Mona Lisa, in pencil, large scale

The actual/original Mona Lisa attracts a huge crowd and this makes it difficult to see her up close, so I thought I'd draw my own version, and in a larger scale. This way we can have a very good look at the detail, albeit in pencil (on canvas) rather than paint (on timber.) Now we've had a good look at the image and can see some of the mystic elements. Her hands do seem rather large and quite masculine (perhaps they really are the artists own hands?) and her smile is indeed captivating (though also quite simple, not many brush-strokes.) I drew her smile 10+ times, for a dozen different smiles and all seemed both right and wrong at the same time. Finally we settled on one that looks right from 6 feet away and from off to the side. Also, the eyes do follow one around the room, it's eerie. Aside from Mona herself, other elements were great to draw also. The road on the left and bridge to the right gave a great sense of adventure to the setting, whilst other landscape features were indistinguishable (mountains?) and further added to the image's mystery. It was a wonderful image to draw and it's exciting to see her here on the wall, like an old friend come to stay.

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Portraits: the portraits are drawn with pencil on canvas, all in large scale and sometimes with acrylic paint used for the background. Though pencil is such a simple implement, it captures human expressions and emotions well through different angles, pressures, techniques and lead types. It's wonderful how life-like a drawing can become. The most exciting aspect of undertaking these portraits is often that, after many hours spent drawing a profile with intense detail, the final touch is to drag a cloth over the detailed work to create shadows...it's always done with trepidation.
I began drawing after 10 years of landscape and abstract painting, all of which were completed rather too quickly and soon filled the house. Determined to slow down the creative process I switched to a far more detailed portrait style, keen to draw 'every single hair and wrinkle' of each subject. By the finish of each portrait the subjects have become so familiar they feel like friends. Hope you enjoy these images and the emotions they bring.
Paintings: playing with color is such a simple joy. Who knew. Mixing colors and adding texture, with layers, to bring an image to life is a great way to spend free time, whilst the stroke of a motley brush is an exciting way to add humanity to a canvas.
Tom,
Fitzroy, Melbourne