Aug 9, 2012 | Commissioned Portrait Paintings, Fine Art Pastel Paintings
When I create commissions for my clients their Pastel Paintings are hung in Homes, Offices, Courthouses, Universities. I find that even though they have the original painting I also give an 8″X10″ Fine Art Giclee Reproduction print so they can enjoy the painting close up. Since I finished my Self-Portrait which is a large scale portrait approximately 40″X50″. I also made a Reproduction print for my husbands office and now I decided to get a little more personal and I made some Fine Art Note Cards with the image of the original painting of myself. It is just another way to personalize your stationary for special communications to my love ones and friends. The cards are Giclee’s which are the finest technique of reproducing an art image. The paper for these cards are an 80lb. acid free paper and the edges both on the card and the enveloped are deckled or have a raw...
May 17, 2012 | Fine Art Pastel Paintings, Portrait Paintings
The self-portrait images in the previous Blogs showed the colorations starting to take hold however, my face was not totally in its natural proportion. Now in the finishing stages you can see that the facial area has become more blended and more in proportion. While before I was laying down colors and blocking out areas now you can see that all that been pulled together to produce a beautiful light colorful Pastel Portrait. Almost finished, I still must spray and Check all the lines to make sure everything is blended perfectly. The spraying takes about four to five days. Spraying it itself is an Art. To much can ruin the piece and not enough spray does not hold the chalk, so I take my time. The whole demeanor of this Pastel Painting is soft and colorful capturing the essence of femininity with an image that defines how I look and at the same time recognizable to people know me. It is a modern interpretation of the soul of my inner self. As I was creating my portrait, I could not help but to think of a painting, “Girl with Pearl Earring” by Johannes Vermeer circa 1665. Here I work with a light background to show attention to the subject while Vermeer used a dark background to highlight is subject. Both the Maids head and My head are turned to expose one earring that is the main decoration in both paintings. This one jeweled detail changes the way a woman feels about herself. For that moment her whole demeanor becomes more regal with a sence of beauty that radiates from her eyes. Vermeer’s Maid is dressed in maids cloths and her young face is solemn, in comparison to my face that has more of an alluring quality with a more suggestive...
Apr 8, 2012 | Fine Art Pastel Paintings, Portrait Paintings
I continue to make progress on my Self Portrait. I have started to block out my face and hair even more with my favorite colors of Lavender, Pink, Green, Yellow, and a new color, Navy Blue for my eye lashes. This Pastel Painting is clearly taking on a fantasy enchantment of color yet the sence of realism still remains. The outline around my neck and shoulders is a very bold Green outline, while the skin tone reflects a delicate array of light colors. Even the stokes of color for my hair will eventually have this wonderful bold turquoise Green color weaved in. The background of this Pastel Painting will be untouched with chalk, so I have to be very precise to make sure none of the chalk dust or stain will attach to the background. This is a large format painting when framed it will be approximately 40″X50″. I know many Artists before me have created portraits of themselves. This experience is something that took a lot of coaching from my husband and family. This was not a project I would have created on my own. But now that I am experiencing what my clients have for many years, its a special enjoyment to feel your soul reflected as you would want the world to see. Presently I am finishing the painting and I look forward to sharing the completed creation. Your feedback would be most welcome!!!! L.A....
Mar 7, 2012 | Fine Art Pastel Paintings, Portrait Paintings
If you go back to my January 10th 2012 Blog, you will see the Original Pencil Sketch to scale I drew for this portrait. This image shows the birth of the creative process. I have just started to apply the first layers of Pastel Chalk to what will be the Original Self Portrait. I am using all of my favorite colors including Lavender, Purple, Pink, Green, Yellow and combined then for the skin tone and eventually for the hair and neck and bust. The pastel chalk is starting to map out my image. I have much more to go this is only the beginning!! Check back in a week for an update!! L.A....