is perfect. In fact, I think that part of the joy of painting is knowing you will NEVER be perfect, but pursuing perfection anyway.

No, the title of this post refers to the beauty of watercolor washes. No crisp, clean lines. No smooth, solid fields of color. There are always blemishes. Always unpredictable interactions with the paper. Always imperfections.

And that makes it perfect.

(By the way, this one is for the March-April 2017 issue of In Touch magazine.)

Illustration is copyrighted ©In Touch Ministries. Used with permission.

NOT DOODLES:Slightly Different Portrait Style

A little different approach to portraits for me. They are going to be fairly small in the finished, printed piece, so the line work needed to be simpler and a bit heavier.

Images copyrighted ©In Touch Ministries. Used with permission.

NOT A DOODLE: Back to the portraits

Back to portrait mode for the January 2017 issue of In Touch magazine. I know I’ve said it before, but I absolutely LOVE the textures achieved with watercolor washes and the way their organic, mottled appearance contrasts with the dark lines and stippling of the pen and ink drawing.

Image copyrighted ©In Touch Ministries. Used with permission.

NOT A DOODLE: Posting a Portrait of a Poet Pal

My friend and co-worker, Cameron Lawrence, for the November-December 2016 issue of In Touch magazine.

NOT A DOODLE: Aaaand Another One! (Portrait, that is.)

Last one, I promise.

Well, until next issue, at least.

Image copyrighted ©In Touch Ministries. Used by permission.

NOT DOODLES (Well…maybe one): Portraits, Sea storms, and a Doodle Grows Up.

 

Some of my recent pieces. The top three are contributor portraits for the September-October 2016 issue of In Touch magazine. The storm scene is for the second volume of children’s stories which will be published this Fall. The cartoony dude was a doodle that got out of control and became a full-blown illustration.

All images (except for the “stepping out on faith” doodle) are copyrighted ©In Touch Ministries, and used by permission. 

NOT A DOODLE: Another portrait is in the books…. or magazine, in this case.

I realized I had never posted a subject photograph of any of the portraits I’ve shared with you guys, and, for all you knew, my finished illustrations could’ve looked nothing like the author I was illustrating. Well, I knew I needed to remedy that, so here you go…. a photo and a progress shot, along with the finished piece.

It’s like a 3-for-1 deal, and you didn’t even have to have a coupon!

This portrait will appear in the July-August 2016 issue of In Touch magazine.

Finished illustration is Copyright ©In Touch Ministries. Used with permission.

NOT DOODLES: Last portraits… I promise… for this year, at least.

My latest set of contributor portraits for the magazine. The lady in the middle is also a co-worker, so I felt added pressure to nail it for fear she would ambush me ninja-style in the break room if I got it wrong.

All images copyright ©In Touch Ministries.

NOT A DOODLE: The Big Boss!

The head honcho. The grand poobah. The mac daddy. The big cheese.

Was finally called on to do an editorial portrait of my main boss. No watercolor washes going on this one; they wanted to go old school black-and-white. So it’s all lines and dots… and lines…. and dots… and more lines… and more dots.

Image ©In Touch Ministries.