Cheri and Larry portrait in progress 5 - Blending skin colors
Continuing work on Cheri's face in the “Cheri and Larry” portrait. (Prismacolor pencils on grey Canson paper.) FOR ARTISTS: Lots of...
Kevin Roeckl
Sep 21, 20242 min read
Cheri and Larry portrait in progress 4
I’m making good progress on Cheri’s face. I have known Cheri for 33 years. She was instrumental in introducing my artwork to the Doberman...
Kevin Roeckl
Sep 13, 20241 min read
Cheri and Larry portrait in progress 3 - What color is skin?
What color is skin color? How does an artist know which colored pencils to use when portraying a human face? This post shows the method...
Kevin Roeckl
Sep 9, 20242 min read
Cheri and Larry portrait in progress 2 - Creating a curly hairstyle
This album explains how I created Cheri’s curly “Afro-shaped” hairstyle….from a reference photo where the hair was not visible. 1 This is...
Kevin Roeckl
Sep 5, 20243 min read
Cheri and Larry portrait in progress 1 - 57 years together
The last portrait I shared (a dog in a forest scene) was very complex. This one will be straightforward: a double Head Study of two...
Kevin Roeckl
Aug 31, 20242 min read
Shasta portrait in progress - start to finish
April 30 I'm starting a portrait of Shasta, an Australian Shepherd. It’s a gift from Diane Barnes to her son Takeshi. Takeshi’s...
Kevin Roeckl
Aug 23, 202423 min read
Shasta portrait finished!
A little background about Shasta... Shasta is 11 years old. Her portrait was commissioned by Diane Barnes as a gift to her son Takeshi,...
Kevin Roeckl
Aug 21, 20242 min read
Shasta portrait in progress 20 - The final step
I’m down to the final part of Shasta’s portrait: the footbridge. In a previous step I applied a wash of blue watercolor over the grey...
Kevin Roeckl
Aug 17, 20242 min read
Shasta portrait in progress 19 - A design challenge
A zillion ferns 🤣 in this portrait will soon be completed. Previously I explained about adding green underpainting on both sides of...
Kevin Roeckl
Aug 15, 20242 min read
Shasta portrait in progress 18 - Left side finished...
I’m finally getting down to the wire with this portrait. The ferns on the left are finished. 1 Working my way down to the bottom corner....
Kevin Roeckl
Aug 10, 20241 min read
Shasta portrait in progress 17 - Ferns, ferns, and more ferns
Putting in the ferns with colored pencil over the green underpainting ( see previous post for explanation ). And over the blue-grey...
Kevin Roeckl
Aug 8, 20241 min read
Shasta portrait in progress 16 - More underpainting needed
If you've been following my progress you know that I’m working on grey paper. I’ve decided to put in a green underpainting in the lower...
Kevin Roeckl
Aug 6, 20241 min read
Shasta portrait in progress 15 - The "flow" of a composition
The picture shows the whole portrait as it looks now. There is a diagonal line of bright yellows going to the right and up from Shasta’s...
Kevin Roeckl
Aug 2, 20242 min read
Shasta portrait in progress 14 - The path through the forest
I’m working on the path now, to the left of Shasta. Here’s today’s work... 1 You can see the curved lines of the path (sketched in with...
Kevin Roeckl
Aug 1, 20241 min read
Shasta portrait in progress 13 - Color info for artists
Filling in around Shasta’s head with a bunch of different greens. There's some good color info in this post for artists! This photo taken...
Kevin Roeckl
Jul 27, 20242 min read
Shasta portrait in progress 12 - Slow, painstaking work
Carefully working the greens of the background around the back-lit hairs of Shasta's ears. Unlike the underpainting technique on the...
Kevin Roeckl
Jul 22, 20241 min read
Shasta portrait in progress 11 - Greens and golds
Shasta herself is finished. I always love the way it looks when the subject is “3-dimensional” on the flat grey paper! Next I’ll start on...
Kevin Roeckl
Jul 20, 20242 min read
Shasta portrait in progress 10 - Pausing for a little blue
After I finished Shasta’s head and neck, I continued working my way down her body. But I had to pause my pencilwork for a series of steps...
Kevin Roeckl
Jul 16, 20243 min read
Shasta portrait in progress 9 - Perfect for notecards
Shasta’s white ruff is finished. A set of custom notecards is included with my portraits. Usually the whole portrait is on the card. But...
Kevin Roeckl
Jul 16, 20241 min read
Shasta portrait in progress 8 - The story behind the art
Cheryl sent me the most adorable picture of Shasta “belly up” on the chaise yesterday. I’ve come to know her through Cheryl’s and Tk’s...
Kevin Roeckl
Jul 11, 20242 min read
