My Dad

by Neil Kitchen
(Ireland)

Hi Everyone

I recently posted a picture of a church I drew, which was the first picture I had drawn in a number of years.

When I went looking for different techniques to help me improve my drawings, I came across this website which really impressed me.

I was so motivated when I saw other pictures on the site, and how everyone supports one another, I thought I'd make another stab at a drawing.

This is an unfinished drawing. It is of my dad but, when finished, it will also contain my mother and my eldest son.

One of the techniques I noticed was the use of grid lines when drawing. I thought I would put it to the test and share with you how it affects the proportions of the picture. It takes a little time to erase the lines but, it is so worth the effort.

The picture has taken me about 2 hours so far (I have many more hours to go) and I used 3H, H, HB, 3B & 6B pencils. I also created a blending stick using rolled up paper, which is also another technique I picked up from this site...

Anyway, enough of me rambling... I hope this technique helps you as much as it helps me...

Update:
Follow Neil's progress and view the next step in his experiment using grid lines for the first time...

Mum and Dad - Work In Progress



Note from Kerry:

Hi Neil,
It certainly saves a lot of grief to use grid lines when doing portraits, especially for more inexperienced artists.

I do think though that you might benefit by trying a bigger grid on your canvas (next time, that is) - it's easier to erase and it's main purpose is for proportion which is really all you need it for.

I think you already have 'an artist's eye' and you don't need any help getting details right which is when smaller grid lines come in handy.

I hope I'm making sense! My intention is to help, not confuse!

Oh, and thanks for your kind words about the site, you made my day!