Christmas Commissions - Commission #2

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The second commission was one of a set of two pen and ink portraits of houses that I did for another client. It was my first work for that client, whom I never actually met, as the commission was brought to me by the lady I did the first commission for (the graphite portrait of the couple). She had touched base with me and asked if I could do portraits of houses. I said as long as I have good clear photos to work from, the subject matter didn't really matter. I have done house portraits before, as well as cars, and even a boat one time. I do prefer people and animals, but it's fine. I did charge more for the pen and ink portraits, because I knew they would take more time. Pen and ink takes more time, and it is also a very demanding medium, because unlike with pencil, there's no erasing. You have to work slowly and carefully, and with a portrait like this, you have to use a ruler for a LOT of it. I actually did a series of about a dozen or so illustrations of houses like this in pen and ink for a local builder, so I knew what I was getting into! The reason pen and ink was chosen for these two portraits is that the client had an older piece that was done in pen and ink, and they were trying to match that style somewhat. The two houses were very different in style and materials - this one had siding, with a little brick on the garage, and a shingled roof, so I had several different textures to show, along with the glass windows and the organic matter of the lawn and landscaping and the concrete of the driveway and walkway. I worked on all three pictures - the two houses and the pencil portrait of the couple - at the same time to keep things fresh (I can get kind of bogged down if I stay in the same piece), but I finished this drawing well before the other one, as it was much simpler. You might not think it looks very simple, but you'll understand when I post the third one!