Portraits | Horse Hair Tribe

Custom Portraits

Thank you for your interest in a custom drawn portrait.

I'm only able to accept a limited amount of portraits to draw at this time. Please send me a message located under the contact tab and I'll write back to you as soon as possible to let you know if I can accept your request.

I reserve the right to refuse to draw from a poor reference photo.

See the guidelines for a good reference photo below.

Disclaimer:

*I do not guarantee the subject(s) will look exactly like they are in the reference photo

*I do not guarantee refunds if you're not satisfied with the portrait

What Subjects do I draw?

My specialty is drawing animals but I also draw people, objects (such as cars) and landscapes.

The mediums I currently draw in are charcoal, chalk pastel and watercolor.

I do not draw in colored pencil now because it is one of the slowest mediums to work with and I can get the similar affect using chalk pastel.

Charcoal:

Cheetah cub drawing

A charcoal portrait of a boy walking with his pony

This was not my best work because the size of the two subjects from the reference photo were about 3 cm high so I could not see any details and had to use my imagination to finish the portrait.

Colored Pencil:

1967 Shelby GT 500

Watercolor:

Silhouette I completed in watercolor of the first horse I trained

Charcoal:

This is a portrait I drew of Ginger Rogers

Graphite:

This is an example of my early work. It's a self portrait of my baby photo I drew in high school. My skills have improved since then.

Soft Pastel:

This grizzly bear was drawn in many, many layer of pastel to achieve realism and a painterly affect.

Guidelines of Acceptable Reference Photos

A professionally taken photo is always best to draw from if you're fortunate enough to have a professional photographer. However, I understand this isn't always possible, especially if an animal or person has passed away or your favorite moment wasn't able to be captured by a professional.

Here are some guidelines that make a good reference photo:

Lighting

Do: make sure the subject is well lit by natural light either by a window or outside (not in direct sunlight which usually overexposes the subject).

Do not: take photos where the subject is back lit as that usually makes them way too dark. It usually doesn't work well to take photos in an artificially lit room- there are so many kinds of lights and usually distorts the color of the fur, hair or skin which makes it impossible to draw from accurately. Do not use a flash- this will discolor eyes and distort the color of the animal, person or object.

For example, none of these photos are acceptable for the following reasons:

The Position of the Person, Animal or object

Do: The angle in which you take of the subject makes a huge difference. You want to take their photo at or around the animal or person's eye level.

Do not: take photos from odd angles that are unnatural or distort the subject- it usually does not translate well in a drawn portrait. I don't recommend looking down on an animal- this usually makes their nose huge and their feet tiny, plus you can't see their body. Only in rare circumstances does this position work.

Clarity

Do: make sure the picture is as clear and crisp as possible. The more details I'm able to see, the more detailed the drawing will be. Clarity makes a huge difference in the end result.

Do not: submit a blurry photo. I'm not able to make up or guess details especially on an animal, person or subject I've never seen. Even photos that people think are not blurry, end up being too blurry for me to draw from.

Size of the photo:

Do: submit a photo where you can clearly see the subject. The larger the subject is in the photo and the larger the photo, the more I can see and the more detail there will be.

Do not: submit a photo where you can hardly see anything about the subject. (Example: Polaroid photos) I usually end up enlarging the photo to draw from and if I enlarge it starting from a tiny subject- it will be way too grainy and I will not be able to draw from it at all.

If you still have any questions whether your photo is usable or not, you can still email it to me to assess.

Overexposed and too blurry

Underexposed and too blurry

Underexposed and uneven lighting.

This photo is also too blurry.

Underexposed and poor artificial lighting.

This photo is also too blurry.

The lighting is perfect in this photo but it's too blurry and the dog is in an awkward position. The subject needs to be in the perfect position for the photo. I cannot look at a subject and draw it in a different position. I draw exactly what see. I can't imagine anything. This photo would not be acceptable for a commission unless the client wanted the photo drawn exactly like this.

There are several elements wrong with this photo that make it unacceptable as a reference photo.

1) the kitten is overexposed from the camera flash and is changing the composition of her eyes

2) even though it may not look like it, this photo is not clear enough to be an adequate reference photo.

There are several elements wrong with this photo that make it unacceptable as a reference photo.

1) the dog is overexposed from the camera flash and is changing the composition of her eyes

2) this photo is not clear enough to be an adequate reference photo.

The lighting is very poor and the photo was taken much too close to the nose so her body is completely disproportional. Also, the photographer didn't include her feet which may not translate well when drawing the portrait.

The photo is also not focused enough to be usable as a reference photo.

Prices & Sizing

The medium you choose dictates the size of the paper used

I DO NOT frame custom portraits. I do offer matting but I have limited colors and it is $50.00 extra to matt the drawing. I am only accepting commissions that are able to drive and pick up their portrait from my house at this time. I have not found a way to ship the portraits where they will not get damaged.

(Prices are subject to change)

Watercolor

11 inches x 14 inches

OR 14 inches x 20 inches

Paper: Strathmore cold press 100% cotton. Acid Free. Archival.

11" x 14": $150.00

14" x 20": $250.00

Why choose watercolor?

Watercolor can be a very loose, expressive medium but can also be used to create a details. Watercolor is a fairly unpredictable medium to work with, however and often won't produce the fine details that charcoal or pastel does.

Why is a custom portrait in watercolor priced this way?

The paper I use is high quality cotton paper. It's acid free and archival.

The watercolors I use are Daniel Smith or Windsor and Newton so they have high ratings for lightfastness and vibrant colors. There will be very little fading of the paint over many years.

Also, It takes many hours of applying layers of paint do get the desired affect. I of course need to be compensated for that time.

Charcoal

14 inches x 17 inches

Paper: Bristol vellum. Archival.

$400.00

Why choose charcoal?

Charcoal produces that classic, timeless black and white look that looks beautiful for any subject. A lot of detail can be obtained in this medium.

Why is a custom portrait in charcoal priced this way?

The paper I use is high quality: acid free and archival. Therefore the paper is expensive.

I don't have to do as many layers as soft pastel but drawing in realism takes many hours.

Overall, it takes me many hours to draw as well as I do in charcoal so I need to be compensated for my time.

Soft Pastel

11.8 inches x 15.7 inches

Paper: Clairefontaine PastelMat Pastel Card

Colors: white, sienna, brown, anthracite

$500.00

Why choose soft pastel?

A large benefit to using chalk pastel are the vibrant colors that pastels produce. Detail can be obtained but might not be as fine of detail as charcoal. Pastel can also produce a beautiful expressive look, especially when drawing animals.

Why is a custom portrait in soft pastel priced this way?

The paper for this medium is extremely specialized to accept multiple layers of the pastel so the paper is very high quality and archival, and therefore expensive.

The soft pastels I used are rated high for lightfastness and rich color. So the pastel will fade very little over time and will last for years and years. Because of high quality of the pastels, they're very expensive.

It takes many, many layering of different colors to get the effect of realism. The drawing of the red panda took roughly 30 hours. Overall, it takes the longest to draw in soft pastel so I need to be compensated for my time.