I did a 5.5″x8.5″ Princess Diana drawing today, the eve of the 25th anniversary of her death. It’s always a sad occasion to remember.
By the way, I did a 9×12″ portrait of Princess Diana last year around this time too. Even though it’s been more than two decades, it still hurts.
Strathmore Toned Blue Mixed Media Paper
For this portrait, I used Strathmore 400 series Toned Blue Mixed Media paper. It was not my first choice–I wanted grey–but this was the only colour available. The paper felt rough, but I wanted a bit of tooth because I will be using Lyra Polycolor pencils for part of the portrait. I find that oil-based pencils tend to do better on papers with a bit of tooth.
Minimal Sketching Style
Here, I sketched just this much to get my Princess Diana drawing going. I rarely sketch out a whole drawing; I usually start with one eye and go on from there. It’s just my own personal style–I prefer to let my drawing/painting inform me as it progresses.
I know this doesn’t look much like her. Not yet, anyway. With toned paper, you have to trust the process and it will get better.
For the eye, I used Derwent Lightfast pencil in black. I used Prismacolor Premier pencils in warm greys (20%, 30%, 50% and 90%) for the skin, since I find them creamier to blend. In hindsight, it would have been better to use cool greys, but I didn’t have lighter cool greys.
Nonetheless, this heavyweight paper worked out very well for the Prismacolor Premier pencils; I was able to put a good 5 layers down before I met resistance. There was very little wax bloom and right now we are in a heat wave with high humidity.
Next, I continued my Princess Diana drawing from the neck down. By the way, I used a washi tape at the bottom for the clean edge.
Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor Pencils in Assorted Greys Revisited
For the hair, I bust out my Lyra set of oil-based grey toned pencils. I had used them before and wasn’t a huge fan of them; however, with this toothier paper, I wanted to see if they fared better.
Alas, half of the pencils are still scratchy and hard to blend. I ended up using the Derwent Lightfast black and white pencils to complete the hair.
I liked the portrait I did last year better, but I wanted to do something different this time. However, I did like the Toned Blue Mixed Media paper a lot, and plan to use it again next time I do another portrait.
My Princess Diana Collection
Drawing Princess Diana might just become a yearly tradition for me. In addition, I have a small collection of her magazines and books over the years.
How it All Started
I have a small book on the royal wedding that I received as a child. I grew up in British Hong Kong, and my parents used to have a store in Stanley. One of their British customers gifted me the book at the time and it started my love for Princess Diana.
The Funko Pop came out a few years ago and I was happy to add it to my collection.
Until next year! #NeverForget
