Why I Blog...

Blogging has been a wonderful way for me to "get out of town."  I have seen many new viewpoints, shared some of my own and made some wonderful artist, designer and collector connections. Scrolling through my blogger friends is like paging through a magazine. It is good to share some of the successes and struggles that we all go through. So for my fellow bloggers, a huge thanks for taking the time to share!

PS and here is a shameless plug for two more newer bloggers...
http://nickleysens.blogspot.com/
http://gregleysens.blogspot.com/

And finally, this is a watercolor demonstration that I did with examples of different watercolor techniques (salt, wet on wet, softening edges, splatter...)

Pastel Portrait Finishing Tips/Process

Looks like all it needed was an adjustment of the light 

on the nose, shoulder, arm and a signature.

I took a break for a few days and coming back with fresh eyes made all the difference.

Also turning it upside down and taking photos to compare to the reference photo...

Whatever it takes to fine tune... I use "em all.

I will still come back to this at least one more time and will post any changes.

Pastel on Wallis Paper sold

Pastel Portrait Process with Steps/Stages

I will need to take a break from this for a day or two.

I need to come back with fresh eyes. Check the next post for the finished image.

So today I took two steps back to take a step forward.

Did some measurements and still adjusting. Again, it is getting there.

 This top image is the update from today. 

It is getting there. I continued polishing the face, 

adjusted the mouth and chin and also worked on the shirt.

Still some work to be done.

I will keep posting the updates here. 

I am to the point where the changes will be subtle but should get closer in likeness.

Thanks for following the progress.

 

I got carried away today. 

I usually do portraits in stages, stopping to get an ok from the people I paint for.

But today it just felt so good to paint... that I got pretty far and before I knew it... 

Well, here I am.

pastel on Wallis paper, cropped to 15x18 inches

And below are the first stages of this painting.