July 5, 2023

The ’68 Comeback in pencil

By Rob de Vries Elvis in Pencil, Sold, Work in progress 0 Comments

After all the “Elvis in Charcoal” drawings I made I really enjoyed working on “Elvis in Pencil no. 10. So I decided to make another one in pencil.
I always liked this image from the ’68 Comeback special with the little smile on his lips.

The first step was to make a very light drawing, just the outlines.
After that I made all the black parts black with ink.
It looks like Elvis already!

Then I started working on his face, very lightly at first until I was satisfied with the resemblance.

After that it was time for his hair and leather jacket.

Some more leather done.

And finally after 16 hours the drawing was done!

Elvis in Pencil #11, No title
Graphite powder, ink and pencil on drawing paper,
40 x 40 cm, 2023.

SOLD
Click here to buy prints of this drawing

Tags:1968, 68 comeback, Art, Drawing, Drawing paper, Elvis, Elvis art, Elvis Presley, graphite powder, Pencil, portrait, series, Sixties

About Author

robdevries

Add a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

The beginning
I remember well. It was the summer of 1973 or 1974, we were on vacation with my aunt and uncle. For two weeks my uncle constantly sang the first lines of “Blue suede shoes”.
I asked him what that was and he told me it was an Elvis Presley song. Back in Amsterdam I immediately went to the record store and bought the LP “Elvis’ Golden Records Volume 1”. “Blue suede shoes” wasn’t on it, but I was immediately sold.
After that, all my pocket money went to Elvis records, books and related things.

In the meantime
A few years later I also started drawing and painting Elvis portraits. Of the countless I had made, only three have survived, and that’s only because they hung on my mother’s wall.
Once I grew up, my interest in Elvis waned somewhat. I was still a fan but not so fanatical that I bought everything I could find. That changed in 2007 when we went on vacation to Colorado in the US. In the three weeks we were there we took a domestic flight to Memphis to visit Graceland. That was an unforgettable event after which the Elvis virus struck again in full force.
Back in the Netherlands I restarted making Elvis portraits and collecting books and vinyl.

And now, a portrait of Elvis (almost) every week
Since that visit to Graceland I have been making a portrait of Elvis (almost) weekly using charcoal, ink and white chalk on colored paper. Most of these are sold. Mostly through Facebook and Instagram. In 2022 I hope to make the 300th Elvis in Charcoal drawing.
I also work on commission, your favorite Elvis photo as a drawing or painting. There are even regular customers who already own more than twenty of my Elvis artworks.
My Elvis portraits hang on people’s walls all over the world. A.O. in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Norway, Ireland, England, Italy, Australia, Scotland and the United States.