Yulia
 

I decided to take Jimmie Arroyo's lead and post this here.

My first stab at pastels. Come to think of it, it's my first children's portrait! Yulia is the very special, 4 year-old daughter of a dear friend of mine in Ukraine. I took this picture on election day there, at one of the precincts while her mother was voting. She was just so cute, all bundled up like that. She's a very happy, very funny (but she doesn't know it - yet) little girl. I just smile every time I think of her.

I probably bit off more than I could chew. My goal in this one was just to see if I could get the pastels under control. I was afraid if I experimented too much, I'd end up with a muddy mess and resolve to never go near the stuff again. I'm pretty happy with it as a rendering - though I still have little issues with it - partly because, again, it wasn't the best reference photo.

The background gave me fits - I almost tore it up. When I took the photo, Yulia was sitting on a bench in front of this very colorful tapestry. The sun was setting and the light was streaming in through a stain glass window (!!!....I know...) onto her cute litte face. It made for a nice photo, but...I tried to do the tapestry and it was horrendous. In exasperation, I just blacked out the background. It looked much better.

As far as materials - I don't have a clue what I'm doing. If I worked on the background any more I'd expect holes to appear.

Anyway, please tell me what you think - pro and con - critiques welcome! Right now I can't "see" it. I'm cross-eyed.

David, I knew you were gonna come up with something great. Very smooth transition of colors, almost like pencils.

I think the background looks just fine, and the rest does'nt look like you were having any problems.

Typical questions- Size, paper, brands of pastels used etc,etc etc...?

Again, :thumbsup:

Forget the technical stuff. This image is both powerful and haunting.

David,

BEAUTIFUL! This is definitely pro all the way to me. You have such a stunning and compelling portrait of a beautiful child that I am still trying to catch my breath after you took it away! I love everything about this. She seems to speak volumes for the revolution in her midst. Her glow against the background fading to inky blackness is powerful, yet perfectly harmonious to me. These colors work well together. I don't know how you acheive such a natural feeling precision and finish. Wow!

Because of you (and Jimmie), I am afraid there will be another greater renaissance of pastels, this year. The rest of us had better learn how to use them too, lest we be blown away in the wake of your dust!

Garth

Gorgeous David!
I just love how you handled the light and shadow, and reflected light on her delicate little face. :thumbsup:

??Really??!

Thanks, guys. I'm kind of blown away by your comments - delighted, but ...I guess I'm not seeing what your seeing. Maybe I'm still in "microscopic" mode, analyzing every little flaw and assuming everyone will see them like a billboard. Or maybe I just need more confidence....

Jimmie, thanks a bunch. It's 18 X 24" on Twinrocker "Tatiana" paper (pretty thin stuff and I gave it a beating) Various pastels - Rembrandt, Great American along w/ Pitt and Cretaclor pastel pencils. Expensive hobby.

Marvin, your words are a breath of fresh air. After reading all the threads concerning pastels - binders, substrates, fugitive, non-fugitive, fixatives.....my head was spinning. I know it's important, but... it was like: "I just wanna make a drawing." Thank you very much!

Garth, I think you're being overly generous...but, it sure sounds good!! Thank you so much. Your reponse makes me want to do another one - so I can see what Garth will have to say about it!! I've been under the weather lately and somewhat depressed. Your kind response has really cheered me up.

Geez, David,

Your portrait is just beautiful! Geez! (I said that already) I think that anyother choice of background would have diminished the very powerful impact of this painting.

"Holes?" What surface did you use? Try the Wallis paper, you would need a drill to actually put holes is the stuff...

Thanks Terri! (I didn't mean to make it sound like you're one of the "guys" ;)

You should know that I've taken a good deal of inspiration from your paintings of children. Your modelling is sensitive and solid, composition is always well-balanced, but it's the expression of the children - that you somehow capture - that is always so compelling and always just right. That's the "look" that I'm after.

My My!
 

OHmigod, David - this is gorgeous!

Good gravy - your first stab, you say? Well, to expand on that idiom, you not only stabbed it good, you slew the Dragon and took the hoarded treasure!

This is gorgeous, no mistake. The textures, the atmosphere, the expressiveness, the lovely warmth of it all... I could go on, but I prefer to look at the picture!

Perfect!

Excuse me for a moment while I beat my head against the wall. There. I feel much better now.

David, this is so very beautiful! So many good things to love about this one, including the lavender nose shadow and the fur treatment. The expression is perfect. I think you had better post (in the relevant Forum topic) where you teach so that Forum readers in your area can have a chance to find out how, exactly, you create these pieces.

Absolutely breathtaking. Pastels like you-a lot!

Jean

Marvin hit it on the nail.

Whatever you did works beautifully. When a work of art want to be born, the obstacles are but bumps in the road.

Luminous.

David - Holy cow. There is nothing to say - except I wish I were you. Man.... this really took my breath away.

My audible response was heard across the hall here at my office! She is beautiful. The portrait is stunning!

This is STUNNING! Congratulations!

Thanks so much Chris. Yes, I really beat up on the background - little chunks of paper rolling off the surface - yikes! I just got my first order of coated paper, including some Wallis. I CAN'T WAIT to try them out. But I must. I'm in the middle of my second pastel on uncoated paper and I'm determined to delay the gratification - I'm afraid if I try out the Wallis now, I'll give up on the current one.

Thank you Julie, Rob, Michele. You praise means a LOT - pastels are still so new to me, I find my confidence comes and goes.

Linda, I beat my head against the wall several times, but I think for different reasons.

Jean, I like pastels. I can see how it can become addicting. It's a strange medium - so immediate and forgiving, but it also seems so temporary. At times, it felt like one step away from sand painting: One false move and I could lose a nose! I just wish that it would "dry" or somehow become more permanent - I did a sample test strip with fixative, but I didn't like the effect - it gave it kind of a mottled(?) look...I still need to experiment more with different fixatives.

Thanks Sharon. I feel like I did fairly decent rendering, and that was my only goal in this. I told myself it may end up being overworked (and I think it is a bit) but a decent rendering is a good start. Now my task is to figure out how to get a beautiful, rich, luxurious surface (like yours!) - something as important to me as the illusion being created. How do you do it? I take it you don't smudge that much? Is it like scumbling w/ the pastels? I can't wait to see your pastels in person. I'm so intrigued now. I know I'll figure it out for myself, and I know it'll take time.

No you don't. I have a lot of problems.

Thank you Patricia, Andrea. Your words are so encouraging to me. I really need it, too.

Anybody: Is it correct to call a pastel a "painting?" I've never heard that before coming on to the Forum. It still seems odd to me. I think of it as a drawing. But I do know pastels sure can be painterly...I just want to get right with the lingo!

Well - your skills as an artist is NOT one of them. I'll rephrase it (just in case your other problems are bigger than mine): When I grow up I want to draw like you. :)

David,

Scale has something to do with it. My heads are almost life sized and it is hard to get fussy when you are working on the scale I do.
I also use Goldens Acrylic Ground for Pastel which I tint and then airbrush with a matte liquid acrylic. The surface is VERY textured. I try not to smudge, and use a different color for each bit of skin.

You will get looser the more confidence you get and the pastel medium becomes more familiar.

David,

You show the magic of just being.

You obviously master the skills, but seem to have painted this glowing portrait without any other purpose than showing the look of it.

I think that it fulfill the purpose of art itself.

Allan

David, I can only echo the others.....it's beautiful. I know nothing about pastels, but I know beauty when I see it. Thanks. I look forward to seeing more of these.

This is not fair!!

I can see why she brings a smile to your face when you think of her, she is beautiful. This is such a WOW piece!

I still don't think it is fair.

Ok, thats it, I quit. ;)

This is so incredibly beautiful I just don't even know what to say. If this is your first pastel, and first child I can't wait to see every one after it.

Simply amazing, you are very gifted.

Thank you Allan and thank you Debra!! Your comments mean a lot to me. Allan, I think I tend to gravitate towards portraits/faces with minimal or almost blank expression. It may have something to do with allowing the viewer to read more into it than may be "there," to allow for more subtle emotions to be conveyed or experienced. I don't know how I'll feel when a client wants me to paint them with a big smile.

Janel, I think it helped on this one the fact that I know her. I spent about a week living with her family. She is the most delightful, happy, well-adjusted little kid I know. She's so much fun. Her family is very poor - materially - but very rich in every other way. She is very lucky to be part of such a loving family.

Mary, I now know why you love to do childrens portraits. I know I love to do old people - always such character. But I think I will equally enjoy portraying kids. It's so gratifying to know that it is possible to convey the innocence, the spirit of young children.

OOps!! I forgot! It's not my first children's portrait! :o I did that charcoal of my mom. I feel so guilty - how could I forget my own mother??!!?? Well, I just won't tell her. :) Besides, she wasn't my mother when the photo was taken!