Rick (Dr.Pencil)
Artist | Hobbyist | Traditional Art

United States

I'm Rick Fortson and I started drawing again after a 30 YEAR time out! I never drew portraits before, but I oil painted and drew landscapes, and various objects as a teenager in the 1970's. SEE THAT WORK FOLDER HERE: [link] I could never get past deciding WHAT I wanted to draw, so I rarely did, even though I wanted to sometimes. Through a series of motivating factors, I decided to buy some drawing pencils in October of 2008. I started with my kids first, and moved on to celebrities. I believe we make "Progress through Practice". See some examples of my progress here: [link]

Now that I draw people, it's no longer WHAT do I want to draw, but WHO, so I never get stuck trying to first decide WHAT to draw! I'm 100% self taught. I always just seemed to realize to myself that I could draw if I wanted to. Weird huh?

Follow me on Twitter [link] IF you want to see my newest DRAWING TIPS and ALL of my Works in Progress that I do NOT post on Deviant Art.

Check out my son's music! - "Andrew Belle" -- Youtube or Google him I think 17 out of his 20 songs to date have been used on major TV shows (Grey's Anatomy s6 finale, Vampire Diaries, Castle s4 finale, Pretty Little Liars, Kardashians, Design by Jane, Covert Affairs, etc). Named "Breakout Artist Chicago-2009" by MTV.
WEBSITE: [link] My folder for him here: [link]


Check out my daughter Maggie's Amazing Portrait Photography! She is a very gifted artist and is SO creative! She takes the kind of photos that actually makes me want to draw people I don't even know! I've said all along, I am inspired to draw FIRST by a great photograph, and THEN by the subject. When I have BOTH, I hear background music!
WEBSITE: [link] My folder for her here: [link]

www.DrPencil.com