Abstract blue line drawing on white background

Captivating Portraits of people & animals by Govan

Let me introduce myself to new viewers of my website

My name is Alan Laird Govan.

I live and work in Bolton Lancashire, serving the north of England.

As an artist, my work is concentrated mainly on portraits of people and animals both in real life and more lately abstract. whilst the majority of my work is done in charcoal and graphite , I have recently started to re-introduce some colour especially for abstract work.

I realise that monochrome isn’t everyone’s favourite medium, its just that I love it ..! I like black & white movies and photos, I think it brings an element into the world of art that you don’t necessarily get with colour. Oh..! and by the way, I hate mixing paint :-/ and I think charcoal is fab..!

Whilst I like to bring a certain amount of realism into my work, I also want the viewer to see it as a piece of art and not just lifelike..! So I don’t strive for photo- realism, In portraits I want to achieve a likeness that is acceptable and yet is clearly a piece of art. In fact sometimes I think I take the realism too seriously. Introducing some abstract colour I hope counteracts this.

I would really love to get some reaction to my thoughts from anyone who sees my work and can look at it objectively.

By the way, Why ‘GovArt’ well, my surname is Govan and I sign all of my work ‘Gov’

Hand drawn and painted family portraits and animal portraits

capture your loved one and pets in timeless custom portraits

Portrait Art by Govan

you can see these thumbnails in full inside… !

I’ve put a small selection pics here on the front page most of which were taken whilst still on the drawing board or easel, so they are, as you can see still in their raw state. the professional photos are inside…!

So come take a look ;-}

Black and white portrait of a woman with a fan, shadows on face

Realistic black and white portrait drawing of an older man with deep wrinkles and intense expression.

realistic charcoal portrait drawing on paper of a woman with dark hair, wearing earrings, looking to the side

Pencil drawing of a roaring tiger with open mouth and sharp teeth.

Charcoal drawing of a Labrador puppy, with expressive eyes, showcasing detailed fur texture against a soft background.

Black and white drawing of a horse with flowing mane

Charcoal portrait of a woman with half her face in shadow, curly hair, and serious expression

I'm not sure why I've posted this, I haven't got it right....!

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Footnote: I have built this website myself, I am an artist not a web designer, so apologies if it doesn’t appear professional . Gotta save money somewhere…!

PS. I am still developing my website, so I would really appreciate your Ideas on how I can improve the look of it. I know this is a bit unconventional, but so what…!

PPS. Its nice to get people involved in my journey.