The Rumor

The Rumor, 12" x 16", colored pencil and watersoluble pastel on board

I recently finished another still life, this time going back to working with colored pencil. This one's kind of humorous, and I had fun with the bold colors. I'm not sure yet whether I'll try another still life next or go back to portraits/figures... we'll see!

Starting Still Life

Family Secret, 9x12, oil on panel

I recently finished my first still life shown above, and I am already beginning another. I am enjoying a change of pace from portraits, though faces and hands are still my favorite subjects. For this next still life I decided to use to colored pencil on a sanded surface (Pastelbord), with an underpainting with watersoluble pastels (Neocolor). Also, my next still life is simpler than the one shown here - no dolls, just fruit! I should be finished with it sometime in the next few days, and will post an image shortly thereafter.

Amira Revisited

About a year ago I completed two portraits of a girl named Amira. The first was done using colored pencil on panel, and the second was done using colored pencil and water soluble pastel on sanded board. I recently decided to revisit the subject, and the finished painting is shown above (12" x 16", oil on board).

Two Year Anniversary

This past Monday, March 9th marked exactly two years since I began my career as an artist, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to look back at my progress thus far. I am so thankful for the support and encouragement of my husband Brian, who also happens to be a very good model. Over the past two years, I have drawn/painted Brian in various techniques and media. Here I have posted a series of portraits of Brian, starting with quick sketch from 2006 and ending with a snapshot of an oil portrait I just finished.


pencil on paper, 2006

colored pencil on bristol board, 2007

colored pencil and water-soluble pastel on sanded board, 2008


pastel on sanded paper, 2009


oil on canvas, 2009

Another Interpretation

Elusive

20"x16"

Above is my latest piece, done using Neocolor II watersoluble pastels and colored pencil on Rtistx 420 panel. This is a more realistic interpretation of the scene I used for Botanical Lace, in which I made the leaves look more abstract to fit the theme. I find this piece more somber than Botanical Lace, but it still fits my style. I am very interested in hearing any opinions on the two pieces!

Ampersand Pastelbord vs. Rtistx 280 Panel

Autumn Lace

12"x16"

My latest piece shown above is very similar in concept to Botanical Lace, which I blogged about earlier. However, Autumn Lace was done on Ampersand Pastelbord, whereas Botanical Lace was done on Rtistx 280 panel. Because the pieces are so similar, it is easy for me to compare the supports. For both pieces, I created the background leaves by first applying “blobs” of color using Caran D’Ache Neocolor II watersoluble pastel crayons. I then went over the background with colored pencil, “finding” leaves in the abstract shapes of color. I find that I work more intuitively when I start with basic shapes and create detail as the work progresses. (That being said, I sometimes like to create pieces where control and precision is evident from the beginning, and I will be starting such a piece next). Both the Pastelbord and Rtistx 280 panel seemed to accept the watersoluble pastels very easily. The biggest difference I found was in applying the colored pencil.

Though I like Pastelbord for its durability and gritty surface, rendering smooth surfaces can be difficult as the surface is not as uniform and finely textured as the Rtistx 280 panel. The leaves ended up looking much smoother in Botanical Lace, and I found myself fighting the texture in Autumn Lace. Some of my pieces seem more suited to Pastelbord, such as Adorned with Pride, where I allowed the texture of the board to show for the background, and I also used to my advantage in creating the texture of the skin and clothing. But for creating softer looking portraits such as of children, I prefer the Rtistx 280 panel.

Fall Offering - Work in Progress

I started a small (9"x12") piece this week on Pastelbord using Neocolor II watersoluble pastel crayons underneath colored pencil, and I thought I'd post the step-by-step progress. I don't always apply the Neocolors in block colors like this, and this was kind of an experiment to see how dark I could get the background. One word of caution - if the Neocolors are applied too thickly, the Pastelbord will resist any additional colored pencil on top. I learned this the hard way! This piece isn't quite done yet, but I wanted to get it mostly done so that I could finish it up on Monday and work more on a larger piece I have started (more on that later).

Summer Piece

Summer Wrap-Up

12"x16"

$700

Hawaii was really nice, but I'm so glad to be back in New England. Late summer and early fall are my favorite seasons here, and it would be a shame to miss them! The piece shown here is meant to depict the very last of summer warmth just before the crisp air of fall sets in. I plan on visiting Franconia Notch in NH soon, where I hope to get some good references for a fall-themed piece.

Why I Don't Use Detailed Line Drawings

In my last series of blogs, I provided insight into my process for creating detailed realistic art using water-soluble pastel crayons and colored pencil on board. You may have noticed that the first two images were very rough, and that my initial line drawing did not have many details. This is for a very important reason – I strongly believe that meticulously measured line drawings of a person can inhibit the artist’s interpretation of the subject, and lead to uninteresting portraits.

This is one reason that I like to use water-soluble pastel washes under the colored pencil – it forces me to apply color loosely, and leave the careful rendering to the final stages of the painting. In every portrait that I create, my goal is to render the subject as they see themselves (or as the client sees them), and also to inject some of my own interpretation into the piece. I’ve noticed that some of my favorite portrait painters follow a similar practice, starting with loosely painted blocks of color to define the contours, light, and shadows, and moving the paint around to refine the portrait until it is not only a realistic rendering of the subject, but also one that seems to tell a story.

"Coming Clean" - Done!

Here is the finished piece! I ended up adding more warm tones to counteract some of the strong bluish-purples on the lower portion of the hand, but the reflections are still cool overall. I also smoothed out the texture in some areas, and added water dripping from the fingers. This was a fun piece for me - I really enjoyed all of the detail in the hands with the veins and water droplets. It's amazing how many colors go into skin other than just the typical peach, tan, and brown!

Hands Progress 8

Now that I've done some work on the fingers below the hand, I think that the cool tones on the hand are appropriate. I may still add some brown to tone down some of the blue tones, but in general I think it looks realistic, along with the cool reflections on the fingers. Next I will work on the water dripping from the hands. After that, I will evaluate the piece as a whole, make finishing touches, and then it will be ready to be photographed and added to my Hands Collection.

Hands Progress 7

As I mentioned yesterday, I am adding cooler tones on the bottom of the hand, which are reflections coming up from the water below. Here you can see the cooler tones, which look unusually bluish-purple next to the unfinished fingers. I will move on to working on the fingers next so that I can evaluate the colors in context, and then I might adjust the tones a bit.

Hands Progress 6

Today's update on my latest Hands piece shows some my progress on some of the darker shadows. The light is coming from above in this piece, and also is coming in from a window, which is why the highlights are cast with a bluish tone. The shadows, on the other hand, are warmer. When I reach the bottom edges of the hands and fingers, I will add cool reflections coming from the water below.

Hands Progress 5

Well I did end up making some progress today, mostly because I have so much free time being unable to do much at all with this injury! I've worked on the water spilling over the hand, and also the top portion of the right hand a bit. Sometimes when drawing hands I force myself to move on to another section because I can get carried away with the detail in the texture of the skin!

Hands Progress 4

Well, here's a small update - I'm starting to work on the thumbs and water stream. It will be slow-going for the next few days though, because I have an ankle injury that requires rest and elevating my leg, which makes it very difficult to work on art. I hope to be back in full force after the 4th of July though, so stayed tuned!

Hands Progress 3

And now the fun begins! I've started using colored pencils in the wrist area toward the top left-hand corner. As I mentioned earlier, I want the skin to look more realistic, so the tones are significantly subdued from the neocolor painting shown in the previous entry.

As a side note, my hands and wrists do look pretty veiny in warm weather, but I also like to magnify the intensity of the veins and skin texture in my hands artwork.

My Next Hands Piece

I'm starting another Hands piece, based on some photos that I set up and shot of my own hands. I am doing this piece on another type of Rtistx panel, the 420 series, which is designed for watercolor. I am going to do an underpainting using Neocolor II watersoluble pastel crayons, and then go over the piece with colored pencil. In the first progress photo shown here, you can see my initial sketch and I have applied neocolor pastels to the entire piece, using white and light blue for the background. In the second photo, I have applied water to the piece, letting the colors blend together. I am not worrying about detail at this point, as I will be covering much of the piece with colored pencil. The bright colors will also be significantly subdued, once the pencil is added.