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.

Sonia - Portrait in Colored Pencil

Above is my latest portrait done using colored pencil on Pastelbord. The surface is rough, so it accepts several layers of colored pencil; I like to build up the darks using many different colors. Despite working up many layers, the texture and color of the board remain visible in many areas of the portrait, but I think I like how the grey color contrasts with her warmer skin tones.

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.

After the Rain

I just returned from getting a scan of "After the Rain", 24" x 18", oil on Pastelbord. This image is much more like the original than the photo I posted earlier... thank goodness for Image-Tec!

Oil Painting on Pastelbord

I finished the oil painting on Pastelbord and took a quick photo, shown above. The experience was very different than working on canvas - more "delicate" as I couldn't apply too much paint or it would get streaky. The background in the reference photograph was lacking because at the time the trees didn't have many leaves yet and the flowers hadn't really bloomed (not to mention that there was a big barn-like shed in the background). So I got my ideas for the background while on my morning jog, taking note of the variety of spring colors in the trees and flowers. To make sure the colors were accurate, I also looked at the trees outside my studio window while painting. Since it has been raining so much, the background ended up taking on a wet look, so I decided to call this "After the Rain".

Spring Work in Progress

I have a few client/model meetings scheduled in about a week, but in the meantime I decided to do a relatively quick piece trying oil paint on Pastelbord. Working with oil on Pastelbord is very different from canvas, which is probably still my favorite surface. Nevertheless, I'd probably use this board for really small works that require a lot of detail.

This piece is 24"x18", and you can see a part of the reference photo in the image below. In the photo there is a shed behind me, so I am instead painting the background using the landscape I see out my studio window. Of course, this is a work in progress and the trees are nowhere near done. Also note that the hand on the viewer's right is still in the rough phase, whereas the hand on the left is mostly finished.

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

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.

Autumn Lace II

Autumn Lace II

Recently I completed a second installment of Autumn Lace, shown above. I decided to revisit the piece in part because I wanted to do a slightly more realistic background, but also because I felt that the complexion in the first piece was a little too washed out. In addition to wanting more mid-tones in the face, I decided to go with a slightly different pose. Also, I did this on Rtistx pastel panel, whereas the original was done on Pastelbord. I like this re-do better than the original, but just like last time, I have already heard from family and friends who prefer the first! Perhaps they like the more pleasant expression? Comments are welcome...

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

Fall Offering

9"x12"

$500

I finished "Fall Offering", shown above, and have added it to my online Hands Collection. Today I also started working on a larger figurative piece, which I hope to post soon.

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.

My Latest Piece on Pastelbord

My latest piece, "Adorned with Pride" exemplifies why I will not settle on one surface for all my colored pencil portraits. As much as I enjoyed the fast color laydown and smooth blending capability of the sanded paper I used for my last two pieces, I felt that the subject of my latest piece was more suited to Pastelbord. Here you can see how I used the rough texture to create the coursely-colored background, and also to render the texture of her skin and clothing.

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.

Different Techniques for Different Surfaces

Recently I’ve received questions about my technique with colored pencils on various surfaces, so I thought I’d touch on my experiences working on different papers and boards. When I first began using colored pencils, I purchased a set of 120 Prismacolor wax-based colored pencils, Canson Mi-Teintes pastel paper, and Strathmore medium drawing paper. Both of these papers have a texture that allows for many layers of colored pencil, as long as the color is applied lightly. I soon learned that I could let the texture show through in my drawings by keeping my pencil point somewhat blunt, and working with light to medium pressure, so that the pencil grazed over the bumps and only deposited pigment on the peaks of the textured paper. This can be a neat effect for rendering rough objects like rocks. However, this texture can be undesirable when drawing smooth skin or shiny objects. I learned that there are basically two methods for getting around this. The first method is sometimes referred to as “burnishing”, and entails applying the color using heavy pressure so as to flatten the texture, forcing pigment in the peaks and valleys of the paper. The result is that a lot of pigment gets deposited at once, and it can be difficult to layer any color on top. The other method is to use a very, very sharp point that can actually maneuver into the paper's peaks and valleys, thus depositing a more continuous line of pigment. This method also allows for layering, but it can be very time consuming.

Next I decided to try Strathmore Smooth Bristol Board, which is a heavy-weight paper with a smooth surface. What I like about this paper is that you can still use a blunt point to achieve a subtle texture, but it also allows for very detailed work. However, it’s easy for the colored pencil to look streaky on this type of smooth surface, so you must work very carefully and slowly in order to create smooth looking contours. Even though this paper takes fewer layers than a more toothy paper, I have found that you can apply several layers if you work with a light enough pressure. This is a time consuming process, but the end result can be well worth it as you can achieve very complex colors needed for skin tones.

Recently I have begun working with Ampersand Pastelbord, which is a clay-coated hardboard panel with a very grainy surface. I like to work on this museum-quality surface for many reasons, including how quickly the colored pencil pigment builds up to create vibrant color. In addition, I’ve found that it easier to avoid a streaky look due to the unique texture of the board’s surface. Probably my favorite thing about Pastelbord is that it accepts so many layers that even lighter colors can be relatively easily applied on top of medium to dark tones. The drawbacks I’ve found are that it chews up the colored pencil very quickly and can smudge if you are not careful. In addition, it can be more difficult to create fine details.

All in all, I think that each of these surfaces has their merit, and I will continue to use them for different projects. My most recent work shown above was done on Canson Mi-Teintes pastel paper. This piece can be seen in more detail here, where you can see how I used the texture of the paper to help in rendering the sand.

Comparing Supports for Colored Pencil

Today I finished the portrait shown here, which is 11"x14" on a sanded support I've written about before called Pastelbord. I first applied watersoluble pastels as an underpainting, and then used colored pencils on top. This method allows me to achieve the smooth, rich color of paint and the detail and texture that colored pencils allow. As a comparison, a portrait of the same subject done with colored pencil alone on smooth bristol (heavy weight paper) can be seen here.

Although it's possible to achieve rich color on bristol board, it takes many more layers and about twice as long. In addition, any white areas must be reserved on the paper, whereas sanded supports allow for some white and light colors to be layered on top of darker colors. Finally, what I like about working on the sanded hard board surface is that the finished piece can be varnished and framed without glass, looking very much like an oil painting. I've decided to work on sanded surfaces almost exclusively from now on, unless otherwise requested by a client. The pieces in my Hands Collection are also done on Pastelbord. Feel free to post a comment and let me know what you think!

Drawing Hands

I've noticed that when I do a portrait with hands, people will comment how real the hands look, sometimes without mentioning the face at all. At first I was surprised by this, but I think that the hands can be an important element in a successful portrait. Hands are expressive - think of what a person conveys with their hands tightly clasped, revealing white knuckles. Now think of what a person is saying with their hands at rest, palms open. Sometimes hands along with a person's body language can be more revealing than their facial expression (which in general we're pretty good at faking). For this reason, I like to take my time rendering hands. In fact, I've decided to do a few pieces of hands alone - this first one is appropriately titled "Witness First Hand".