Monday, December 7, 2009

Latest commission - Little Cat


Little Cat
8x10 inches
Pastel on Velour
Here is my latest commission. I love working on the velour paper, but had problems this time with the pastel powder falling away. I usually do the whole portrait, fix it, and then rework highlights and details, which is what I did here, then went to scan it, and a whole lot of pastel powder fell on the scanner. So I reworked it, fixed it again, and here we are. I was wondering if anyone has used Pastelmat. It is not readily available in Australia, but I have read it requires less fixing than the velour, so thought I might order some from overseas. I'd love to hear if anyone has feeback on the Pastelmat. :)

12 comments:

Mona Diane Conner said...

Karen, this is just gorgeous, and the fur is so soft!

As you probably know, you can still frame it by using spacers behind the matt under glass.

I am about to try PastelMat myself, but one surface I've used that also holds the pastel well is Sennelier La Carte---nice softness similar to velour, and it's tooth comes from a mixture of fine-grained cork and vegetable flakes.

Unknown said...

Thank you for that info Mona. You are so lucky in the States, to have access to so many different art materials. Our stockists are reluctant to stock anything but the most popular lines. I will be fascinated to see how you find the PastelMat.

Unknown said...

Beautiful Karen, I love the soft quality of the pastels, beautiful portrait)

Unknown said...

Thank you so much Sam!!!! :)

Autumn Leaves said...

Whatever you did, the end result is stunning, Karen. When you say velour, is it velour as I think of it (clothes type?). I cannot imagine working on anything with such a soft nap, if so. At any rate, I also didn't realize you worked in pastels. You have the medium down to a fine art, with each piece ending in exquisite beauty. This is no exception.

Observe Closely said...

Hi, Karen. Here is a review I wrote on Pastelmat paper: http://jan777.blogspot.com/2009/10/examined-pastemat-paper.html

At the end are links to other online reviews of substance.

Hope this helps! Jan

Barbara A. Freeman said...

This is beautiful, the fur is so soft looking. Love the eyes too. You can't tell by looking that you had any problem with this. I don't work in pastel, so I'm no help, Karen. Yikes, hope your scanner is ok and you were able to get it all cleaned.

Unknown said...

Thank you Sherry and Barbara for your lovely comments.
Jan your review was fascinating. I actually ordered some PastelMat last night (it's going to cost me $45 in postage) and after reading your review, I feel pretty confident that I made the right decision in ordering it. Thank you for taking the time to give me your link.

artbyakiko said...

Stunning portrait! I love the lighting. It's so beautiful.

Unknown said...

Thank you so much Akiko - that means a lot coming from the master cat portrait artist - I was happy with this one, I must admit, and that isn't the case a lot of the time.

Carol Andre' said...

Oh, Karen, this is one of your finest yet. He's just so touchable! (I know you can't, but you just want to!) Wow, incredible piece, very alive.
Merry Christmas to you as well.

Unknown said...

Thank you so much Carol - I did enjoy doing this one too!!!