Archie and Roly
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 montage 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 montage 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.
