fresh off my dusty easel, pastels by christine dimauro: Some workshop portraits, all painted on Canson paper

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Some workshop portraits, all painted on Canson paper

I thought I would share some of my workshop portraits. I belong to a local art club called Wet Paints Studio Group, and we meet every Tuesday evening. Twice a month we paint portraits from a live model. The model sits for three 20 minute sessions, with 15 minute breaks in between. So it's a total of about one hour's painting time. Sometimes it's more, but not by much. Occasionally I get something reasonable, you just never know when painting from life, it's always hit or miss. I paint all my workshop sketches on Canson paper, and I use pastels from what I call my "junk box", which is a mix of Rembrandts, Giraults, some old Grumbachers, and NuPastels.

I find I like leaving areas in my sketches unfinished. I try to concentrate on capturing a likeness and getting the skintones right. One hour isn't much time (at least for me it isn't, I'm not known to be a speedy painter), and I've found that by leaving unfinished areas, it causes the viewer to fill in the blanks so to speak, and I kind of like that. You'll see that most of these portrait sketches have unfinished areas, now because of design, as I like the effect.

I call this one "Sombrero", for obvious reasons. The size is 11" x 16 1/2", and it was painted back in 2004.

I painted "Reggie" probably back around 2004 also. Size is 11" x 16 ". Sorry about the flash of light at the top. I've gotten better at taking photos, thank goodness!

This is "Chrystal", painted back in 2004. It seems that was a very busy year for workshop portraits for me. I was experimenting with green in blonde hair, I find that it works, though I proably should have been a bit more subtle in this! Size is 11" x 16"

I call this one "Pixie", I don't remember her name but I did like the sketch I ended up with. Again, I like line work and unfinished areas, this time it was her hair and her clothes. Size is 11 1/2" x 15".

This fellow is fun to paint. I call this one "Sayville Santa". I've painted or drawn him several times, he has such an interesting face. Over the years he as played "Santa" in the local downtown parade each Christmas season. He sat for us wearing an unusual hat and Santa outfit. I almost wish he didn't have that hat on, I really liked the skin tone I got, a hard thing to do in an hour. Like I said, most times you don't get a keeper, but once in a while you do. This was a keeper, if just for the skin tone alone. Size is 13" x 18"

"The Pilot" was just that, a pilot. He sat for our group a few years back, and I remember he sat so still, a great model. I was experimenting with blues in the face, I might have gotten a bit carried away with it but I still liked the outcome. That's what so much fun about workshop portraits, you can experiment to your heart's content, and not feel you have to explain anything. The size on this one is 11" x 16 1/2".

I call this "Side Swept", she kept her hair covering her eye throughout the entire sitting! It made things easier, just one eye to paint. I liked the drama of this, with her eye covered and her hair unfinished. It's not my best workshop portrait, but there is still something I do like about it. I guess that's what it's all about when painting in a workshop, achieving some level of success, even if I feel the entire painting isn't a success. Small steps lead to big light bulb moments, so I keep on doing these sketches. I find I learn so much each and every time. Size is 10" x 15"

Another portrait, person unknown. I don't remember her name, though I do remember she was very serious while sitting for the group. I guess it can be a bit daunting to have so many eyes staring at you, and you cannot see what it is they are painting. I remember she was a very good model, keeping still is a good thing when someone is trying to paint you! Size is 11" x 16 1/2".

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Recommended reading

I love books, especially art books. Here are a few of my favorites.

The Changing Seasons in Pastel or The Pastelist's Year, by Elizabeth Mowry (Her work is magical, her paintings just sing. I also love the way she writes, I own every book she's written.)

Landscape Meditations, by Elizabeth Mowry (You know why....)

The Poetic Landscape by, Elizabeth Mowry (If she had more books, I'd own them.)

Painting the Landscape in Pastel, by Albert Handel (It's Albert Handell, need I say more?)

Intuitive Light, by Albert Handell (Another Albert Handell, need I say more?)

Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting, by John F. Carlson (The workhorse of landscape books, not an easy read but full of useful information, always a go-to book when a question arises.)

Landscape Painting, Essential Concepts and Techniques for Plein Air and Studio Practice, by Mitchell Albala (some excellent information on landscape composition for any media.)

Pastel Pointers, by Richard McKinley (An all around great book for pastel landscapes.)

Powerful Watercolor Landscapes, by Catherine Gill (this one has excellent information on composition, great for all media not just watercolor.)

The Painterly Approach, by Bob Rohm (It's just that, a painterly approach, and can be easily applied to pastels.)

Your Artist's Brain, by Carl Purcell (This book is great for a beginner, it gives you basics not always touched upon even in advanced books. For advanced painters these reminders are great, we all get moments of brain fog. Much of what is in this book I learned the hard way, I wish I had known about it at the very beginning of my art journey.)