New Portrait Assignment--and a Small Challenge

I received a new portrait commission from one of my favorite clients. Her niece, Madison, is 14 years old and has Down's Syndrome, and she has just been accepted to a special school in Massachusetts. The girl is understandably nervous at the idea of going so far away from home (it's several hundred miles away; not a quick trip down the road), but it's also very exciting, and her family is proud of her and happy that she got this opportunity. To celebrate, they are having me do a portrait of her, and to make it a little more special and personal, I am going to letter her name on it and customize it with things she likes. We talked about it and decided on butterflies, so I am planning on drawing some butterflies around her name and a few flying around her.

Now, I am drawing the portrait in pencil (I have included a portrait I drew of Queen Latifah as an example of my pencil work, above), but I am tempted to put the butterflies in color, because I thought that might be very cool and special. However, I'm concerned that the young lady might wonder why she is not also in color, and I don't want to hurt her feelings. I don't have kids of my own, but for those of you who have daughters, do you think I should put the butterflies in color if the rest of the picture is black and white? I feel like it would be a cool effect, but it would look fine if they were in black and white, also. I just want to make sure Madison feels special, because that's the point!

Image is my own artwork

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A Portrait of Tom Cruise

Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, known to us more familiarly as Tom Cruise, is a world-famous actor with dozens of films under his belt. He has been primarily an action star in such movies as Top Gun, War of the Worlds, and the Mission: Impossible franchise, but he has taken more serious roles, as well--he won a Golden Globe for his role in Born on the Fourth of July, in which he portrayed real-life paralyzed Viet Nam veteran Ron Kovic. He has also taken comedic roles, in the movies Tropic Thunder and Rock of Ages.

Tom Cruise's personal life has been fodder for much gossip, from his association with the Church of Scientology to his relationships with wives Mimi Rogers, Nicole Kidman and Katie Holmes, and with other famous actresses such as Penelope Cruz. Despite some odd behaviour, such as the "couch-jumping" incident on the Oprah Winfrey show, Cruise remains a very popular and bankable movie star. I chose him as a portrait subject because--let's face it--the man is drop-dead gorgeous, and he continues to age quite well.

Image is my original artwork, drawn with graphite on Strathmore 400 Series Drawing paper (Strathmore--because if it's not Scottish, it's crap!) Click to enlarge!

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A Portrait of Drew Barrymore

Drew Barrymore, born in 1975 into the famous Barrymore acting dynasty, has been on screen since she was a small child. She made her screen debut in the 1980 film Altered States, but it is generally her role in E.T. that we all remember. Being a child star was not easy on Drew; she got pulled in to a scene that included drug and alcohol abuse, but she pulled herself right back out, and she has been a champ ever since!

Her looks are lovely, of course, but her sweet and spunky personality and gentle but strong soul show through, as well. Not only is she a wonderful and appealing actress, she is a person who I think would really be a lot of fun to just hang out with. I tried to capture her beautiful spirit in this portrait I drew a few years ago. For those of you who like the technical info, it is graphite on Strathmore 400 Series drawing paper.

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Image my original artwork. Click to enlarge!