27th Annual Portrait Show

The 27th Annual Portrait Show at Francesca Anderson Fine Art | Portraits North will be held April 22nd through May 22nd. My pastel portraits Sophia and Cate will be on display.  There will also be a Children's Event on May 1st and a Portrait Demonstration on May 15th. See www.portraitsnorth.com for more information.

Another Pastel

Here's a quick snapshot of another pastel portrait of Sophia I completed recently. This piece is the same size as my previous portrait of Sophia, but this time I worked on a textured paper rather than sanded board. The larger grain of the paper seemed to allow the pastel to adhere more readily, though the grain texture remains visible in the final piece.

Pastel Portrait

Recently I completed a 12x16 pastel portrait of Sophia, shown framed above. This is my fifth time using pastels, and I've decided that I really like the medium for rendering children. The only drawback, in my opinion, is all of the dust it creates (I wear a mask while working), and the need to frame the piece behind glass. This piece is framed with museum glass, which minimizes reflection and helps to protect against UV light.

Portraits North 26th Annual Portrait Show

Francesca Anderson Fine Art Portraits North is holding its 26th Annual Portrait show, and my pastel portraits Allison and Cate will be on display. The show runs from April 30th through June 7th, with between 50 and 60 portraits on display as samples of the portraiture from artists across the Northeast. Francesca Anderson Fine Art Portraits North specializes in helping people select artists to paint executives and public figures, children and families, and pets.

Alternating Medium

I recently completed and delivered a colored pencil portrait, and I am working on another now. Much of what I learned from working in colored pencil has proven very useful in learning pastel and oil, and now I am finding that the opposite is also true. Working in pastel has been eye-opening in terms of creating subtle gradation of color, something that I am now paying more attention to in my colored pencil work. Oil allows me to work in a way most intuitive to me; starting with large shapes and blocks of color, and working in details, contrast, and highlights as I go along. This is also something that I would like to try to incorporate more into my colored pencil work as well.

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

Colored Pencil, Pastel, and Oil

I recently completed two miniature portrait commissions (David and Isabela), and I found that working in colored pencil was well suited to achieving the detail I wanted in this small format. Although I have completed some larger portraits in colored pencil (Self Portrait with Tea is an example), I find that working with the small point of a pencil on such a large work can be tedious when working on areas of the painting that I wish to be less detailed or resolved. I do not usually start my paintings with detailed drawings, but rather simple sketches that provide the basic framework for the painting. Also, I find that my preferred method is to work very loosely in the beginning laying down broad shapes and colors, and becoming more resolved as I go. I was able to employ this method with colored pencil by using water soluble pastel crayons to create an underpainting in works such as Winter Blues.

Recently I have also been working in pastel, which I find more conducive to my style of laying down large areas of color. I use soft pastels almost exclusively, and can create smooth sweeping strokes or textures very quickly, and use the edges of the pastel for detailed work. Once applied, pastel can be blended very smoothly, a quality that I find especially useful when rendering children (Cate and Allison are two examples of my portraits in pastel).

This week I started my first oil portrait, and despite the huge learning curve, I am finding that it is quickly becoming my favorite medium for rendering portraits. Oil seems to be the most versatile, as I can start with an underpainting in sepia tones, or lay down large blocks of color, and still get the detail I want. I like that I can easily move the paint around the canvas, and come back to the piece the next day with the paint still wet. In fact, it’s so easy to manipulate, that I find it difficult to call it “finished”! Another benefit is that I work on an easel, which allows me to easily step back and continuously evaluate whether or not I am capturing the likeness.

My subject for this oil painting is Brian, who I also recently painted for my first pastel portrait. Next week I will post a photo of my progress on the oil portrait, and show a comparison of Brian in pastel and oil.

Portrait from Black and White Photo

Above is a portrait commission I recently presented to a client. The first image is the main reference photo, a scan of a black and white photograph. Since this is a posthumous portrait, I relied on more recent photographs of the subject and also working with the client in order to get the coloring correct. This was a challenging but very rewarding experience, and I am thrilled that the client was very happy with the result.

Busy with Portrait Commissions...

I haven't blogged recently as I have started working on a few portrait commissions. I did complete the pastel piece of Brian above just before starting on the commissions, and I really enjoy working in pastel - I find the process much more intuitive than working with pencils.

One of the portrait commissions is particularly interesting and challenging, as I am creating a color portrait based on several old black and white photos, and working with the client to get the coloring correct. I am posting all of the commissions to my online gallery, but only upon client delivery and approval.