Pastel portrait, and my first post.

James McDowell · 09-04-2005, 06:03 PM

Hello. I have been lurking here for some time and I am amazed by the skill and talent here. This is my first post here and my first pastel portrait ever.
Since this is my first time working with pastels I decided to go with black and white to get a feel for the medium. I am not really sure if this is finished or not. I had originally intented to contine the shirt down and include the subjects hand (his arms are crossed) but I love the way some portraits look unfinished. My question is: Should I continue with the shirt or call it done and start something new?
Any comment and critiques are very welcome. And I look forward to learning a lot from all of you talented artists.
Oh, and this is 15"X18" on Stonehenge gray.

Garth Herrick · 09-04-2005, 06:30 PM

James,

This is excellent. It's a handsome, compelling portrait. Your commanding draftsmanship and orchestration and descriptive management of the tonal values is brilliant.

If you don't wish to complete the shirt to an equal level of finish to the rest, I would suggest at least adding another couple of inches of definition, tapering off to the bottom, since right now the shirt segment andthe face segment feel to be about equal in height, and it may be stronger if the shirt grew to help support the head above.

I am concerned about the dark values blocking up into one cohesive mass, but I realize this may be merely too much contrast in your post image. Is there more variety and shadow detail in the dark areas?

Thanks for posting this and introducing yourself. Welcome to the Forum!

Garth

James McDowell · 09-04-2005, 08:08 PM

Thank you Garth for your input. I am having a problem getting a good photo. Rather, I should say that on my desktop computer the image looked pretty spot on, but now that I am looking at it on my laptop the contrast seems to high. To answer your question I think there is more detail apparent in the shadow areas than what shows here.
Thank you also for your input on the shirt. I think I will work on the shirt a bit more. Do you think that this portrait would have more balance if it was fully finished?

-James

Alexandra Tyng · 09-04-2005, 10:36 PM

Hi James,

Very nice! I like the balance of the composition, the control of values, the accuracy of proportion, and the way you've captured the expression and personality in the face. Glad to hear there is more variation within the dark areas. Sometimes this doesn't show up in photos.

I agree with Garth--I would like to see a tapering off of detail towards the bottom, maybe a suggestion of his hand and crossed arms. In some ways, "suggesting" form is harder to do than rendering it fully, so if you are uncomfortable attempting this in your first pastel, that's okay. It's not a question of talent so much as doing something umpteen times till it's second nature! In the end, the decision is yours.

Alex

Lisa Ober · 09-05-2005, 03:15 AM

Welcome, James. What a start! Excellent work in my opinion as well. You have your values down perfectly. Imagine what color will be like.

James McDowell · 09-05-2005, 09:02 AM

Thank you Alex. I will definately take your advice and suggest some of the arm and hand. I have always done portraits in graphite and I am very confident with that medium, so I understand what you mean about doing it upteen times.

Lisa, Thanks! I have a lot more experience with graphite so doing the portrait in black and white took a lot of pressure off. I am really excited to dive into color. I just need to find the perfect subject now.

-James

Jimmie Arroyo · 09-06-2005, 09:59 PM

Wow, first one? Great job, and the type of paper you used, did'nt think it would hold many layers.

I agree about the level of 'finish' on the shirt, it's always hard finding that point of 'completion'. Welcome to the forum, looking forward to more.

Kimberly Dow · 09-06-2005, 10:09 PM

Hey - another Texan!

Welcome to the forum James.

I like this, but I'd personally finish the bottom more as it seems too high to stop.

Lacey Lewis · 09-06-2005, 11:32 PM

I agree with what's been said above and wanted to add my welcome and kudos on this portrait.

I'm looking forward to seeing this finished!

James McDowell · 09-07-2005, 09:34 AM

Hi Jimmie, I was a little suprised about the paper also. I had never heard of anyone using it, but I remember reading an article about another pastel artist who used hot press watercolor paper so I thought I would give it a try.

Kimberly: Thanks for the welcome! Glad to know there is another Texan here. Most of the advice I have been given seems to be to finish the shirt more or finish it all together. Since, I am not sure where would be a good place to stop for the unfinished look I decided to finish it all.

Thanks, Lacey!

Here is a small update on what I have been working on when time permits. (I am a muralist, so I only get to work on my portraits on off days and evenings.) This is the second layer on the hand. I realize that the pointer finger is too tapered and I will fix it in the next layer.

-James