"36 Heads", Portrait #12

November 1, 2011, David
Terry Ludwig and Unison soft Pastels on PastelMat
12"x16"

David sat for us for 3 hours indoors.  This was an exciting portrait to paint because of the chef costume.  Athough at first glance, white may seem boring to paint, it was fun to be able to use some of the grays in my pastel set.  David is the same model that posed for Portrait #9.  I look back now and think that Portrait #9 is a better study of David's complexion and features.  Clothing is always a challenge for me to paint, so in this portrait I decided to devote more time to painting the chef outfit.  I am pleased with the result, although the time devoted to the clothing took time away from working on David's ruddy complexion.

"36 Heads", Portrait #11

October 11, 2011, Zwanda
Terry Ludwig Pastels on Pastelmat
12"x16"

Zwanda sat for 3 hours indoors.  I had a bit of trouble in the beginning, having not given much thought to painting dark skin before with pastels.  The first hour was spent with proportions and skin tones, normally at the one hour point, the painting is further along than this one was.  Somehow it got pulled together.  I enjoyed using the violets in Zwanda's shadowed areas.  Overall, I'm very happy with Zwanda's face in this painting, but the shoulder and breast are too small- again, in my rush to finish, I didn't devote enough time to those areas.  I'm still enjoying the Ludwigs on the dark gray PastelMat.  I won't be in the next session on Oct. 18, but plan to return to the model session on Oct. 25.

Portrait #11, why it's not here yet...

The model I was looking forward to painting last week, a flaming red head, did not show up to the session.  I was really disappointed, having painted her a few other times in watercolor, once in pastels, I was looking forward to painting her again.

This is another issue about working with live models insteading photographs- sometimes your reference doesn't show up!  I have been attending figure and portrait sessions for over 3 1/2 years now, and this is the third time this has happened.  This no show was the most disappointing, as this is the first time I've depended on a model to meet a specific goal like this project.  The other times I wasn't working towards a goal, so the no shows didn't bother me much.

On to next week.  We haven't gotten the October model schedule yet, so I'm not sure who will be sitting in the chair!

"36 Heads", portrait #10

September 20, 2011, Heidi
Terry Ludwig and Unison soft pastels on PastelMat
11"x14"

Heidi sat for us indoors, the usual 3 hour session with breaks every 20 minutes.  Hands on painting time for this one was under two hours because I had to leave early.  This is the fourth time I've painted Heidi since July, and think this is the best likeness yet.  Overall this one was a pleasure to paint, and Heidi seems easier to paint each time.  I now understand why artists like to use the same model over and over, becoming familiar with one's subject allows one to work more confidently each time .  Heidi isn't a model that gets into dynamic poses, but she always wears interesting clothing, almost never needs correcting when getting back into position after a break, and sits quite still- really an ideal model for portrait painting.  The headscarf in real life was a bright magenta and purple, but I didn't have proper colors with me so used muted reds instead.  This was bothering me the whole session, wanting to paint those bright and bold colors, but not having the right pastel sticks.  However, the muted tones used for the headscarf have grown on me, and I'm now pleased with the results.  This is the first portrait in the series that doesn't feel finished.  The background needs to be darkened in areas, the headscarf and hair refined.  These are things I normally leave until the last sitting for the session, which I missed because of leaving early.  I've become quite fond of PastelMat and Terry Ludwig pastels- I wasn't too happy with the Ludwig pastels intially, but find myself reaching for them more and more over the Unisons since switching to PastelMat.  Next week on the schedule is a model named Jonqui, who has dyed, flaming red hair. I've painted her in figure painting sessions a few times using watercolor, and once using Rembrandt pastels- it will be fun to see what happens next week when using the Ludwigs and PastelMat!

"36 Heads", portrait #9

September 13, 2011, David
Terry Ludwig and Unison Soft Pastels on PastelMat
12"x16


David sat for 3 hours, with breaks every 20 minutes.  I spent a little more time on this portrait measuring facial feature placement, and think the extra time paid off.  This portrait was another fun one to paint- loved painting the hat, and David's ruddy complexion.  This was my first time painting a beard.  I rather liked it because I had trouble getting his lip shape correct, so used the beard to hide the imperfections.  The beard also "framed" his face well, making it easier to place his features.  I'm not happy with the shirt- but it's not anything like what he was wearing- he was wearing a patterned black, gray and white shirt, which was impossible for me to paint, so I decided to just make it a green-gray color.  This one was painted with a few Unison soft pastels for the intial layers for the face and hat, then Terry Ludwig for the rest.  The shirt was painted only with Unisons- I don't have any grays in the Terry Ludwig line yet, must pick some of those up.  I'm so thrilled with the PastelMat used in the the last two portraits, and plan on using this paper almost exclusively in the near future.  Got home and realized the nose doesn't look right- his left nostril (on our right) wasn't showing from where I was standing, but there should be some indication of a nostril- it looks funny without it.  This is an area that I have trouble with- making things up that I don't see- using artistic licence to improve a painting...

"36 Heads", portrait #8

September 6, 2011, Colleen
Terry Ludwig and Unison soft pastels on PastelMat
12"x16"

Before I even got to this portrait session, I decided that my easel must be setup on the other side of the room for me to paint.  All the models thus far in this project have been facing to my left and I was starting to fear that perhaps I wouldn't be able to paint from any other vantage points- that noses in future portraits would always be pointed towards the left because that's what is what is becoming familiar.   This was a crowded session and there was a good energy in the room, and somehow I managed to squeeze into the perfect spot.  I tried a new paper for this session- and couldn't be happier!  PastelMat and Terry Ludwig pastels are a perfect marriage in my opinion.  The paper grips the soft pastels so well that little dust falls into my catch sheet when working.  The pastels stay vibrant and one can work in a painterly fashion or get fine detail with this paper.  It's soft, and won't rub off your fingertips like sanded paper.  I used a few Unisons, but mostly Ludwig pastels for this.  Colleen was great to work with- she is a dynamic model, and was in a reclining pose for this portrait.  I really enjoyed painting her skin tones and hair.  I had problems with the left side of her face (our right hand side).  The thing that bothers me the most is that the irises are not the same size, and the left eye appears more closed and is not sitting in the right spot on the face.  But overall, this is my favorite portrait in this project so far.  The PastelMat made a big difference this session.  I'm starting to get sloppy about spending time in the beginning of the portrait session measuring for correct placement of features.  In the past several portraits, I've been so eager to start applying color, and am getting away from the basics- something I need to pay more attention to.  This particular portrait makes me feel as if I'm getting somewhere with these heads...

"36 Heads", portrait #7

September 5, 2011, Michael

Unison and Terry Ludwig soft Pastels on Canson Mi-teintes

12"x16"

I asked my husband to sit for me for an hour outside on Labor Day weekend- this is the first time I've tried to paint him.  Breaks every 15 minutes- he did a fine job posing, which made my job easier.   Painting someone you know is a different experience than painting a model you don't know well.  You notice things about this person you've never bothered to "see" despite sitting with them at dinner every night.  There are a few problems with this painting (that ear was challenging in particular), but overall, I'm happy with this portrait, and think it is a good likeness.  Wish I had worked on sanded paper, but didn't think an hour was enough to use a sheet of sanded- it would have been.  I mostly used Unison soft pastels on the smooth side of Canson Mi-teintes (felt grey) and a few Terry Ludwigs for finishing touches.  Hopefully he'll agree to sit for me another time, painting this was very enjoyable and creates a desire in me to paint other people in my life- close friends and family.  Most of my family members live far from me, but after I get more practice,  I'll travel with my pastels to visit them.  I hope they agree to sit for me.  I know it's a hard job, harder than it looks, especially sitting for a beginning portrait artist that needs the model to be as still as possible.