One more pencil portait

A lot of people have been asking me about my Portraits. With the kind of questions I have been asked, I realised that many have doubts as to what portrait commissioning is. Also, many are confused between a quick sketch, a caricature and a hand drawn pencil portrait.

You find sketching booths in malls which give you 'portraits' within a few minutes. It is basically a photograph clicked and digitally altered by a program to make it appear like a portrait. (There is no talent, no time and no art involved here). You could easily do this with something like Picassa or photoshop.

A hand drawn pencil portrait takes me at  the very  least a whole day to complete. The finished result is a lifelike resemblance and is very realistic. (Unlike a caricature or a 'cartoon' ). Recently, I sold my first portrait commission in India. (yes, in between all the relocation from UK to India, I still found time for my art ).

It was Swati's husband's birthday and she wanted to give him a really unique gift and she wanted it to be a surprise. So she contacted me  by email (after seeing my portraits on my blog)  asking me about the commissioning procedure.She wanted me to make a portrait of her husband and her five month old baby. I work from photos and all she had to do was mail me a suitable picture which she did. (she mailed me several and I helped her choose)

I was as excited as her to be a passive player in the surprise that she had planned. I delivered it to her well in advance and the joy on her face as she saw the finished portrait is something I will always remember.

Later she told me he was really delighted and the portrait now occupies a place of pride in their home. (It feels so delightful to know that my work of art is  a part of someone's treasured moments of joy)

The portrait is done on extra smooth bristol board A3 size paper which is of  the highest professional quality.(and it lasts for centuries). The finished portrait was sprayed  with an Artists fixative to prevent it from smudging.
In case you wish to know more about how I work and what equipment I use, you can read this post where I have explained a lot of details.

If you want to see more portraits, please go here.

If you have any more questions, mail me! (ps at preetishenoy dot com)
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Addendum: I had to copy past this comment by Swati here in the post:

Hey Preeti
Once again thanks so much for making this the best birthday gift I've ever given my husband. The look of pure joy on his face when he unwrapped the portrait will be one of my most treasured memories :).
Hoping you get lots more commissions :).
I really liked the way you were so involved in the whole process, even messaging me on his birthday and asking how he liked the gift. It's so good to see someone put so much into something they do - not take it as just another job.

-Swati