Kevin Roeckl
Oct 2, 20242 min read
Cheri and Larry portrait in progress 8 - The right color hair
Continuing work on “Cheri and Larry”.... I'm starting on Larry now, beginning with his brown hair. Like Cheri’s hair, that part of the...
1 view
Kevin Roeckl
Oct 1, 20241 min read
Cheri and Larry portrait in progress 7 - The importance of reflected light
Finished Cheri’s face and neck. Reflected light is important. These blue and grey colors on her jaw and side of her neck were caused by...
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Kevin Roeckl
Sep 27, 20242 min read
Cheri and Larry portrait in progress 6 - "Jellied baseballs"
I should have done this in one day, but I stretched it into two.... Day 1 Cheri's lips are finished and I'm ready to start on the teeth....
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Kevin Roeckl
Sep 21, 20242 min read
Cheri and Larry portrait in progress 5 - Blending skin colors
Continuing work on Cheri's face in the “Cheri and Larry” portrait. (Prismacolor pencils on grey Canson paper.) FOR ARTISTS: Lots of...
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Kevin Roeckl
Sep 13, 20241 min read
Cheri and Larry portrait in progress 4
I’m making good progress on Cheri’s face. I have known Cheri for 33 years. She was instrumental in introducing my artwork to the Doberman...
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Kevin Roeckl
Sep 10, 20242 min read
Cheri and Larry portrait in progress 3 - What color is skin?
What color is skin color? How does an artist know which colored pencils to use when portraying a human face? This post shows the method...
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Kevin Roeckl
Sep 5, 20243 min read
Cheri and Larry portrait in progress 2 - Creating a curly hairstyle
This album explains how I created Cheri’s curly “Afro-shaped” hairstyle….from a reference photo where the hair was not visible. 1 This is...
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Kevin Roeckl
Aug 31, 20242 min read
Cheri and Larry portrait in progress 1 - 57 years together
The last portrait I shared (a dog in a forest scene) was very complex. This one will be straightforward: a double Head Study of two...
10 views
Kevin Roeckl
Aug 21, 20242 min read
Shasta portrait finished!
A little background about Shasta... Shasta is 11 years old. Her portrait was commissioned by Diane Barnes as a gift to her son Takeshi,...
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Kevin Roeckl
Aug 18, 20242 min read
Shasta portrait in progress 20 - The final step
I’m down to the final part of Shasta’s portrait: the footbridge. In a previous step I applied a wash of blue watercolor over the grey...
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Kevin Roeckl
Aug 15, 20242 min read
Shasta portrait in progress 19 - A design challenge
A zillion ferns 🤣 in this portrait will soon be completed. Previously I explained about adding green underpainting on both sides of...
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Kevin Roeckl
Aug 10, 20241 min read
Shasta portrait in progress 18 - Left side finished...
I’m finally getting down to the wire with this portrait. The ferns on the left are finished. 1 Working my way down to the bottom corner....
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Kevin Roeckl
Aug 8, 20241 min read
Shasta portrait in progress 17 - Ferns, ferns, and more ferns
Putting in the ferns with colored pencil over the green underpainting ( see previous post for explanation ). And over the blue-grey...
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Kevin Roeckl
Aug 6, 20241 min read
Shasta portrait in progress 16 - More underpainting needed
If you've been following my progress you know that I’m working on grey paper. I’ve decided to put in a green underpainting in the lower...
7 views
Kevin Roeckl
Aug 2, 20242 min read
Shasta portrait in progress 15 - The "flow" of a composition
The picture shows the whole portrait as it looks now. There is a diagonal line of bright yellows going to the right and up from Shasta’s...
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Kevin Roeckl
Aug 2, 20241 min read
Shasta portrait in progress 14 - The path through the forest
I’m working on the path now, to the left of Shasta. Here’s today’s work... 1 You can see the curved lines of the path (sketched in with...
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Kevin Roeckl
Jul 27, 20242 min read
Shasta portrait in progress 13 - Color info for artists
Filling in around Shasta’s head with a bunch of different greens. There's some good color info in this post for artists! This photo taken...
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Kevin Roeckl
Jul 22, 20241 min read
Shasta portrait in progress 12 - Slow, painstaking work
Carefully working the greens of the background around the back-lit hairs of Shasta's ears. Unlike the underpainting technique on the...
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Kevin Roeckl
Jul 20, 20242 min read
Shasta portrait in progress 11 - Greens and golds
Shasta herself is finished. I always love the way it looks when the subject is “3-dimensional” on the flat grey paper! Next I’ll start on...
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Kevin Roeckl
Jul 17, 20243 min read
Shasta portrait in progress 10 - Pausing for a little blue
After I finished Shasta’s head and neck, I continued working my way down her body. But I had to pause my pencilwork for a series of steps...
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