Tone Paper Portrait

Here’s a portrait of my friend James Warhola, a children’s book illustrator best known for his autobiographical book Uncle Andy’s, as well as a frequent collaborator on the original Art By Committee sketchbook.

The sketch is from life, and it’s a quick technique that’s halfway between drawing and painting. I used a heavyweight gray-brown tone paper with a rough texture, and did the drawing first in soft pencil.

Then I washed in white gouache over the background using a bristle brush, leaving soft edges on the left side of the hair. For the light side of the face, I used a softer brush to lay down a milky-thin layer gouache, building it up a bit more for the highlights.

Louis-Léopold Boilly (1761-1845) used a similar technique for this self-portrait, where he indulges a shameless talent for gurning.