My Grandfather's Helper
Draw Lifelike Pencil Portraits

by Laila Tara
(London)

Well, firstly before I write about the drawing, I have to write about me so you understand the importance of the drawing. I'm 15 and my grandfather is the most important person in the world to me. The woman in this sketch was his helper for a while and because she was so caring and loving towards him, I drew her while she was asleep. I only used pencil, and it took about 20 minutes to draw.
Laila :)

Doug's Note: Excellent drawing ... particularly considering your age, and you did it from life in about 20 minutes.

You've captured all the important elements in figure drawing ... the entire drawing is "alive". The gesture of the body is just excellent.

Nothing is overdone. With a few spontaneous and carefully placed lines, you've captured the model's dress and bare foot very well.

From what I can see on my monitor, the implication of her right foot is implied by the lightly shadowed area behind her left foot. Just the right amount of lines in her foot and hand (suggesting knuckles) are an indication of a good artist.

Nice shading on the sweater, which implies a high waist band, and the shadow around her bent arm suggests depth.

The only criticism I can come up with, is the general texture of some parts of the sweater could have been more sensitively done (but again, twenty minutes doesn't give you a lot of time).

The face and the hair are well done ... just the right amount of correctly placed lines. And finally, even the pillow is done very well. The roundness and the tube-shape of the pillow are obviously indicated by well-placed lines.

As a contour pencil drawing, in my opinion, this is a superb piece of artwork. You've used just enough of the right lines to leave something to the viewer's imagination, particularly the dress and the foot. Those kinds of well-placed lines are always a hallmark of good art. Especially for a 15 year old!

If this drawing is any indication of other pencil drawings, you understand and obviously grasp the importance of "eye-hand co-ordination" which I talk about on my website.

Keep drawing!