Stephen and Charlie - Pen and Ink portrait

Hey there Quarentiners!

How's everyone holding up?
I can't believe it's been around month since I last posted on here and we're still on Lockdown, where did April go!?
Despite finding it hard to keep track of time, I've continued to try and regularly work on something special for you all (when my studio space isn't hosting web meetings for my partner who's working from home!)
I hope to be able to reveal more about that very soon!

For now though I'm able to share with you the first in a series of commissions featuring just the best boi!
Lucy commissioned this piece as a birthday present to her Dad, but she got too excited and gave it to him early! So here we have Stephen with rescue dog, Charlie!

Happy birthday for the 17th Stephen! I hope you like the portrait!
This commission is A4 in size and done using pen and ink with a black and white ink wash.

If you know someone who would love a portrait like this with their furry friend then please get in touch!

Hong Kong Couple - Watercolour/Pen and Ink Portrait

Good Morning you lot!

A few things have been going on in the world of MULP since my last post and I've been making regular art posts on Instagram and Twitter in preparation for Inktober which starts today!!

I'll be sure to update any readers of this blog on the details for each of those in the coming weeks with full posts of their own, but in the mean time why don't you give those accounts a like/follow to stay up to date with current progress!


Today though, I'd like to share a new portrait I was commissioned to produce as an anniversary present to a very special couple and good friends of mine, who celebrated their 8 year anniversary on 27th September!
Lewis and Beth here have special ties to Hong Kong, so I've given this portrait a bit of a Chinese flavour to the composition by dropping in the city skyline, a border of lanterns and the iconic silhouette of a Junk.

Congrats again guys!!

This Portrait is A4 landscape in size, inked with pen and ink, and then coloured using watercolour paints.

Do you know a couple celebrating an anniversary or a marriage? Get in touch and gift them some original art! sara-dunkerton@hotmail.com

Scott, Abbie and Freyja - Watercolour/Pen and Ink portrait

Hey Everyone!

It's been a little quiet on the blogging front these last couple of months while I've been finishing off the last little bits for MULP: Sceptre of the Sun issue #5.
Right now Issue #5 is drawn, coloured, lettered and going through the final proofing before being sent off the the printers! We're so close!

Today though, I'm going to share a special portrait commission with you all!

This portrait was commissioned for newlyweds Scott and Abbie by their usher, John! In this cosy fireside scene, Scott and Abbie are reading their favourite books, with their gorgeous golden retriever Freyja at their feet.
The block calendar on the mantlepiece shows the couple's wedding date, 1st September! Massive congratulations to you both!

This portrait is A3 landscape in size, inked and then coloured using watercolour paints and ink wash.

Do you know a couple celebrating an anniversary or a marriage? Get in touch and gift them some original art! sara-dunkerton@hotmail.com

Pet Portraits - Group Portrait, pt.2

Hello there pet lovers!

This morning I'm going to be sharing the second half of the process behind a very special Pet Portrait which was commissioned last year.

This Portrait features beloved pets; Ollie, Bubble, Bailey and Suzy. The completed commission measures 50cm x 50cm and is a mixed media piece combining Watercolour and Pencil colours.

When I posted last I had just shown you the completed watercolour backgrounds for each section of the portrait (if you missed this, then catch up here!)

Today I'm going to continue where I left off and share the colouring process for each animal.

Step 5: Another Watercolour Wash

Because each individual portrait measured 25cm x 25cm, I decided to lay a watercolour wash as a base layer to work on with the coloured pencils, thereby giving an even covering and ensuring that no part would be left patchy over such a large surface area.
This also gave me an idea of how each of the animals individual colouring and marking would sit upon the watercolour background behind them, and a projected view of the completed piece!

Step 6: Pencil colour 

The next step was just a matter of using the photo reference my client provided and building up the layers of colour that make up each animal's markings and fur, starting with lighter tones and then defining markings and waves in the fur with darker pencils and bolder strokes.

Step 7: Finished!

All that remained to do is to add the finishing touches!
The whiskers I painted on using white acrylic and a fine brush, then I worked back into them with a pencil to add definition and mass. I also took a colouring pencil to the watercolour backgrounds behind each pet, adding a bit of subtle cross hatching to lift the animal from the two-dimensional backdrop.

And there you have it! One 50cm x 50cm group pet portrait, framed and ready to go to it's forever home! Thank you so much for commissioning this Mo, I really did have a lot of fun with what is easily my largest portrait commission to date! And I hope the rest of you enjoyed these posts showing the process.

If there is anyone out there who would like a portrait like this of their beloved pet then email me at: sara_dunkerton@hotmail.com

Pet Portraits - Group portrait, pt.1

Hey everyone!

Today I'm going to begin to share with you a very special Pet Portrait which I completed before the New Year!
I was commissioned by Mo to produce a large watercolour and pencil colour piece, measuring 50cm x 50cm, featuring her beloved pets; Ollie the King Charles Spaniel, Bubbles the Tortoiseshell, Bailey the Persian and Suzy the Tabby.

This commission took me quite a while to do due to the size and the complexity, not to mention I was in the process of moving whilst working on it! All the while I kept my client up to date with progress photos taken from my phone (so apologies in advance for the quality of some, the commission was just much to large for my scanner!) and I've decided to share the whole process with you here!

So this will be part 1 of a 2 part post featuring the process behind this commission!

Step 1: Photoshop mock up

After discussing Mo's idea I put together a series of rough mock ups in photoshop in order to best illustrate the concept before putting pencil to paper. This allowed me to make quick edits to the composition, colour and photographic reference until we were happy to go ahead.

Step 2 : Pencils

Next step was to draw out the grid and each of the animals.
(Again sorry for the quality of the photos!)

Step 3: Watercolour wash

Now before this step I would have liked to have stretched the paper onto an art board before applying any watercolour, this would have prevented the paper from crinkling! But I simply did not have an art board large enough to accommodate the size of this commission! So I had to be very careful to not saturate the paper too much during this and the following stage.

Step 4: Building up the Watercolour background

After applying a base wash with watercolour paint I began to build up layers of pain drips, splatters and texture to the backgrounds of each section. As before the tricky part here was preventing the paper from crinkling too much and stopping the colours of each segment overlapping!

In my next post I'll show you how I coloured Ollie, Bubbles, Bailey and Suzy using a blend of more Watercolour and Coloured Pencils!

Stay Tuned!!

*** EDIT ***

Check out part 2 of the behind the scene process behind this commission here

If you would like a portrait of your furry friends then please drop me an email: sara-dunkerton@hotmail.com

The Happy Couple - Watercolour/Pen and Ink portrait

Morning Everyone!

I've got another rather special piece to share with you this time.

This portrait was commissioned by a friend as a surprise wedding present to another friend who recently tied the knot!

Wishing a massive (belated) congratulations to Ed and Steph, hope you had a wonderful day and you enjoy the portrait!

This A4 landscape portrait was done using both watercolours and pen and ink wash.


Do you know someone who will be celebrating their special day or anniversary soon? Get in touch to commission an equally special gift for them: sara-dunkerton@hotmail.com

An Even Bigger Fish - Pen and Ink portrait

All's been a bit quite on the blogging front while I've been beavering away on MULP: Sceptre of the Sun issue #4, but never fear!
I shall be able to share some peeks into the latest issue soon, so watch this space!

For now though I'll share a commission that I'd completed a little while ago.

You may remember a similar Pen and Ink portrait of this fine fisherman a while back? (If not you can view it here!) Well that was the largest fish that Jon had caught, until he hooked this 34lbs beast!

This portrait is A4 in size and done using pen and ink, with an ink wash to render.

If you're a budding fisherman, or participate in other sports, perhaps you or someone you know would like a portrait to commemorate thier achievements like Jon!
If so then get in touch: sara-dunkerton@hotmail.com

Mother and Daughter Pen and Ink Portrait

Morning Everyone!

The Blog has been a bit quiet while I've been working feverishly on MULP: Sceptre of the Sun issue #3, which is coming along nicely with about half of the pages left to colour!

Today though I wanted to share with you a commission that I was asked to do a few months back as a present for a friend's mum. She's recently had her birthday so I am now able to post it up here.

This is probably one of my favourite pen and ink portraits to date; Lucy and her mum.

This commission is A4 sized and done using a traditional pen and ink outline with tonal wash.

If you know a family member or a friend who'd like a black and white portrait like this do get in touch, however as I am currently working to finish issue #3 of MULP I will not be taking commission requests until mid-June!!

Pen and Ink Group Portrait

Today I'm sharing another traditional black and white portrait that was commissioned for christmas.

The original artwork is A4 sized and done using pen and ink outline with tonal wash.

If you would like a traditional portrait like this of your friend or family, then please get in touch: sara-dunkerton@hotmail.com

Pen and Ink Family Portrait

Morning Everyone,

Despite stating in my last post that I was gonna be back in full force on the commissions, I didn't account for being short staffed at work and several birthday plans on the horizon! So unfortunately it's taking a little while for me to get geared up to 'full force'… I will get there though!

I have however managed to get this commission done for Nicky who requested a black and white, pen and ink wash portrait of her family! 

If this has inspired you and you'd like a portrait of you and your own family, then please get in touch: sara-dunkerton@hotmail.com

Big Fish - Pencil and Ink portrait

So I'm now working pretty much as a full time freelance Illustrator!

I'll be working mostly on MULP, however I've a small string of commissions lined up also!

Which brings me on to talk about this one! Jon here loves his fishing so much he wanted me to do a black and white portrait of him with one of the largest fish he's ever caught. 

This portrait is A4 and done using pencil, inks and ink wash.

If you're interested in a portrait like Jon then please get in touch: sara-dunkerton@hotmail.com