Portrait of Maddie, etc.

[Snark]

Don't know if you all remember my post on Maddie's passing a little over a month ago (she had cancer). Finally finished this portrait of her to give to my sister (Maddie was originally her dog but Mom & Dad wound up keeping her because Sis couldn't have a 'vicious' Rottweiler in her apartment.) It's the same pose I tried with colored pencils awhile ago but you can see I'm a lot more comfortable with pastels. (Note to self: Need more practice with colored pencils! BrandyB! Any tips??)



And just for fun... I've been scanning in old family photos for Mom. She gave me a Tucker Tote full of stuff, ranging from barely seeable tintypes to current photos to a lot of us kids' school art stuff (I think my school art falls into the antique category.) Anyway, I came across this, my first pen&ink project from 8th grade... probably can't tell, but it's supposed to be Johnny Cash. Lol!

[Laurelin]

Maddie is gorgeous. I envy your pastel skills. I try pastels and I just make a big mess everywhere. Colored pencils are definitely more my thing.

[Brandyb]

Oh that's just gorgeous!!!! Your work is so smooth and rich - I love it!!!
I'm the opposite of you ... coloured pencils come fairly naturally to me, but pastels, well, that's a different story. The only pastel piece that ever turned out for me was a peach that I had to draw in college.
I like to keep my coloured pencil work pretty light, until the very end. They don't blend like pastels, and you don't get the same finish, but you can get the rich tones depending on the pressure. I approch them the same way that I approach a graphite drawing, always light until closer to completion and I am sure of the portrait. I think I'm afraid to go too dark - LOL. I don't think that these are very good tips - LOL.
What type of pastels do you use? I just can't get over the richness of your work, its just beautiful!!

[Brandyb]

...and I'd say that's a pretty darn good drawing for being in grade 8!!! Your skills are obvious even back then!

[Whisper]

I love that portrait of Maddie! Beautiful!
And the drawing from 8th grade is great!

[smkie]

u really use pastels to their velvety best. Very well done.

[Kase]

WOW its beautiful!!

[Snark]

Originally Posted by Brandyb

Oh that's just gorgeous!!!! Your work is so smooth and rich - I love it!!!
I'm the opposite of you ... coloured pencils come fairly naturally to me, but pastels, well, that's a different story. The only pastel piece that ever turned out for me was a peach that I had to draw in college.
I like to keep my coloured pencil work pretty light, until the very end. They don't blend like pastels, and you don't get the same finish, but you can get the rich tones depending on the pressure. I approch them the same way that I approach a graphite drawing, always light until closer to completion and I am sure of the portrait. I think I'm afraid to go too dark - LOL. I don't think that these are very good tips - LOL.
What type of pastels do you use? I just can't get over the richness of your work, its just beautiful!!

Thanks! And those are good tips... I think that's my problem, I try to keep it light but eventually just go 'Arrggggghhhhh!!! Too light!!!' then leap in to overdo the color and wonder where my highlights went...

A lot of it has to do with the paper I use, it's a velour stock that holds the colors wonderfully. It's just not very forgiving (can't erase and it's easy to scratch or make dents). It also tends to get brittle if not stored correctly. You can't blend in the 'usual' way but have to use one color to blend another. The pastels don't smear easily but the dust will 'walk' if the velour is not handled with care.

I use NuPastels, they seem to work best on the velour. They're a little harder than most pastels and can hold a fine line without crumbling. They're also not as dusty as other brands I've tried.

[joce]

Wow! I love it!

You could so do doggy portraits for people and sell them-I like yours better than most I see people trying to sell

[Snark]

Thanks, Joce!

Well, I gave Little Sis the portrait today... made her cry (heck, made me cry) but she liked it a lot. (Maddie wasn't even my dog but I miss her like she'd been one of mine. She was such a sweetie.) Sis is gonna hang the portrait in her living room. Mom and Dad want a portrait of Maddie, too...