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"Pastel Portrait"
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Author: L._Diane_Johnson, Contributing Editor

Howdy Pardners,

I've just completed, "The Cowboy", a little portrait for a client whose grandchild was so proud to be a "cowboy" with his bandana wrapped about his neck.

So I took this opportunity to take pictures while painting to post this little demo for you.

This was not painted from life but from a photo printed out on an inkjet printer...tough enough from photos but when it's from a digitized inkjet printer the colors are still further from the truth. The original shot (as you can see from the original had other issues to deal with as well.
For instance, a flash was used right in front of the subject which flattened and washed out the face, and any hope of good shadows. So in this case, I requested other photos to supplement for eye color, skin tones and the like in the hopes of creating a worthwhile painting. Here is the original photo at left.
Working in soft pastel on Canson was my choice in this case as I wanted the child to have some texture but not as much as for more rugged portrait treatments. I also knew I was not going to paint the background, so the gray I chose was one which would work for a little boy with warm skin tones harmoniously.

I started with a simple, light sketch of the basic facial structure, staying very loose at first. Knowing the scarf was important to the client I had to be sure it would fit in the portrait.
Next, I indicated where the eyes would be, again loosely since I wanted the flexibility for change; then began indicating some skin tones.
Now I really began painting in earnest -- painting more solidly to block-in large areas after working the face/head. Since the face and eyes in particular are where I want the viewer to go, that's where I concentrated first. But then I needed to put in the red scarf to better relate it to the face. Red is a very intense, overwhelming color. So I knew I had to control it early on.

Note as well, that I added a bit more neck. I did not want him to look like his head was attached to the scarf so opened that area up a bit.
Don't wait - discuss this topic with fellow artists now in our forum!
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