Materials

I work with a range of materials, which after much experimenting I've found are BEST suited to live portraiture and event illustration. 

Watercolour Paints

Either in pans or tubes, as long as they are artist grade - and have strong dazzling pigments! Watercolour is fluid and versatile, and live painting with it is really fun. It is also transparent, so I can layer it over drawings and build up shadows and textures. 

The only downside is that it can sometimes take a while to dry, especially when live painting in cold weather!

Ink and Fountain Pens

I have tried and tested so many pens and inks over the years and I have my absolute favourites now! I love working with fountain pens because they are infinitely refillable, which is great for sustainability, but also lets me choose exactly which ink I want to use. I use Lotte permanent fountain pen ink, which flows beautifully and does not BUDGE when wet. For pens, I like to use Tom's Studio, or a simple Fude pen.

Paper

I use sturdy professional watercolour paper that absorbs watercolour nicely, and doesn't warp when wet. I switch between brands, but like 300gsm for thickness.

Easel

I never paint without my desktop easel! It is an absolute necessity for my neck and back when painting for many hours at events. The angle also helps me draw more accurately, as the distance between my drawing and my eyes is level - if that makes sense? If it was flat, the top of the page would be further away from me than the bottom, possibly causing me to draw heads to small as they are further away. Trust me, this is a thing! 

Life Drawing

Life drawing/figure drawing is as much of a tool as my pen or paintbrush. I go to classes regularly to keep my observational skills sharp, and to play with materials. Live portraits are exactly what I do at life drawing class, except with more clothes!

Process

I always start with a rough pencil sketch for my guest portraits - it helps me make sure I have a good composition on the page and likeness in facial features. I then draw over the sketch with my ink pen, and paint over the top! There is a back and forth because at the end of the day this is an art, not a science! And every painting is different. 

These one of a kind paintings are a snapshot of time and place! And I love to capture likenesses to make people feel truly seen and celebrated with personalised artwork.