Artist Interview – Dan Smith

Who are you and what do you do?

My identify is Dan Smith (aka Smithy) and I am a pencil artist. I focus in realistic drawing which started off making use of graphite and charcoal pencils but I have now observed my have style with coloured pencils.

 

Why do you do what you do?

I want to encourage men and women and demonstrate them that through regularity and everyday exercise of your craft you can reach whatever you want to do. Drawing and developing art is the only detail that entirely calms and relaxes me. I appreciate the method of making a drawing from a blank piece of paper to displaying men and women the development, to the completed drawing. I experience like it is my calling in lifestyle and it really drives me to produce myself and my expertise. Also, I have observed the joy that my get the job done can bring to persons when I have drawn a loved ones member or place two or 3 photographs together from spouse and children who have passed and it will make me pretty grateful to be ready to do what I do.

 

What inspires your art?

There is no one particular distinct matter that conjures up me. My true inspiration arrives from wanting to challenge myself. I produce a portrait or drawing and on my subsequent drawing, I normally want to draw some thing that will be more durable to create or a different strategy so that I am constantly creating my techniques. Observing other artists make these kinds of stunning and realistic get the job done is also a substantial driver for me as very well as realising how handy and remarkable the art community is.

 

How and when did you get into artwork?

I started drawing in December 2019. I started out drawing when my wife questioned me to attract her grandparents and was purely just to give myself a new interest. I actually begun training for an hour or two when I was in mattress watching the Tv set prior to I went to snooze. I posted it on social media and people today commenced loving my drawings so it drove me to hold going and continue to keep strengthening.

 

How has your apply improved about time?

I started off off with graphite pencils and then went on to begin such as charcoal in my drawings. I commenced following some wonderful coloured pencil artists and liked how exciting the method was with the distinctive levels to create the concluded merchandise. Due to the fact then I have focussed on colored pencil drawings and seeking to boost my skills.

 

What is your beloved piece of artwork that you have produced? Why?

My favorite piece of artwork I have designed is the drawing of my daughter’s eye. I’d never carried out an eye drawing right before but I just loved the problem and the element that went into generating the do the job. I sense like even when an eye drawing is partially concluded it nonetheless looks astounding.

 

What is the finest piece of art tips you have been given?

Be patient with your self and keep training every single one day. Consistency is a massive matter in bettering your expertise. There is practically nothing that compares to follow and there is no shortcut or system that will make you into a wonderful artist right away. Just retain individual and regular and you will get to in which you want to be. That’s the situation in most items, not just artwork.

 

What is one particular art suggestion/strategy you can share with us that you obtain really valuable?

Usually get started with the darkest values of the drawing initially. At the time you have finished the darkest values you will then be in a position to locate your mid-tones a great deal easier, making realism simpler to obtain.

 

Do you have any magic formula suggestions or techniques you use to salvage a piece when you make a slip-up?

Preserve your pencil layers really light-weight as it is easier to rectify. Always master from your faults and to be trustworthy I just go with my mistakes and use them as element of the perform. If you maintain your pencil layers mild you shouldn’t be capable to see your slip-up.

 

What is your beloved Strathmore paper? Why?

I really like the Strathmore Bristol Smooth Area paper as the pencils go down onto the paper so in a natural way and smoothly. An awesome top quality paper like Strathmore genuinely would make a distinction to your drawing. I have made use of other models but located that the colours go down incredibly chalky on to the paper and I could not get the sought after easy blending effect that I preferred.

 

 

What varieties of colors are you drawn to for your art and why?

I adore realistic skin tones but then, on the other hand, I have performed a few rainbow design portraits which ended up just as satisfying so I’m a little bit all over the place with my colour alternatives.

 

Do you want operating in colour or black & white?

Colour, as I come to feel it is a large amount a lot more cost-free-flowing and you can be a lot much more experimental.

 

Who are your preferred subjects to draw?

I love drawing realistic human portraits but I have just started drawing animals which have been a fantastic new problem. It was completely distinct from drawing people today and needed a good deal extra persistence and time but was seriously enjoyable.

 

Who are your most significant influences (or who were when you commenced executing artwork)?

My most important affect is CJ Hendry (@cj_hendry). Her function is just unbelievable and her creative imagination is on a entirely new stage. Artists who have really inspired me alongside my journey so far and who are amazing artists to check out are Chris Fitzpatrick (@chrisfitzart), Samantha Messias (@samantha_messias_art), and Rachel Dickison (@rd.artistry). They are all so approachable and valuable and have given me a ton of terrific assistance along the way.

 

What’s the most widespread art-connected issue you get from your followers?

The primary types are, “How do I blend so clean?” and also, “How do I get my proportions?” To blend, I throw down all of the colors that I can see in the part I am drawing and I burnish with a mild colour in the opposite course to the pencil strokes which blends all the things with each other effortlessly. For my proportions, I use the grid technique or freehand. A great suggestion with the grid system is to use a mild pencil (5h or 6h) and do the grid so mild you can scarcely see it. Once you have sketched your outlines, use a mono eraser to go together the strains to erase them. You will not be ready to see the grid at all just after this.

 

Web-site/social media inbound links:

Instagram: @smithy.theartist

Facebook: @smithyyyart

TikTok: @smithy.theartist