Commissioned Portrait

Just before Christmas, I completed and presented this commissioned portrait to a client. The portrait was of the client's mother, and also a relative of mine. Often times portraits depict a more serious guise, but when I think of this woman I see her smiling, so this expression was more appropriate. The finished piece is 20x16, oil on linen mounted on board.

Colored Pencil Portrait In Progress

Here's an update on my colored pencil portrait. Things are going very slowly, partly because I am only working an hour a day on this. I forgot to mention in my last post that this drawing is on regular paper, whereas I had been working on sanded paper for several of my more recent colored pencil drawings. In particular, I am working on Strathmore Bristol Vellum, which has a fine tooth texture. However, the grain does tend to show unless you really keep the pencil point sharp at all time to move in between all of the grooves of the paper. Personally, I get very lost in details if I work this closely (or slowly), so I just let some of the natural texture of the paper show. A few years ago I did a few pieces on Strathmore Bristol Plate, which is really smooth with an extremely fine texture, and I found that this gave a smoother look, though seemingly took fewer layers of color and was less forgiving.

Slow Progress in Colored Pencil

I've started a new colored pencil piece, and after working in oil for so long, I am surprised at how slowly I am progressing. I work in layers in order to achieve the complex yet subtle skin tones, and typically start in darker colors, working toward mid-tones, and finishing with the lightest colors. I repeat this process many times throughout the drawing, as needed.

Here are a few snapshots of my progress thus far. The first is the drawing with only dark umber. The next two shots have some red and blue added. In the final photo, I have decided to start working the mid-tones and lights one section at a time, and have done most of the work on the father's face.

My process is somewhat similar to how I work in oil in that I create an "underpainting" as the foundation for my drawing, but very different in how slowly I build color, and also because my initial drawing and underpainting must be more refined in colored pencil. In both, I tend to work very quickly throughout the entire process. I think people would be surprised to see me work - I don't slowly move the pencil or paintbrush carefully rendering details, but rather move quickly and intuitively, trying not to worry too much about details until the very end. The "mistakes" I make are corrected with each subsequent layer, and the overall artwork ends up looking realistic.

New Paintings

I just had my two most recent paintings scanned, both 20x16, oil on panel. You can also see them on my website here and here.

Mother Son Portrait Completed

There is a lot of glare in this photo, but I took a snapshot of the completed self-portrait with my son. I still need to varnish this, and then will get a professional scan, along with the father son portrait.

WHMA Annual Members Exhibition

I just found out that my portrait Danny has been accepted into the 2012 Whistler House Museum of Art Annual Members Exhibition.  I look forward to this exhibition every year, as the Whistler House is a beautiful venue, and the members and staff are all very nice. The Whistler House is located in Lowell, MA, and the show runs from November 15th through December 29th. I will be attending the reception to be held on November 17th from 2-4pm.  For more information, see http://whistlerhouse.org/.

Getting there...

Still some work to be done on the hair, shirt, and baby's face, and then the background, of course. Maybe another couple of days, and it will be done!

Starting the hands... my favorite part!

I'm working on the hands now, which although is my favorite part, is very time consuming! I painted for just over an hour today, and almost the entire time was spent getting the contrast and color right on the hand. I'll move onto the baby's legs and feet next, then the rest of the arm, finish up the blouse and skirt, and then complete the background before making any finishing touches.

Mother Son Portrait Work in Progress

I've done a little more work on the painting on my easel... I am in the process of refining the faces and shirts, and I am starting the arms as well.

My Palette

I've just started another painting, and I thought I would take a snapshot of my palette. I use a piece of wax paper taped to the palette, because it makes cleanup really simple. My paints are all Shiva Signature Oil Colors: Zinc White, Ivory Black, Raw Sienna, Prussian Blue, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Yellow Medium, Naples Yellow, Shiva Orange, Cadmium Red Scarlet, Alizarin Crimson, Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber, Burnt Umber, Sap Green, and occasionally (not shown here) Shiva Green, and Ultramarine Blue Deep. I mix some of the colors based on the palette used by Daniel Greene, and some I've made up. Even though I mix the colors before beginning each painting session, I still often end up mixing further before or after applying the color to the canvas or board.

Father Son Portrait Completed

I am calling this piece done. The snapshot is a little blurry, but I basically added more depth to the background and cleaned up/refined areas such as the father's head and arm. The painting is 20x16, and closeup you can really see the brush strokes - it's not as "photorealistic" as it might appear on the computer screen.

Next I am going to do a mother/son portrait (self portrait!), of the same size and similar color scheme. I will also post the final image of this father/son portrait once it is varnished and scanned.

Strokes of Genius 4

I just found out that Strokes of Genius 4 is now available (find it at Amazon here)! One of my colored pencil pieces Reticent is published in the book, which is subtitled The Best of Drawing | Exploring Line. I've already ordered a copy and can't wait to see all of the other drawings and read the captions written by other artists.

CLWAC Exhibition... and an Award!

My oil painting Ethan is on display at the the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club 116th Annual Open Juried Exhibition now through October 26th, and I just found out it has won an award! For more information on the exhibition, see my Events page or see http://www.clwac.org/.

FB Page

I've created a new Facebook page that will be dedicated to my artwork. Like it here: https://www.facebook.com/hollybedrosianfineart

More work on Father and Son portrait

Here I've begun to paint the father's face (though you can see that the ear is still very rough), and have done more work on the arm and shirt. My plan is to bring everything else up to a similar level of doneness (including the background), and then I will go back and refine further.

More progress on father and son portrait

I've done a bit more work refining the baby, and started on the father's arm and shirt. Since the painting is somewhat small (20x16), I'm trying to work enough detail into the piece to make it look realistic from a normal viewing distance, yet I'm leaving enough "painterly" quality that you can see the paint strokes when you view it closeup. Painting the watch really slowed me down, though!

New Painting In Progress

I've just begun work on a new painting of my husband, Brian, and son, Patrick! This painting is 20" x 16", oil on sanded board. I began by painting a quick thinned out layer of paint, using a larger brush, and trying to keep a distance from the work as much as possible to avoid getting too much detail. I have begun laying in a thicker layer of paint with more detail, as you can see in the arm on the left, as well as the baby's face and shirt.

CLWAC 116th Annual

I'm getting ready to ship my portrait Ethan to NYC, as it has been accepted into the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club 116th Annual Open Juried Exhibition. The exhibition will feature work by women artists in media including oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, graphics and mixed media, and will be held at the National Arts Club from October 2nd through October 26th. For more information, see my Events page or http://www.clwac.org/.

Strokes of Genius 5

I just found out that my colored pencil piece, A Second Cup, which is currently on display as part of the 20th Annual CPSA Exhibition, has been chosen for North Light Books’ latest publication Strokes of Genius 5: Best of Drawing | Composition. Several other colored pencil artists have been selected as well - the full list of winners can be found here: http://www.artistsnetwork.com/medium/drawing/strokes-5-winners

I am looking forward to seeing the final publication, and will write more when I find out more about its release.

Art Kudos Exhibition

I am excited to announce that my portrait, Danny was selected as a Finalist in the 2012 Art Kudos International Juried Art Competition & Exhibition. You can view all of the award winners and finalists on their website, http://artkudos.com/, and my portrait can be found on this page.

Finalist in ARC Salon

I'm so honored that my portrait of Danny has been selected as a Finalist in the Figurative Category of the ARC 2011/2012 International Salon: http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/salon_winners.php?contest=2011-2012%20Salon&page=Figurative

All of the award winners can be viewed here: http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/salon_winners.php?contest=2011-2012%20Salon&page=Main

What I've been up to...

Above is a snapshot of my recent portrait Josh that I just got back from the framer. I've also just completed three portrait commissions, but I do not have permission from the client to post them. I have a couple of commissions lined up for late summer and early fall, and I will be starting another piece soon, but I am debating starting it before or after the baby arrives (my due date is June 17th!) Stay tuned...

20th Annual CPSA Exhibition

I'm so excited that my piece A Second Cup has been accepted into the 20th Annual CPSA International Exhibition! This is my fifth year in a row being accepted into the exhibition. This year's exhibition will take place in Covington, KY, with over 120 colored pencil works on display. For more information, see cpsa.org.

Portrait of Josh

Above is my latest portrait, Josh, oil on panel, 20x16. This is another sample portrait that I will have on display in my studio and possibly enter into art competitions, but I will be busy with several private commissions I have lined up for the next few months.

Portrait Preview

I am just about finished a new portrait, and I decided to post a detail of the face. There is some glare in this photo, and the painting still needs to be varnished before I get a high resolution scan.

Honorable Mention at CSOPA Exhibition

I attended the reception for the CSOPA Faces of Winter Exhibition on Friday, and the portraits on display were really amazing. I am thrilled that my portrait Danny was selected to be a part of the exhibit, and also to have been awarded honorable mention. I was especially excited to see one of Daniel Greene's paintings on display in addition to the portraits selected for the exhibit. The exhibition continues through February 24th at the UConn Stamford Art Gallery (see http://csopa.homestead.com/Faces-of-Winter-2012.html for more information).

CSOPA Faces of Winter Exhibition

I am so excited that my oil portrait, Danny has been accepted into the Connecticut Society of Portrait Artists (CSOPA) Faces of Winter 2012 Exhibition. In addition to the exhibit, CSOPA is hosting a Daniel Greene Festival, with activities throughout the weekend of February 3rd. For more information on the exhibit, go to http://csopa.homestead.com/Faces-of-Winter-2012.html.