This is a sketch I made of my son aged 4. The drawing was made using my left hand- I am right handed. Apart from the facial features, all the other lines were drawn continuously without lifting the pen.
Using your less dominant hand and drawing in a different style boosts your creativity. It also lets you look at the world differently. All the ‘mistakes’ in the drawing lend it a special touch and bring a portrait to life, as seen by another side of your brain.
Last week I finished my first portrait commission. A good camera and a skilled photographer can take good photos of a person but when a portrait is commissioned, it needs to be much more than just a likeness. Something extra is needed. While trying to do this portrait, I found out that you need the eyes and mind of a child to look for details- the up or down turn of the mouth, the way the ears stick out, the hair line, the shape of the eye brows, shape of eyes, etc. This can be much more important than getting hair and eye colours exactly right. This was my first attempt and clearly did not look like the person I was drawing.
After many attempts, this is what I got-
Immediately you can tell the first one was not right at all! The finished portrait was made with natural colours such as turmeric, coffee, onion skins and indigo along with pencils to reflect the personality of the man who likes spicy food and travel. Hope the person likes it!
Following my heart 