New Drawing of Barack Obama
By John Potter
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| Pencil drawing of Barack Obama by John Potter |
I’ve been feeling the need to draw more lately and keep my most basic of skills up.
Although many clients feel that they are purchasing my ability to use software or utilize some piece of technology, they are mistaken. Software and electronics are just the tools we are using these days. My father always told me that a good carpenter never blamed his tools for his mistakes. What he meant was that a carpenter does carpentry, not his tools and a designer or an artist also does his or her work, not the software, not the computer. The better the person is at creating something with a tool as simple as a pencil, the better they will be with a computer.
That having been said…
This drawing was done with graphite pencils using many of the same techniques described in the “HOW TO Create a Photorealistic Drawing” article. I did use photo reference, but I didn’t try to follow it exactly and I didn’t use a grid or tracing or anything that I might in a photorealistic drawing situation. I wanted this drawing to be a little loose and have some life to it. I wanted to capture some of the character of Barack Obama.
I used
Staedtler drawing pencils
kneaded erasers
vinyl eraser
and a
Strathmore 18″X24″ drawing pad
(although I probably should have used
Bristol Board
drawing board
I’m still a bit rusty, but I’m pleased with the results and ready to move on to the next thing.
On a side note…Only after having worked on this portrait did I see a rather strong resemblance between our president and comedian Don Knotts (other than the eyes). I say that with all due respect to both Mr. Obama and the late Mr. Knotts, but really, there is a resemblance.
This drawing is now in the Illustration Gallery, but the image at the top of this page is actually larger than the one there.
