Portrait drawing

Portrait drawing is something I’ve offered for a while. I paint with watercolours, acrylics, pencil, pen and using digital technologies too and draw and paint wedding venue portraits, people, animal portraits, galleries, houses and more. I’ve put together this helpful guide to show you the different types of portraits I offer and their price points, I’ve also explained the difference between buying an original piece and choosing a fine art reproduction or print

Firstly, the print process.

I use a printing process called Giclée. So, what's the big deal about Giclée printing?

It's a superior process that produces better results. I use this process because I feel it allows the artist to get the closest possible reproduction of their original work. To be labelled Giclée a print needs to be produced using fine art printers in a studio environment or using a light-fast pigment based inkjet printer. I’ve seen other online artists describe their poster printing as “Giclée prints” when they are produced on a standard inkjet. This is factually incorrect and I've written a longer post about Giclée v inkjet printing here. It's helpful if you want to ensure you're buying a quality piece that won't fade over time.

The portrait options

I offer three types of portrait drawing: digital portrait, hand drawn portrait, black and white portrait. Here's an explanation of each type:

Digital portrait

How would you feel about getting a piece of art and having it cost less than £40? I know, crazy right? But that’s what digital portrait drawing is. Literally the price of a nice meal out.

The digital portraits I offer are created using a piece of software that interprets my style of drawing quickly and as such the price point is considerably lower than an original piece of art. This isn’t just digital artwork in the form of a print or canvas, it is handmade artwork created just for you. These are perfect for keepsakes and gifts because they are superb quality and can be completely personalised.

The portrait is created from your photo, printed to a high quality paper or canvas it can look very striking. These pieces are more about capturing an essence and I can remove any items you don't want, such as lamposts, cars, people etc.

Digital House Portrait © Natalie Ryan

Portrait Digital Portrait © Natalie Ryan

Double Digital Portrait © Natalie Ryan

Front and side © Natalie Ryan

Hand drawn portrait

A beautiful, one-of-a-kind portrait created by hand using watercolour, pen and ink. The detailed illustration is drawn on fine watercolour paper or high quality art paper. After creating the drawing, I’ll carefully add watercolour to create a realistic piece that would be beautiful on your walls at home or in your office. You can decide to have the original or a fine art reproduction of the original.

If you choose the original it's essentially the raw artwork as it was created. It'll never be sold elsewhere, you are purchasing the first and only edition. The originals take slightly longer because I have to make sure I don't splatter the surrounds with paint! The price reflects the time it takes and that it's a single edition.

If you choose the reproduction copy it'll be an exquisite high quality print of that piece. I don't limit how many can be printed and copies are noticeably cheaper because of this.

Both can be personalised which makes either option personal and unique.

What's the difference?

The original illustration is painted. The fine art Giclée reproduction is a professionally printed Giclée print. The Giclée item is quicker in terms of delivery time. There is little difference to the look of the product, it's a matter of taste.

Wedding Venue Portrait © Natalie Ryan

Church Portrait © Natalie Ryan

Venue Portrait © Natalie Ryan

Venue Portrait © Natalie Ryan

Black and white portrait

Pen and ink is my first love when it comes to drawing. I don't know why, I can't explain it. I love mark making and making something look 3 dimensional from a single colour. I think it's timeless and suits any interior decor.

I don't always draw in black and white, sometimes I'll add colour blocks as I go or technicolour details for texture/depth. But there's just something so calming about an all black and white drawing which is most likely because I always prefer the monochromatic colour scheme. I'm a sucker for simplicity so it makes sense that this is my favourite type of drawing. I also love pen because it makes a beautiful texture when you can see the strokes and great for adding detail which can be lost in a drawing that's all filled in with ink.

I offer three types of black and white portraits

Your Skyline: The skyline is a metaphor for your life, your "city", your world. 'Your Skyline' tells your own story through an illustration of the places and moments that create your story in a skyline with hand drawn buildings, landscapes and details.

Your Skyline © Natalie Ryan

Your Skyline © Natalie Ryan

Individual portraits: These are one-of-a-kind, individually drawn portraits. Individually drawn black and white drawingsof your favourite building created just for you .

Personalised illustrations: These are a wonderful way of personalising one of my existing drawings. I have a whole back catalogue of places, like The Bellagio, Liberty London. Get in touch if you want to know if I've already drawn your venue.

New York Portrait © Natalie Ryan

Las Vegas Portrait © Natalie Ryan

Here's a comparison table to show the details:

To view all portraits click here.

Thanks for reading!