I grew up observing my grandpa Mike McDermott, who was an excellent pastel artist. He inspired me and taught me how to draw portraits. He always said that the most important parts of a portrait were to capture the person's personality, and to get their nose right.
My Dad and I (Graphite, 2020)
I completed this portrait as a sophomore at UW La Crosse. The assignment was to use an existing photo of any person and draw it on a 22 in. x 24 in. paper using a grid layout. Even though the assignment was to complete one face, I decided to draw two faces - My Dad and I. This portrait took about 2 weeks to complete and I gave it as a gift to my dad.
Peppuccio (Graphite, 2021)
This portrait was a commission work for my friend Maria. She wanted to gift it to her mother, who lives in Italy. Maria's Father, Peppuccio, had passed away and she wanted her mother to have something that was a reminder of him. He was a hardworking fisherman, a loving father, and an amazing husband. This portrait offered a unique challenge to portray Peppuccio's personality. I was given multiple images to combine into one image and also sat down with Maria for 3 hours, erasing and adding features of her dad until it felt like him.
Original Photo of Peppuccio
GRAPHITE & CHARCOAL DRAWINGS
DIGITAL PAINTINGS
