Sunday 24 February 2013

...brake for the border...!



I had been asked to produce a pen & ink house portrait of a private residence - 'Border House'. This was to be ready in time to be presented as a surprise gift christmas morning. 
The winter weather precluded the possibilty of drawing from life - brrr -  so I took plenty of reference photos of the house to use in the studio. However, refurbishment and rebuilding works were underway and I would have to revisit the site later on in the drawing to gather additional photos of the finished works, which would allow me to complete my commission.
Unfortunately the poor (freezing), weather brought both the works and my drawing to a standstill.  


'Border House' with pencil construction lines - halfway through the inking stage.


With the promotion and selling of the Cat Tales and Downham Market 2013 calendars, my schedule was pretty full. Alongside my time in the studio, I was also regularly attending the market square on Fridays and Saturdays. In order to complete the drawing on time I knew I would have to apply myself to it exclusively and put the brakes on any other work I had - which included appearing on the market square.  
Which was just as well since the temperature continued to drop!

Refurbishment and drawing works complete - 'Border House' in full summer bloom.


Combining summer reference images with the reference photos I took more recently I could recreate a summer's scene with 'Border House' in full vibrant bloom. 
The final reference photos were taken not long after the cock crowed early Sunday morning of the 23rd and the finishing architectural touches added to the drawing by midday. The finished artwork was approved, scanned by Mike at Downham Market Design & Print, to be framed by Andy at Teddies & Toys for client collection Christmas Eve afternoon. 
Perfect timing.
On a cool crisp Christmas Day a pen and ink drawing of a hotter than July 'Border House' became the most unexpected of festive gifts. 



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