A Found Friend Commissions A Pencil Drawing

“Commissioned Pencil Drawing” is a straightforward title for a nice story of friendship and inspiration.

I have a friend from summer camp when we were in grade school. We cannot remember the summer we met. We lost touch. She and my older sister became friends as adults.

Last summer I was reading one of my favorite blogs, Happier by Gretchen Rubin. Love her writing, her podcast, her way of thinking. . . for some reason that particular post was so interesting to me that I took time to read the comments. I recognized the married name of my old friend in one of the comments! Her name was clickable, so I followed links, found a picture and recognized her! She had her own blog and a contact button, so I emailed her and she REMEMBERED ME!

But wait. It gets weirder. Would you believe that is the only time she has EVER commented on a national blog?? And it was the only time I have ever taken the time to read the comments on Gretchen’s blog?

We now have a great email correspondence and have gotten together several times. She is a fabulous human, a deep thinker, a thoughtful and kind person, and a Major Blessing in my life. To protect her privacy, I will call her “Found Friend”.

What does this have to do with a commissioned pencil drawing?

Found Friend spent a bit of time at St. Anthony Retreat Center in Three Rivers several years ago, and was struck by a view out the windows of one of the chapels. When she visited me this spring, we went there and sat inside that chapel so she could show me the view because she wanted to commission me to draw that view in pencil.

She insisted that we conduct business in my normal way, no special friend discounts or freebies. This always feels weird to me, but I remember something a wise friend told me years ago: “If your friends won’t do business with you, who will?”

Here are a few photos I took that day.

Small chapel at St. Anthony's
Small chapel at St. Anthony’s
Alta Peak
Alta Peak

IMG_2623 IMG_2624

Tomorrow I will show you the 2 sketches I did for my Found Friend to consider and choose.

Coloring books will be available again on July 1, 2016. You may order, but it will involve a wait.

Happy Recipients

Here are some works of art that were done for Christmas gifts. I heard back from 3 of the 5 about the happiness of the recipients. The fourth and fifth are most likely very happy – an email and a phone call would confirm it, but I don’t like fishing for praise. So, I will assume that the recipients are happy.

colored eyes IMG_2081 petrich gamma.07 toyless dogsbrundage

People say they love my pencil drawings, and I believe them. That’s what they choose for commissioned work.

As far as “off the shelf” work goes, the oil paintings far outsell the pencil.

Go figure. . .

Commission of Cats with Colored Eyes

Remember, Mr. Customer chose view “C” – a Commission of Cats with Colored eyes?

Here it is, Tabby as a kitten and an adult, Sasha as a kitten and an adult.

colored eyes_edited-1

The kitten on the lower right is perched on some sort of a figurine. I don’t know what it is, but Sasha is in charge of it.

And just for fun, as I was finishing up, I was drinking coffee from a mug that says “. . .and thou shalt have dominion over all the beasts, except, of course, for CATS.”

 

2015 Cabin Calendars for Sale

There are still a few of the 2016 calendars, “The Cabins of Tulare County” for sale. This calendar is a collection of pencil drawings of cabins in Tulare County. (Captain Obvious speaks again.) It is heavy on Wilsonia, followed by Mineral King, and there is one token Camp Nelson. These drawings are gathered from the book The Cabins of Wilsonia, and various commissioned drawings I’ve done in the past year or two.

Have a look at the unidentified months. I didn’t attempt to find seasonal pictures, other than a snowy cabin in December. Cabins, for the most part, are summer homes.

2016 calendar drawings

The calendars are $15 each, including sales tax. If you send me a check in the mail or money using Paypal, AND YOU GIVE ME YOUR ADDRESS (excuse me for shouting – someone ordered via Paypal and didn’t give me her address or answer my email – how is she going to get her calendar??), then I will get your calendar to you and pay the mailing costs. (in the USA only)

 

Cats!

For someone who does not consider herself a kitty-puppy artist, I seem to be over-run by pencil drawing commissions of cats and dogs.

That’s okay. I love to draw in pencil.

First, the sketch. The customer chose C.

Cats sketch

Second, begin the real drawing.

Cats 1

Third, keep drawing.

Cats 2

When I told a friend about this drawing, I couldn’t think of the kind of cat called “Persian”. So, I took the palm of my hand and smashed it against my nose, and she got it.

Okay, Central California Artist, quit talking and nose-smashing, and get back to the drawing table.

Dogs!

I have no intention of becoming a kitty–puppy artist. However, when I receive commissions to draw cats or dogs, if the photos are decent and I have the time, I usually say yes to those jobs.

This one began with sketches, as most commissioned pencil drawings do.

Ernst Dogs

Not quite it. More sketches requested.

Dogs B & C

Mr. Customer chose C. Now we’re cooking with gas!

dogs

The printed photos weren’t detailed enough so I also worked from the laptop screen.

Dogs Done

Mr. Customer changed mind about toy in front of dachshund. Back to the drawing board.

toyless dogs

And thus we have 3 dogs all together, being quiet and well-behaved. Mr. Customer informed me that this NEVER happens. That explains why he sent me so many separate photos.

If you recognize these dogs, SHHHHHH. It’s a Christmas present surprise.

Cat Commission Collage

A customer has asked me to draw 2 cats, each one as a kitten and as an adult cat.

Have I ever mentioned that I might maybe perhaps just may have a teensy bit of a Cat Disorder? Ahem. Probably not. But still. . . 

The customer sent me the photographs of his cats, and I worked out some sketches for him to choose from.

Cats sketch
Sketches of cats for pencil drawing commission

He said I was making it hard on him, but eventually decided that C was the best choice.

Of course “C” is the right choice for a Cats Collage Commission.

So, it was with great pleasure that I began this drawing. I will try to get it finished in a timely manner instead of spending endless amounts of time on it, dragging it out because I do love cats.

But I’m fine. No disorders here, nosiree Bob.

Cats 1
Commissioned pencil drawing of cats

Cabin Commission Completed

That would be “commissioned pencil drawing of a Wilsonia cabin completed”, but that title was stupid-long.

This drawing is 12×16″, and chock full of details. (What does “chock full” mean??)

It has been a couple of weeks since you saw the progression, so let’s review.

First, the sketches so the customer could choose the angle. Then, some revisions, which don’t appear in these sketches.

2 other sketches

Next, I began the drawing, working from top to bottom and left to right. That is because I am right-handed, and don’t want to drag my hand across the piece as I’m working it. If I have to revisit an area on the left, I rest my hand on a piece of paper to protect the other parts from smearing.

cabin drawing

The customers wanted their water wheel added, which didn’t show in the sketch. It was tiny, but it is there!

pencil drawing of cabin

I spent a week on this, refining, darkening, figuring out what was in the shadows, sharpening up edges so the cabin would pop out from the background, experimenting with ways to make the forest look better than just scribbles. You’d think I’d have that figured out after drawing the entire book The Cabins of Wilsonia, but it never comes easy.

And at the end of a  week of very concentrated drawing, here is the final result.

Jungwirth

The customers were very happy, and that is always my goal, so I am very happy too.

Happy, happy, happy.

Cabin Commission Continued

Thank you, Veterans. You probably didn’t want to go, probably didn’t like being there, maybe questioned why, but you did it so we didn’t have to. Thank you! (including, especially, Cousin Bruce)

I would have said “Wilsonia Cabin Commission”, but I liked 3 Cs in a row in the title.

pencil drawing of cabin

When you compare this to yesterday’s work, you can see that it is inching forward to the right. You can also see that some of the shadows have been darkened. If you are really focused, you might detect that some of the edges are sharper and see that there is more detail on individual rocks and more pencil on the ground.

The right edge of this image is dark and fuzzy because this drawing is 12×16 and doesn’t fit very well on the scanner. Inquiring minds need to know these things.