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.

Self Portrait with Tea Complete!

And here is the completed piece! Self Portrait with Tea is 28"x22", colored pencil on sanded paper. The image shown here is a professional scan, so the color is much truer than my previous snapshots. (I did resize the image though - the original TIF file was 255 MB!) I also posted to this to my online gallery.

Small Update to SP w/ Tea

This progress photo shows the teacup completed, and only the other hand and remainder of the curtain to finish. I will post a scanned image of the finished piece in the next day or two.

SP WIP6

Here's my update with the shirt is completed... next will be the teacup and other hand!

SP WIP5

And here is my hand (and my foot in a slipper in the bottom of the photo!) Next I'll tackle the teacup and other hand...

CPSA Explore This! Exhibition

The annual Colored Pencil Society of America "Explore This!" exhibition showcases artwork that is predominantly colored pencil, but also includes some other medium (marker, watercolor, pastel, etc.). My piece Botanical Lace, which was created using colored pencil and watercolor, has been juried into this year's exhibition. Look for the exhibition to open online at cpsa.org on February 1st, when the award winners will also be announced.

SP WIP4

Here's a small update to my self portrait - I've done more work on the blouse and the curtains, and I will tackle the hand next.