Ana's Drawing  Portfolio

Ana Henningsen "Flower"

8"x6", graphite on paper, 2022 

I drew this flower because I like the look of flowers on the paper. I think it is super pretty. At first, I started out with just a view from the top but then changed it to a portrait view. I looked at other flower drawings to get a good idea of what I had to do and then I looked at more real flower pictures. When looking at the pictures I had to see where I would have to draw and add lines and shading.

I used a number 2 pencil. To start it off I sketched out the outline of the flower petals. I made the petals overlap each other like a real flower. Once I had the rough outline of the flower itself, I started to draw the stem with leaves. I tried to make the leaves look textured but that was hard to do. I then went to work on the details of the flower. I added shading to the leaves and petals. Then I cleaned it up and make it look cleaner.

I simply drew this flower because it is pretty. It is a sign of beauty and life. 

It was most difficult to shade. At first, I didn’t know where to start. It took me a few times to realize where I was supposed to shade to make it look the best. I had to practice a few times on my rough draft before I shaded on the final draft. If I could start over I would make it more zoomed in so I could add more detail and make it look more realistic.

This art style would be realistic. I like how the leaves look and how they are not just boring. What makes it unique to me is how some of the petals go up instead of all of them the same way.

Ana Henningsen "Desert Sunset"

10"x12", Colored Pencils, 2022 

My initial idea was to draw a sunset but then I decided to add it to add more color. So I decided to add a desert theme to it.  I looked at multiple photos of sunsets online to get a good idea of the colors I was going to use. Then I researched mountains in the desert so I could get a good idea of how to draw them. 

To start the drawing process I choose to lightly sketch the drawing on official paper. Then I went in with the color. I started on the sunset and it took me a while to finally get the hang of shading. After the sunset was finished I went on to the mountains. I wanted the perspective to look big in the front and small in the back. So I shaded the mountains with different colors to get that perspective look. I then colored the dirt/ground a light beige color to make it look like sand and then started on the cactus. The bigger cactus’ were lighter and bigger than the smaller ones in the back which were a dark green. 

I want my audience to want to go to the desert to see what this would look like in real life. I think that sunsets are all unique and not all are the same.

The most difficult thing for me to do was to make sure the sunset was shaded. I overlapped colors to make it blend more and then I used a tissue to make sure everything was smooth and I tried to get rid of the lines and make it all one art. If I could start over I would change how I colored the cactus and make it look more realistic.

The style of art would be realistic. What makes it unique is the sunset. In every painting or drawing I do, I will always do a sunset. They are my favorite thing to draw. I like how colorful this is.