Pencil Portraits Drawn From Photos - Pencil Portrait Artist Darla Dixon

I was able to draw for 2-3 hours last night, finally getting some sleep at about 2 am. I have such a backlog, it's a bit overwhelming. I am so grateful to people who have been patiently waiting and understanding about my health needs (just had a baby 2 months ago, see pictures below).

I am dying to show you the drawings I have been working on, but most of them are meant to be surprises, but if I show them here in the blog, I might really blow it. So hang in there with me, willya - and I'll show them as soon as I can.

The most recent issue of American Artist Drawing magazine came in, and lo behold, there was much rejoicing in the land! This Fall 2005 issue has an excellent article about a graphite pencil artist named Dan Gilhooley. I'll admit that I shouldn't say it's an excellent ARTICLE yet, because I haven't actually had time to read the words...but I looked at the pictures and the comments around them. It was even difficult to do that, while giving Little Guy his bottle. But with skillful balancing of the bottle under my chin when the pages needed to be turned, I was able to at least peruse the magazine! (git'er done)

I was so inspired my his use of contrast - let me see if I can describe this well enough - he will 'focus in' on one aspect of the person he is drawing...the eyes, the hair, or maybe even an area across the face...that he wants us as viewers to see with more impact also. He has great photorealistic ability with pencil portraiture, but his use of the dark as a point of impact makes it very special.

I found myself using some of this technique last night in the portrait I was working on.
The last artist who impacted my art style this much was J.D. Hillberry.

I wish I could show you an example of Dan Gilhooley's pencil artwork, but I can't locate his art on a website anywhere. So hurry out and pick up the latest issue of American Artist Drawing magazine so you can check it out. The issue is $8.50, well worth it when you find something that inspires you as an artist.

UPDATE: Mr. Gilhooley contacted me and gave me his website address. It's
http://dangilhooley.com/