Classic beauty pencil drawing

It was great drawing the 6 foot tall, classic beauty, Tamara at the Sony Life Drawing Workshop this week. A tiny bit more is learned every time I sit down to draw. That's pretty much the secret to drawing well, lots of practice.

Blue colored pencil, with white china marker, on Strathmore Toned Grey paper. 18'x24". 40 minutes pose.

The Official BBQ Tasters of the Boston Globe

How am I just finding out that this is a thing? Up until the very moment I illustrated these portraits for the Boston Globe, I thought artists had the best job. But Official BBQ taster? These folks are winning.

Brush and ink portraits by Graham Smith.

Sony Life Drawing Workshop

The Sony Life Drawing Workshop starts up this Tuesday, August 19th. (6 -9pm) We'll be doing longer poses to try and push our drawing as far as they can go. 

Decorative patterned whale - illustration process

Blue Smoke whale - illustration process from Graham Smith on Vimeo.

Peek behind the scenes, in this illustration process video, while illustrator Graham Smith draws a whale full of decorative patterns, using a Lamy fountain pen and a Micron marker.

This whale illustration is part of the visual assets for a Blue Smoke Sushi Restaurant branding campaign, art directed by Hollis Brand Culture.

I'll post some photos next month, when the restaurant opens, and we can see the final product!

First century warrior - life drawings

We had a great time at the Sony Life Drawing Workshop, drawing muscular model, Yoni, costumed as a first century warrior, complete with a few props from the TV series, Sparta. 

Here are a few quick sketches, and a couple of 20 minute drawings done with colored pencils, gesso, and acrylic paint wash.