Alphonse Mucha Practice Sketch

Alphonse Mucha Practice Sketch

Alphonse Mucha is one of the most famous art nouveau artists. Even if you haven't heard of him you will have probably seen his work which is easily recognizable by the elegant art nouveua style, iconic line art and delicate watercolour washes. He's also one of my favorite artists by far and I often practice doing sketches after his work when I'm struggling to think of what to draw.

...So, this year hasn't gone quite to plan yet. At the start of the year I had big plans for doing a lot more artwork. However in January I was informed that I was being made redundant (something that came to pass last week) as a result I have mostly been trying to think of ways to feed myself over the next few months!

Despite this and the ever present need to find a new job I will be trying to pick up my feet over the next few weeks. I have several ideas in the pipeline including several individual paintings, a few projects that I'd like to get finished and a deck of tarot cards. I also hope to spend a lot more time sketching and drawing as I seem to have allowed myself to get side tracked from that recently.

On top of this I'm hoping to redesign my website again using some very complicated looking books on XHTML, CSS and Java that I picked up at the library and open a eBay store.

So, if you'd like to keep up to date on whether I'm being a good girl and drawing instead of watching episodes of Lost and eating cookies, now would be a good time to "like" my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/TessaLakeillustration which is updated regularly with random photos taken from my phone and odd bits of non-blog-worthy news!

Pet Portrait

My goodness it's been a while since I last posted anything new! But I've finally got myself sorted with a shiny new super quick computer so it's back to business as usual I hope!

While my computer has been out of action I've been working on this lovely little pencil commission. This little chap was quite a feat with his very impressive, but very fiddly ears. He was approved by his owner today so he will be winging his way to her this week. I must admit that despite that fact that I've done a few commissions now I'm always terrified when I send through proof photos. I think it's very similar to the feeling of sitting in a waiting room before going into an interview for a job you really want. Still, I'm sure the fear must serve to make me work harder!

The next commission I'm working on will be back to my beloved Photoshop to create a image for a unique cameo necklace but unfortunately I won't be able to share this one with you until the new year as it's a Christmas present.

If you would like more updates on what I'm getting up to please follow me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TessaLakeillustration

Mucha Sketches

Todays post is a couple of quick pencil sketches done from the work of one of my favourite painters Alphonse Mucha. 

Christening Colouring Sheet

Last week I found myself working on a rush job for a local church. The client was putting together a pack for the children who would be at a Christening and asked me if I would be able to draw her a colouring sheet for the pack.

Simple? You’d think so but the problem is that she needed it within the hour, so no time to go home and collect supplies. I had to make do with a blunt pencil and some printer paper!

Despite these trials the client who had asked for a picture of a young boy walking away from an alter with footprints walking beside him, was very happy with the resulting sketch.

The above image was scanned from one of the photocopies and very slightly tweaked.

Book Cover Mock-up

So I was trying to decide what to sketch today and came up with an idea for a new cover for the book I’m reading at the moment, “The Historian”. It’s a vampire novel and has a very plane red cover with nothing but the name of the book and the author on it. I figured it would be good practice to make up my own cover.

Early in the book a print of a medieval dragon features quite strongly so I’ve decided to make this the main feature of the cover. This sketch is the dragon I’ve come up with based on the description and a little research on dragons in medieval art. He’s not exactly a carbon copy of a medieval dragon but the shape of the body and wings are similar to most depictions. I need to clean him up and make a ink copy and I also need to do some work on the banner before I scan him and start working in Photoshop.

On the finished cover I will have the dragon outline and the title in red (if it was a real cover I would have this metallic) and the background in black. I haven’t decided yet whether I will stretch my dragon across the back and front or flip him and have him just on the front cover perhaps with some other little detail on the back to add interest.

Priestess

Todays sketch was modified from a photo on the Wet Canvas free image library.

Black Knight Sketch

I feel like I’ve been a bit lazy recently. I’ve started going to the gym again and that has taken up a lot of my time but that is just no excuse. So, in order to rectify this little problem I’ve decided I need to set myself the task of updating my blog once a day again. Whether I can achieve this or not is debatable but the intention is there so we’ll just have to see how I get on with it.

 So, on to todays post. I’ve decided that with all the watercolour work I’ve been doing recently I’ve been ignoring the grass roots of sitting down and sketching so that’s what I’ve done today. I’m rather proud of the result as I’m sure I’ve mentioned before I’m not usually happy with my male figures but this one has turned out quite well. The source photo was taken by a friend and the subject is a member of the Plantagenet Society, when this photo was taken I believe he was taking a moment to glower at the audience. If you live in England I highly recommend getting along to one of their shows (and not just because I’m a member!)

In the next couple of days I’m hoping to have a go working in two mediums I’ve never tried before, ink and acrylic. It is perhaps a lie to say I’ve never worked in ink before as I have always inked my Ratz cartoons (like the one below) using technical pens before scanning into the computer to add colour. What I’m going to do this time is use brush and ink (which I’ve been informed is not the easiest way to use ink) and then experiment with the different effects that can be created using different mediums to colour the resulting image. I may add my experimentation in acrylic into this mix too and re-work the same picture over and over in different styles to see what happens. I’m hoping that I enjoy using acrylics as I love the effects that you can get with oil and acrylic but after a short experiment using oils I decided that I just didn’t enjoy using them not least because the smell made me feel ill and made poor old Peanut the rat sneeze!

Petals in the Rain – WIP 1

The muse has hit me for a new Geisha painting.

Unlike my last Geisha painting which was based heavily upon a photo which I requested permission to use, this idea comes completely from my imagination. I’ve started with a pen sketch to plan out what I want. In my original vision, I was going to have my Geisha on a washy blue grey background but as I added more detail to the sketch a background appeared all by itself… funny how that happens when your not concentrating too hard. So, I’ve decided to use the background but keep the colours in blue greys with perhaps the odd hint of colour, while the Geisha in the fore ground with be in very bright yellows, greens and reds.

This Little Piggy

Right I’m back to the drawing board and looking forward to (hopefully) finishing my Aslan painting at the weekend. In the mean time here’s a little piggy! I’m thinking of re-doing him in watercolour soon.

I also joined the local artist club “Swindon Artist Forum” today. They have a gallery in the centre of Swindon town and all the members I’ve met seem really nice. Who knows maybe I’ll even apply for some space in the gallery myself next year.

Oh! Mr Darcy

Mr Darcy

Graphite on 220gsm Cartridge Paper

(8 1/2" x 5 7/8")

This was going to be yesterdays post but unfortunately my computer decided to have a funny five minutes, it seems to have recovered all by itself though so here we go…

Today’s post is the gorgeous Mr Darcy (Colin Firth). Pride and Prejudice is one of my favourite books and I love the BBC adaptation. I’m also really happy with this sketch, particularly the nose. I sometimes have issues with noses but this one looks particularly nose like!

Mr Darcy is now on sale on eBay Click Here

Lion Pride ACEO set

Lion Pride ACEO's

Graphite on 220gsm Cartridge Paper

I’ve recently been inspired by Fay Akers to create my first set of ACEO cards. Hope you don’t mind :) I’ve called this set of four “Lion Pride” as it features 4 lions including my favourite one a little baby lion. I’ve never worked this small before so it was a new experience but I really enjoyed it and will definitely be making more ACEO’s in the future.

These are now up for sale on eBay Click Here

Mr Lion

Mr Lion

Pencil on Cartridge Paper

Today’s post is Mr Lion… Why is he Mr Lion? In my view anything with teeth that big deserves every respect!

I can't draw today!

Enchanted

Pencil on Cartridge Paper

Today I decided to draw my friends scruffy little dog but after about an hour I decided that I can’t draw! So instead I did this cheesy doodle from the movie Enchanted.

Catherine of Aragon

Catherine of Aragon

Pencil Sketch on Cartridge Paper

Today’s daily post is a fantasy sketch of Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII. I’ve been watching the first season of the BBC series “The Tudors” this week and I recently read the book “The Other Boleyn Girl”. In both of these my favourite character was been Queen Catherine who both in fiction and in historical record is portrayed as a good person who lived a privilege but tragic life full of loss and betrayal… I do have a thing about tragic figures lol

This sketch is inspired by several period paintings of Catherine.

Bunny

Today’s post is another little colour sketch. I’m quite enjoying playing with coloured pencils at the moment although I think I need to update my pencil set. I’m also working on a new oil painting but I’ll post on that once I’ve got the basic colour down.

Daily Sketch 31/08/2010

Rudolph the Big Nosed Reindeer

Pencil on Cartridge Paper

Today’s sketch is a big nosed deer… That almost sounds like a breed but unfortunately it’s not. This poor deer has been the victim of a slight miscalculation on my part. Is it too early in the year to call him Rudolph?

Daily Sketch 30/08/2010

Sookie Stackhouse

Pencil on Cartridge Paper

Today’s sketch is Sookie Stackhouse from True Blood. I’m not overly happy with this sketch, there’s a lot about it I’d like to improve but it has made me realise that bigger isn’t necessarily better. I always remember my art teacher at College nagging me to work bigger, after enjoying working in A3 yesterday I thought I would do the same today however I think I would have enjoyed this sketch more if I had been working in A4. I may try this one again tomorrow in A4 to see how it turns out.

Daily Sketch 29/08/2010

Aslan

Pencil on Cartridge Paper

Today’s daily sketch is the first fantasy sketch that I’ve done in a while. This is based on C.S. Lewis Narnia stories, I loved these books when I was a child although as I have grown older I have found it hard to see the books the way I did back then as they have so many hidden meanings that as children you ignore but as an adult you cannot.

Unlike my previous sketched this one is in A3, I thought I’d work larger than normal to make up for the last two days in which I didn’t get around to posting. On Friday I took my mother to Weston-Super-Mare and Ikea and didn’t get home until late in the evening when I had just about enough energy to fall into bed. Then yesterday I found myself nursing a very poorly rat who I was worried wouldn’t pull through but luckily with medicine, yoghurt and a day of being curled up in a blanket on my lap he appears to be pulling through, fingers crossed.

Daily Sketch 26/08/2010

Lamb Chop

Pencil on Paper

Today’s daily sketch is Dolly. I spotted this smiley little sheep while I was walking across the Ridgeway from Barbury Castle to Avebury with my friend Jen in the spring. Now I’m not a great fan of sheep, in my opinion they’re a bit dim and smelly and best encountered in the form of a chop on Sunday. Jen however loves sheep and whenever we spot one she insists that we hang around for half an hour to talk to it, on this occasion I decided I may as well spend the time taking photos.

I hope yesterdays tiger appreciated today’s lamb chop!

Daily Sketch 25/08/2010

Sleeping Tiger

Pencil on Paper

I really did have trouble figuring out what to draw today. At first I thought I would draw another movie portrait but I seem to have fallen into a little routine of doing one of those every other day and I don’t want to start drawing nothing but movie scenes. Then I thought I would draw from one of my cemetery photos but flowers and berries just didn’t inspire me today so in the end I decided I would have to draw an animal.


I’ve noticed while nosing around some of the fantastic work out there that nearly every artist has attempted to draw a tiger at some point. I’ve always thought tigers are incredibly difficult to capture and my attempt has done nothing to change my opinion. However I have wandered sheep-like after the masses and this sketch is the result… Hmm, maybe tomorrow I shall draw a sheep “Bahhh!”