Oil Portrait on my Easel

A snapshot of my latest oil portrait almost complete... just needs finishing touches and a signature.

Ethan Awarded First Place in Oils

I am thrilled to announce that my portrait of Ethan has been awarded First Place - Oils at the Richeson 75: International Figure Portrait Exhibition. The juror was esteemed portrait artist Everett Raymond Kinstler, and I am so honored that he selected my piece and wrote the following:


"Portraying a child is most difficult. I think Holly Bedrosian's painting of Ethan is very successful. Most importantly, there is a child-like innocense and simplicity about the young boy. The painting is sensitive, and while modest, has a sincerity and good paint quality. The polo shirt and its horizontal patterns are subdued and intelligently rendered. A fine interpretation, convincingly handled."


The show goes on through November 4 at the Richeson Gallery in Kimberly, WI.

On my easel...

Pictured here is a snapshot (not final image) of the painting on my easel. This was my first time painting on Gessobord, and I really like the fine grain for painting portraits. This piece is a small format (20" x 16") for a 3/4 length portrait, so it was important to use a surface that facilitates the rendering of fine details, such as for her face. I didn't tone the board as I do with canvas, but rather painted directly onto the white sanded surface, first working with thin layers of paint, and gradually building up the thicker (less turpentine, more oil) layers. I tend to paint in layers, letting the paint dry overnight, adding subsequent layers each day.

Richeson 75

I am getting ready to ship my portraits Ethan and Christian to Wisconsin, as they have been accepted into the Richeson 75 Figure / Portrait 2011 International Art Competition. The exhibition will include seventy-five figure and portrait paintings in oil, water media, and dry media, and is put on by the Richeson School of Art & Gallery, a division of Jack Richeson & Co., Inc. I have tried a variety of oil paints, but Richeson Oils - The Shiva Series is my favorite brand, and the one I use almost exclusively. I prefer these paints for their rich color (particularly alizarin crimson, which I tend to use a lot), and more uniform texture. For more details on the exhibition, please see my Events page.

SCNY Award

I recently found out that my colored pencil piece, Smile, received a Certificate of Merit at the Salmagundi Club Annual Non-Members Painting and Sculpture Exhibition. There were over 500 images submitted to the exhibition, and about 100 pieces accepted, including paintings in oil, acrylic, watercolor, mixed media, pastel, and colored pencil, as well as various sculptures.

Art Kudos

My colored pencil piece, Sanguine Expectation, has been selected as a finalist in the 2011 Art Kudos International Juried Art Competition & Exhibition. The online exhibition includes works in a variety of media from 157 artists representing 23 countries. To see the award winners and other finalist, go to www.artkudos.com.

Portrait of Danny Completed

I finished my portrait of Danny a couple of weeks ago, and above is the final scanned image.