Welcome to the Drawing Board

Welcome to the BryteArt blog! I am Scott Bryte, and this is the place where I will be sharing my latest art projects. There will be stories, pictures and videos. Check back here from time to time to see what I’m working on!

For the last couple of years, I have made ink portraits in different styles to mark significant moments in people’s lives. I’ve made these pictures for things like funerals, weddings, and confirmations. Recently, a young woman who is a friend of the family completed her college education, and my wife and I were invited to the graduation party.

Here’s a look into how I make these pictures. First, I start with a good clear photo, one that shows the person in good lighting, and with the kind of facial expression you want to remember forever. Here I used a picture from the party invitation. Sometimes I just start drawing directly from the picture. For someone who has deep set lines, or sharp features, or something really distinctive about their appearance, I will just eyeball it. But in a situation where the person has smooth and gentle features, you gotta get everything just right to get a good likeness. When that is the case, I will often print out the picture I want to use, put it on a light table, then put a sheet of paper over it and start tracing.

Is this cheating? Maybe it is, but not as much as you might think. I trace the position of the nose and mouth, the shape of the face and hair, and maybe the position of the neck and shoulders. After that it’s back to the (literal) drawing board and LOTS of looking back and forth from the picture you started with.

I’ve always liked the work of Charles Dana Gibson, the early 20th century fashion illustrator. He’s the guy who made Evelyn Nesbit into America’s first true super-model. Evelyn Nesbit became the original “Gibson girl”. So I am trying to use the Gibson girl style here.