House portrait in pencil

Here is a house portrait I recently completed in graphite pencil. This artwork is 14"x17" on Strathmore Bristol paper. The portrait will have the address and the dates the client lived there handlettered and centered in the grass area. It really had a lot of details - stonework and bricks.

The more house portraits I draw, the better I am getting at drawing plants, trees, bushes, etc. It's always a quandary what to do with the sky. I don't worry over that so much anymore. I have learned to just use the side of the pencil and a soft touch, gradually building up graphite. Then I use my chamois to blend it so it's soft, followed by the kneaded rubber eraser to lift out the clouds.

You might wonder why someone would want a pencil portrait of a house...I think people just love the look of architecture, and some clients like to create a wall full of art of all the houses they've ever lived in. It's a nice housewarming gift, and a nice momento for people of the home they lived in as a child. There are as many reasons as there are people :)

Click here if you'd like more information about my house portraits. Every house is different, and I'll be glad to give you a quote without any obligation to order anything. Maybe you're just curious what I'd charge. That's okay. Email me anytime.