A Wedding Portrait Commission - Shelly

This A2 custom wedding portrait celebrates a beautifully tender and intimate moment between the couple, where their eyes are gently closed, and their foreheads are nearly touching. A timeless depiction of love and connection, this piece captures the essence of their bond with stunning realism and elegance, making it the perfect personalised wall art.

Artistic Process

Creating this bespoke artwork was a careful and rewarding process. I focused on capturing the intimacy and connection between the couple by using soft shading and light textures. The goal was to balance realism with a gentle, peaceful feel that reflected their bond, ensuring the portrait exudes warmth and authenticity.

Materials & Details

This personalised portrait was crafted with:

Size: A2 (42cm x 59.4cm)

  • Graphite pencils for detailed shading and texture

  • Arches 300gsm hot press paper for a smooth, museum-grade finish

  • Blending tools for seamless transitions and fine detail work

Features: focus on skin textures, delicate shadows, and a balance of soft, light contrasts

Favourite Details

One of the parts I enjoyed most was bringing the skin textures to life with delicate shading. The interplay of light and shadow was key to adding warmth and depth to the portrait, making the custom wedding portrait feel more personal and alive

A Glimpse Into My Process

This short video showcases the careful application of graphite to bring the bride’s face and hair to life in this custom portrait. Watch as layers are blended and refined, with highlights and reflections emerging to add depth and realism to this personalised portrait. Every step is about capturing the essence of the moment, one detail at a time, creating a bespoke artwork that celebrates the beauty and intimacy of the scene.

Custom wedding portrait framed and displayed on a client’s mantlepiece, showcasing bespoke artwork in a photo-realistic pencil drawing style
Initial outline of the personalised wedding portrait, presented for client sign-off before rendering begins, highlighting the start of this bespoke artwork.
Progress stage of the pencil drawing with the first base layer of shading applied to the groom’s face, showcasing the early stages of this custom portrait.
Progress stage of the personalised wedding portrait with base shading added to the groom’s suit, showing lifelike detail in this bespoke artwork.
Personalised pencil drawing in progress, featuring base shading on the bride’s hair and finished details on the groom’s face for this custom wedding portrait.
Bespoke wedding portrait in progress, with detailed shading on the bride’s wedding dress highlighting the precision of this pencil drawing.
Progress stage of the custom portrait with intricate details completed on the bride’s wedding dress, enhancing the photo-realistic quality of this personalised artwork.
Personalised wedding portrait progress showing detailed shading on the bride’s shoulder and back, bringing depth to this bespoke artwork.
Final progress stage of the custom wedding portrait, with the bride’s hair fully detailed and shaded, completing this photo-realistic pencil drawing.

Shelly

‘‘We are absolutely blown away by this incredible pencil drawing of our wedding day, which was given to us as a gift. It’s so stunningly detailed and photo-realistic—it’s hard to believe it’s not an actual photograph! Dan, you’ve captured the emotion and beauty of the moment perfectly, and this piece has instantly become the most special addition to our home. We’ll treasure it forever—thank you so much for creating something so meaningful and breathtaking for us!’’

Inspired to capture your own cherished moment? Let’s create something special together.