The Story Behind Archie and Roly’s Portrait
The image above shows the portrait just before framing, photographed at an angle to better reveal the pencil textures and detail. I always include my pencils in the photos to give a clear sense of scale.
Gordon commissioned this Life Story Portrait pencil portrait as a birthday gift for his partner Kirstie. Rather thoughtfully, he wanted her to be involved in the process — from choosing the photos to planning the design.
Kirstie took some brilliant shots of the boys — one of Archie perched on a stone in the garden, and another of Roly relaxing in the garden pod. She also requested a smaller study of Archie sniffing Roly’s ear, which brought a lovely sense of connection and character to the piece.
The finished drawing measured 18" x 14", a great size for a full-body double portrait with a Life Story Portrait layout. Our local framer completed the piece in our Madison Taupe frame — scroll down to see the final framed result and a photo of Archie when Kirstie received it.
