Pencil portrait drawing in progress:
Tag: ashburn portrait artist
Congrats! Portrait Drawing Graduation Gift
Last weekend one of our good friends graduated from George Mason University, after beginning his college education in the U.S. several years ago. As an immigrant from Lithuania, he first started out by having to pass TOEFL exams (Test of English as a Foreign Language), and then work his way through completing a Bachelor’s degree while also working full-time. What an accomplishment! Persistent, determined work pays off. Congratulations! It’s fitting that their first child was born a few months ago and was there to witness his graduation.
As a graduation gift, I drew him a portrait sketch of him with his baby son at his thesis presentation:
Portrait Art – Drawing of my Wife and I
Today I finished this graphite portrait drawing of my wife and I! This portrait was from a photo we took last fall while in New York City.
To commission your own special portrait art, just visit my Commission Custom Art page!
Grandmother Portrait Painting – “Abue”
A few weeks ago I finished this oil portrait painting of my wife Brigitta’s maternal Nicaraguan grandmother (or ‘abuela’, in Spanish). Her name was Rafaela Corrales Toruño, and Brigitta simply called her “Abue.”
Abue had five children, three of which emigrated from Nicaragua to the U.S. in the 1970’s. Abue also came to the U.S. to accompany her first child to come here, Tía Ligia (Tía means “Aunt”, and Tía Ligia was Brigitta’s Aunt Ligia). Then, Brigitta’s Dad came on vacation to visit, which then turned into a permanent stay! Later on, Brigitta’s Tía Cecilia came as well. Abue’s other two children stayed in Nicaragua. So nowadays, we have family both in Northern Virginia and in Nicaragua (and in Argentina and Ecuador on Brigitta’s Mom’s side)!
I met Abue almost ten years ago, before I spoke much Spanish. Whenever I tried to speak to her in Spanish, she’d turn to Brigitta and say “¿Qué dice?”, or “What is he saying?”. I’m glad I got to experience her liveliness, kindness and family values. She was a true ‘family matriarch.’
Abue lived with Brigitta’s family during much of Brigitta’s childhood, and they spent lots of time together, abuela y nieta (granddaughter), on the famous couch shown in the painting below!
For information on commissioning your very own custom art, you can read about the process, FAQ’s, testimonials, and see a custom art portfolio by clicking here here. Or, you can also just email me at info@davewhitepaintings.com!
Teddy the Dog – Pet Portrait Painting
I recently finished this dog portrait painting in time for my friend to pick it up tonight and surprise his girlfriend with it!
It’s painted on a gallery-stretched linen canvas – linen is the best for portrait paintings!
For a custom pet portrait painting, see here or contact me at info@davewhitepaintings.com!
Lito Marcos – Portrait Art Drawing
My wife and I went to Argentina in August with my mother-in-law, so I wanted to give my mother-in-law a gift that would be relevant to that visit. Since I’m an Artist, I thought of creating a portrait!
So, I drew a portrait of her father Marcos, who was from Buenos Aires and was the son of immigrants from Russia and Poland. He was known to my wife as “Lito Marcos.” “Lito” is short for “abuelito”, or “abuelo”, which means “grandpa” in Spanish.
Lito Marcos is one of two family members of my wife that I didn’t get to meet (the other was her great-grandmother “Mama Polita” from Ecuador). From all accounts, we would have gotten along great, as he loved to watch sports games on the couch, just like I do!
Family Portrait Painting Completed!
The portrait painting is finished!
The creation of this painting was a process of gathering photos of the subjects, aligning them together into a scene to appear as if they had posed together, calculating and measuring proportions during the sketch, and then working magic with the paint and brush!
Here is a quick recap:
- Gather Photos:
- Measure, Calculate and Sketch
Portrait Painting Sketch - Put some music on and paint!
Portrait Painting Progress 
Portrait Painting Progress 
Completed Family Portrait Painting | Oil on Belgian Linen Canvas | 18″ x 24″ The last step now is to deliver the painting, which will happen either later today or tomorrow!
Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you all have a great time with your friends and family this week and next!
To commission your own special portrait art, please see the Commission Custom Art page.
Dog Portrait Art – Paintings and Drawings
Dog portraits are a popular commission for many artists, as dogs really are a part of our families. My own family owned our Bichon Frise dog Desire for many years, and she was a great friend!
In the commissions I’ve done, I’ve found that receiving a portrait painting of a beloved pet is just as meaningful as a portrait painting of a family member. One of my clients even fought off tears as she received her dog portrait:
“Dave, thank you for the beautiful painting of Otis, my sister’s black lab. It brought tears to my eyes when you showed it to me. The likeness is incredible. My sister had the same reaction when I gave it to her. She can’t get over how well you captured his soulful expression. You are truly a gifted artist. Thanks, Dave.”
To commission your own special dog portrait art, please see the Commission Custom Art page.
Here are some of the commissioned dog portraits I’ve done:
Maggie
Commissioned Dog Pencil Portrait
Commissioned Dog Oil Portrait
Bear
Commissioned Dog Oil Portrait
Sadie. Oil on Canvas.
Papaw and I – Portrait Painting
A Gift to my Grandfather
This portrait painting was a gift to my paternal grandfather, who went by Papaw.
Papaw grew up on a farm in rural southern Ohio during the Great Depression. His family didn’t have running water or electricity until he was an adult! The first time he left his county was at 18 years old when he joined the Navy and traveled all over the world. He fulfilled 2 terms of service in the Navy, then briefly worked for the railroad (where my own father retired from), and then made his career working for the Air Force, where he attained numerous awards for his accomplishments. Since the early 1950’s, Mamaw (my grandmother) and Papaw have lived in the same house in Pickerington, Ohio, now a suburb of Columbus. For a long while, it was a rural area, until the suburbs grew out to Pickerington.
While on a Midwest road trip in August 2011 to visit family in Indiana, we stopped by Ohio on the way back to see Mamaw and Papaw. We snapped this photo of Papaw and I by his garden out back. I was picking cucumbers and tomatoes to bring back to Virginia. I thought it was a great picture of us, so it’s the one I chose to paint.
His name was also Dave White (he was Dave White Sr., while I am Dave White III). I’d never thought about it much, but out of all of his grandchildren and even great-grandchildren, I’m the only one with the same name as him!
To commission your own special portrait art, please see the Commission Custom Art page.
Family Portrait Drawing – Father and Daughter
Here is a father-daughter portrait drawing that I recently completed. This portrait drawing really shows off the innocent energy and playfulness present in the captured moment. What she’s doing is slapping a sticker of Dora the Explorer on his forehead, just in case you’re wondering!
To commission your own special portrait art, please see the Commission Custom Art page.
