Sketching Henry VIII's Queens in Promarker Pens

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While getting to grips with the Promarkers I'd been mostly drawing local landmarks but then I started to wonder if I could draw people, too. 

So I chose, for a little weekend project, Henry VIII's six wives. 

Henry VIII's Six Wives © Jo Romero/sketcherjoey

There's Katherine of Aragon dressed in traditional Tudor Green, Anne Boleyn who looks like she literally has no time for any of Thomas Cromwell's nonsense today and the sweet, demure (or was she?) Jane Seymour decked out in the jewels she's wearing in her official portrait. 

Anne of Cleves is wearing a beautiful gown with puffed-shoulders and her traditional style of head-dress. With Catherine Howard, I wanted her in the same pose as Anne Boleyn and I made sure to capture a family resemblance, as they were cousins. And then Katherine Parr, standing confidently in a jewelled head dress and patterned gown complete with sleeves and a Tudor brooch. 

This was fun to do. I layered the Promarkers on, often using the same colour when the ink was dry to create a slightly darker tone, for example around the cheeks and jawline. The main colours I used for the skin tones were Dusky Pink and Blush and then the other colours were chosen to suit my own imagination and what I thought, having read about all the wives, what colours they might have liked to wear. Then the detail was added on using my trusty black and grey Unipin fineliner pens.  Everything was completed on proper Winsor and Newton Promarker paper. 

You can see more of my sketches over on Instagram @sketcherjoey where I share my artwork based on historical buildings and areas, but also sometimes people! 

Like this? You might also like: Drawing Aethelflaed, Will the Real Jane Seymour Please Stand Up? and Why Was Henry VIII So Obsessed with Producing a Male Heir?. I've also written up some tips if you'd like to have a go at using Promarkers, too. 

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