Linea's Granddaughter
 

Hello,

This is a commissioned portrait of a little girl I met only once. We did an extensive photo shoot in one hour and then I let the grandmother make the final pick on the pose. I then worked only from the photos several months later.

This drawing was an experiment of sorts. The grandmother gave me complete freedom to try something new. (!) Instead of working directly on an unprepared piece of drawing paper (my usual routine) I used a piece of hot pressed watercolor paper that I sized with rabbit skin glue. I tinted the glue with a couple drops of pure pigment. The glue and the pigments gave the paper a nice tooth and a warm background, which was new for me. The rest is all drawn with hard and soft pastels, as well as black and white pastels. I wasn

Hi Lara,

This is a great pastel. There's not much to improve on, IMO. If anything, the little bit of her arms showing at the bottom of the picture might not work, compositionally. Also, you might try adding a cool background (or tone the paper a cooler color), to offset the overall warmness. Just minor nitpicks. Your drawing skills are excellent.

Sincerely,