Corporate portraits in graphic style

 I rocked some portraits of the business executives at Dow Corning for T. Rowe Price financial planning magazine PlanLink. I worked closely with Art Director Jon Zerivitz and developed this clean, limited pallette, retro, graphic style to illustrate these portraits for their current issue.

Dow Corning executive portrait for T. Rowe Price by Graham Smith

I develop a new portrait style for each issue, have a peek how I illustrated the portraits in the last issue of PlanLink.

G.

Dr. Wright Lassiter cover portrait

Dr.Wright Lassiter for HealthLeader's magazine by Graham Smith

 Sometimes you just get lucky. Art Director Doug Ponte assigned me a famous Doctor to draw. It turns out, he looks like a rock star! Thank you, illustration gods.

Illustrating portraits is so much easier when the subject has a great face - and Dr. Wright Lassiter has a really great face to draw. The HealthLeaders magazine cover article probably won't mention that. I think, Dr. Wright Lassiter is famous for building and administering next generation hospitals. All I know is I could keep drawing this guy forever!

Detail: Dr. Wright Lassiter

The fat lines are made with a #8 round brush and the skinny lines are quill pen - the kind you dip in ink. The background textures are India ink, rolled onto paper with a brayer.

I drew the sketch at about 150% of print size, on Strathmore 50lb sketch paper with an ebony pencil. Drawing geeks like to know that kind of stuff.

Anyways, this guy was so fun to draw, I hope he gets even more famous, so I can draw him again.

Detail: pencil sketch of Wright Lassiter by Graham Smith

Pencil sketch of Wright Lassiter : Graham Smith

 Dr. Wright Lassiter looks so good, all I had to do was leave room at the top for the name of the magazine!

 G.

Sketchbook 28

I like to make my own sketchbooks and fill them with people and places, both real and imaginary.

Sketchbook 28 got it's first drawing in October, and it's last in January. I draw in my sketchbooks everyday, so it took about 4 months to run out of pages.

Sketchbook 28 is 8.5"x11 inches when opened and has about 224 pages, not including the extra pages tipped in. I stapled it together using Neehah Environment recycled paper, regular xerox paper, lots of blue tape and used a recycled file folder for the cover.

I like to draw with pens and pencils of all kinds, but mostly I draw with my Lamy Safari fountain pen. I use a fancy ink from Japan in the pen - Carbon Platinum Ink. It is really waterproof and it doesn't clog the fountain pen. Guache, graphite, colored pencil, magic marker, cut paper, inks, and tip in's all find a place there, too.

This video shows a few (47) of the drawings from the sketchbook, but inside are also art supply lists,  typography, rants, job notes, big ideas, business cards, and assignment sketches.

If we met in person, most likely you are mentioned, or drawn, in one of my sketchbooks. If you made an impression, you are definitely in the book! I love drawing people.

See More Sketchbooks:
Sketchbook 26 - the sketchbook sessions
The Restaurant Sketchbook


Music: Crimson and Clover: Joan Jett covers Tommy James & the Shondells © EMI Records.
 

Graham Smith: Sketchbook 28