Pastel Portrait

SNAPSHOT OF AN ARTIST Edgar Degas

2009-01-30T22:54:00.000-08:00

Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas was born in Paris, 19 July 1834 and died Paris 27th Sept 1917. He was born into a properous banking family, had an elite schooling and social set. During the 1870s he developed a reputation as a painter of dancers. This was influenced by his love of music and the opera. His next theme was the racecourse. By the mid 1870s he began working with pastels
This image is taken from this link. Follow here to see more of his work

http://www.ocaiw.com/galleria_degas/index.php?lang=en&gallery=ball&id=61

ON MY EASEL - ACDC rocks-WIP 1

2009-01-24T23:17:00.000-08:00

I managed to spend some more time on this one yesterday in between watching the Australian Open Tennis on the telly. I put in more layers on the hair, reworked the back arm some, narrowed his face a little, strenghthened the shadoes and did some more blocking in. I was reading yesterday that if you wear bandaids when you blend you can get really nice skin textures. Might experiment with that. I'll keep you posted

SNAPSHOT OF AN ARTIST Tom Roberts

2009-01-24T22:33:00.000-08:00

Tom Roberts (1850-1931)

Portrait of a lady in a black hat 1900
pastel on cotton duck over cedar panel
57.6 x 45.6 cm

Tom Roberts is a well known Australian artist. He painted portraits out of neccessity during the depression. He painted a lot of portraits with a few in pastel. He mostly painted in pastel for women and children.
This portrait is held at the Ballarat Art Gallery. I make regular trips to Ballarat so next time I'm up there I will be visiting the gallery. I will let you know if I get to view it.
The gallery's link is http://www.balgal.com/?id=robertstomwoodsplitt if you would like to see what they have on show

ON MY EASEL - ACDC Rocks-WIP

2009-01-21T01:21:00.000-08:00

Today was a bit cooler, after yesterdays 41 degrees celcius, so I managed to work some more on my teenage rock star. The challenge was putting in the shadows under his eyes without making him look like he had black eyes. I was happy with what I achieved although I think I could still strengthen the shadows, especially on the side of his face. Lots more work on the fingers needed yet.

SNAPSHOT OF AN ARTIST Pierre-Auguste Renoir

2009-01-20T21:18:00.000-08:00

Pierre-Auguste Renoir ( 1841 - 1919)
One of my all time favorites, Renoir was a French impressionist painter.
Portrait of Madeleine Adam 1887 Pastel and pencil on paper mounted at the edges on board
23 5/8 x 18 7/8 in.
While I was researching this I came across a couple of sites that have this listed as an oil painting. Hmm, now I'm pretty sure its pastel and pencil. Either way its just a beautiful portrait.This was a rare commissioned pastel portrait. Renoir preferred to use this medium to draw family and friends. The young woman was 14 years old and her father was a banker from Boulogne.
If you would like to see more of his work or biography try this link
http://www.pierre-auguste-renoir.org/Portrait-Of-Madeleine-Adam.html

Day 1 Welcome

2009-01-20T20:35:00.000-08:00

Hi Folks.
Glad to have you share in my art journey. I love working in pastels. I'm drawn to the colours, the way they feel and the finished look. I have worked with lots of different mediums and I am continually drawn back to pastels. I have worked with lots of different subjects and I am continually drawn back to portraits.
Its still summer holidays here in Australia. The kids have 2 weeks before school returns and I have to go back to work. I'm loving being home with the chance to work on my art any time of the day.
As a part of my New Years resolution I decided I would devote time each day to furthering my art education. I thought I would start with studying other portrait artists.
Each week I will present a snapshot of information about a portrait artist and I hope you will enjoy learning along with me