This was a picture I was really looking forward to. This gentleman is Robin Wells, a musician/composer/conductor. He is the leader of the Farnham and Bourne Choral Society, of which I am a member, and he has a marvellously expressive face, full of character, as one would expect of a choirmaster. I obtained a photograph of him after the 2010 Easter concert and recently set about drawing him in pencil.
The first thing to note was the glasses. Unlike Groucho Marx's, Robin's glasses are quite real, and therefore bend the light from his eyes. It was a real challenge to draw the image behind the glass as it appeared and not succumb to the temptation of drawing what I thought it should look like!
Then there were the eyes themselves. Robin's eyes are quite dark, so I decided to exercise a little artistic licence and make them sparkle a little. I prefer this effect, but it's not for everyone. Comments on this are appreciated (and don't spare my feelings if you don't like it...). I did something similar with the teeth.
When I showed the portrait to Robin (who has no idea I was drawing it) his first reaction was 'Am I really that wrinkly?!'. Well the answer is yes and no. All the wrinkles in the picture are faithful to the original, but I must admit I made then far darker than they really are. I feel they stand out more this way and bring the face to life. Again, comments welcome on this. Apart from this Robin seemed happy with the portrait so here it is for all to see.
It is also on display at pencil-pictures.co.uk
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