Larry Holmes vs. Mike Weaver I

Larry Holmes vs. Mike Weaver I, 14" X 17", Prismacolor Ebony Pencil (Graphite) on Bristol Board. Art by Coyote Duran.

Hey, I'm back, Howlers! ( I know; I know. Who cares? Just bear with me...) It's been too long a stretch not posting anything here and that's something I've been meaning to change for a good looooooong time. So without further ado, here's a blog about my latest commission, one for my pal and boxing guy Dave Wilcox!

Dave is a major fan of former longtime heavyweight champion Larry Holmes and former WBA heavyweight titlist Mike Weaver (with whom Dave is also a friend) and wanted a reproduction of a renowned moment in their first battle, for Holmes' WBC title, on June 22, 1979.

Now these days, I'm rather reluctant to recreate a scene or pose for which an established photographer is responsible but it's at the request of a customer and, with my particular style, it's not an exact copy. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.)

Dave also requested a black-and-white rendering and asked if it could be done in pencil. Well, my favorite way to do a fully-rendered pencil piece is to lay it out on Bristol Board (my favorite, on which to pencil. In this case, 14" X 17") with my trusty Alvin Drafting leadholder (in 2H lead) and finish with a Prismacolor Ebony pencil, topping it all off with a blending stick.

The image above is the finished rendering and the following in-progress images are courtesy of my Instagram account.

A close-up of my latest #art #commission, a #graphite rendering of the first bout between then #WBC #heavyweight #champion Larry Holmes and Mike Weaver! (14" X 17" on #StrathmoreArt #BristolBoard) This is the early #layout stage done with my trusty #AlvinDrafting #leadholder. #Boxing #BoxingArt #Artist #BoxingArtist #BlackAndWhite #Drawing #Sketch #Portraiture #Portrait #LarryHolmes #MikeWeaver #HolmesWeaver1 #WIP #WorkInProgress

A post shared by Coyote Duran (@coyoteduran) on Oct 22, 2017 at 2:19pm PDT

Another close-up of my latest #art #commission, a #graphite rendering of the first bout between then #WBC #heavyweight #champion Larry Holmes and Mike Weaver! (14" X 17" on #StrathmoreArt #BristolBoard) This is the early #layout stage done with my trusty #AlvinDrafting #leadholder. #Boxing #BoxingArt #Artist #BoxingArtist #BlackAndWhite #Drawing #Sketch #Portraiture #Portrait #LarryHolmes #MikeWeaver #HolmesWeaver1 #WIP #WorkInProgress

A post shared by Coyote Duran (@coyoteduran) on Oct 24, 2017 at 12:22pm PDT

Distance, centering and proportion are key, especially when doing your best to recreate a specific moment in time. Lots of drawing, erasing and re-drawing go into the layout process but its ALL worth it! And what you see here is not how the finished image will look because my "underdrawing," be the finished piece graphite, ink or painting, is almost always hyper-detailed. The process takes me twice as long but it's one of my very few OCD-esque traits. This sucker is gonna have drama and atmosphere to spare. Another close-up of my latest #art #commission, a #graphite rendering of the first bout between then #WBC #heavyweight #champion Larry Holmes and Mike Weaver! (14" X 17" on #StrathmoreArt #BristolBoard) This is the early #layout stage done with my trusty #AlvinDrafting #leadholder. #Boxing #BoxingArt #Artist #BoxingArtist #BlackAndWhite #Drawing #Sketch #Portraiture #Portrait #LarryHolmes #MikeWeaver #HolmesWeaver1 #WIP #WorkInProgress

A post shared by Coyote Duran (@coyoteduran) on Oct 25, 2017 at 1:17pm PDT

Putting some funk in those trunks! Yes, detailing boxing trunks might seem tedious and borong but it's no less inportant to the entire #composition. A close-up of my latest #art #commission, a #graphite rendering of the first bout between then #WBC #heavyweight #champion Larry Holmes and Mike Weaver! (14" X 17" on #StrathmoreArt #BristolBoard) This is the early #layout stage done with my trusty #AlvinDrafting #leadholder. #Boxing #BoxingArt #Artist #BoxingArtist #BlackAndWhite #Drawing #Sketch #Portraiture #Portrait #LarryHolmes #MikeWeaver #HolmesWeaver1 #WIP #WorkInProgress

A post shared by Coyote Duran (@coyoteduran) on Oct 27, 2017 at 3:25pm PDT

More details on the Larry Holmes half of the layout! And don't forget the mandatory product placement (#Everlast!)! A close-up of my latest #art #commission, a #graphite rendering of the first bout between then #WBC #heavyweight #champion Larry Holmes and Mike Weaver! (14" X 17" on #StrathmoreArt #BristolBoard) This is the early #layout stage done with my trusty #AlvinDrafting #leadholder. #Boxing #BoxingArt #Artist #BoxingArtist #BlackAndWhite #Drawing #Sketch #Portraiture #Portrait #LarryHolmes #MikeWeaver #HolmesWeaver1 #WIP #WorkInProgress

A post shared by Coyote Duran (@coyoteduran) on Oct 27, 2017 at 7:58pm PDT

Con #cerveza! My latest #art #commission, a #graphite rendering of the first bout between then #WBC #heavyweight #champion Larry Holmes and Mike Weaver! (14" X 17" on #StrathmoreArt #BristolBoard) This is the early #layout stage done with my trusty #AlvinDrafting #leadholder. #Boxing #BoxingArt #Artist #BoxingArtist #BlackAndWhite #Drawing #Sketch #Portraiture #Portrait #LarryHolmes #MikeWeaver #HolmesWeaver1 #WIP #WorkInProgress #Beer #Brewski

A post shared by Coyote Duran (@coyoteduran) on Oct 28, 2017 at 11:56am PDT

Darkness falls!! Now the drama really heightens with my trusted #Prismacolor #Ebony #pencils, as I hammer in the darks in the background and in the figures themselves. Gradients and values abound! My latest #art #commission, a #graphite rendering of the first bout between then #WBC #heavyweight #champion Larry Holmes and Mike Weaver! (14" X 17" on #StrathmoreArt #BristolBoard) This is the early #layout stage done with my trusty #AlvinDrafting #leadholder. #Boxing #BoxingArt #Artist #BoxingArtist #BlackAndWhite #Drawing #Sketch #Portraiture #Portrait #LarryHolmes #MikeWeaver #HolmesWeaver1 #WIP #WorkInProgress #Beer #Brewski

A post shared by Coyote Duran (@coyoteduran) on Oct 29, 2017 at 4:18pm PDT

More pencils? Yes. This step is akin to inking penciled work but it's done with a darker, softer graphite: the vaunted #Prismacolor #Ebony #pencil. So it's pencil on pencil. This is done to hammer in the details, plus add shading that will also be manipulated with a blending stick/stump. My latest #art #commission, a #graphite rendering of the first bout between then #WBC #heavyweight #champion Larry Holmes and Mike Weaver! (14" X 17" on #StrathmoreArt #BristolBoard) This is the early #layout stage done with my trusty #AlvinDrafting #leadholder. #Boxing #BoxingArt #Artist #BoxingArtist #BlackAndWhite #Drawing #Sketch #Portraiture #Portrait #LarryHolmes #MikeWeaver #HolmesWeaver1 #WIP #WorkInProgress #Beer #Brewski

A post shared by Coyote Duran (@coyoteduran) on Oct 30, 2017 at 7:37pm PDT

More details! More depth! More pencils? Yes. This step is akin to inking penciled work but it's done with a darker, softer graphite: the vaunted #Prismacolor #Ebony #pencil. So it's pencil on pencil. This is done to hammer in the details, plus add shading that will also be manipulated with a blending stick/stump. My latest #art #commission, a #graphite rendering of the first bout between then #WBC #heavyweight #champion Larry Holmes and Mike Weaver! (14" X 17" on #StrathmoreArt #BristolBoard) This is the early #layout stage done with my trusty #AlvinDrafting #leadholder. #Boxing #BoxingArt #Artist #BoxingArtist #BlackAndWhite #Drawing #Sketch #Portraiture #Portrait #LarryHolmes #MikeWeaver #HolmesWeaver1 #WIP #WorkInProgress

A post shared by Coyote Duran (@coyoteduran) on Nov 4, 2017 at 3:43pm PDT

When you're as obsessed with uniformity as I am (when it comes to my #art), backgrounds can be REALLY time-consuming! This is hours and hours of tiny, circular strokes with my #Prismacolor #Ebony #pencil... My latest art #commission, a #graphite rendering of the first bout between then #WBC #heavyweight #champion Larry Holmes and Mike Weaver! (14" X 17" on #StrathmoreArt #BristolBoard) #Boxing #BoxingArt #Artist #BoxingArtist #BlackAndWhite #Drawing #Sketch #Portraiture #Portrait #LarryHolmes #MikeWeaver #HolmesWeaver1 #WIP #WorkInProgress

A post shared by Coyote Duran (@coyoteduran) on Jan 2, 2018 at 3:34pm PST

Man, that's a LOT of graphite. 😎✏ Almost finished! My latest #art #commission, a #graphite (#Prismacolor #Ebony #pencil) rendering of the first bout between then #WBC #heavyweight #champion Larry Holmes and Mike Weaver! (14" X 17" on #StrathmoreArt #BristolBoard) #Boxing #BoxingArt #Artist #BoxingArtist #BlackAndWhite #Drawing #Sketch #Portraiture #Portrait #LarryHolmes #MikeWeaver #HolmesWeaver1 #WIP #WorkInProgress

A post shared by Coyote Duran (@coyoteduran) on Jan 15, 2018 at 2:53pm PST

Throwing it all into the #blender! (#BlendingStump #BlendingStick) Helpful hint: If you don't have any of these handy, try Q-Tips, toilet tissue or paper towels! My latest #art #commission, a #graphite (#Prismacolor #Ebony #pencil) rendering of the first bout between then #WBC #heavyweight #champion Larry Holmes and Mike Weaver! (14" X 17" on #StrathmoreArt #BristolBoard) #Boxing #BoxingArt #Artist #BoxingArtist #BlackAndWhite #Drawing #Sketch #Portraiture #Portrait #LarryHolmes #MikeWeaver #HolmesWeaver1 #WIP #WorkInProgress

A post shared by Coyote Duran (@coyoteduran) on Jan 17, 2018 at 1:18pm PST

Whew! Now onto something new! Stay tuned, Howlers!



Questions? Comments? Complaints? Commissions? Hit me up at coyote@coyoteduran.com. You can also follow me at twitter.com/CoyoteDuran, instagram.com/coyoteduran and facebook.com/CDCreationNation.