Easter Art

Rebecca Louise

4x6 inches

Coloured pencils and pastels on wood

George - Giraffe in a scarf

8x10 inches

Watercolour pencils, Coloured pencils and Pan Pastels on wood

Firstly wishing a really happy and safe Easter to each and every one of you.

These are the two artworks I have worked on so far over the Easter break.

Rebecca Louise is my brand new niece, born last Wednesday the 20th April. Sadly, I won't get to see or hold her until she is probably walking as we live too far away, but thank goodness for photos and the internet!!!

George was done just for fun, although I did regret adding the scarf once it was all finished :)

Self Portrait II

Self Portrait II

8x10 inches

Coloured pencil, pastel, graphite pencil on paper

In the last week, I have redone this self portrait about 6 or 7 times on all different supports, (I am so fed up with it and hope I never have to draw it again!!!), as I am looking to change my style a bit with the commissioned portrait work, opting for a softer look. The drafting film is wonderful for achieving smooth skin for portraits when working with graphite, but I often ran into problems at the point of applying fixative, and had to redo several portraits as a result. When it comes to working with coloured pencils, it was much harder to get a nice smooth skin tone on the drafting film, and so I spent a rather frustrating week shuffling between the art shop and the easel in the search for that elusive support that would solve all problems. I must give a huge thanks to Bec Winnel - an extremely talented artist I came across on RedBubble, who does the most beautiful, etherial illustrations of women, and was kind enough to share some of her tips. She works on Epson Archival Matte paper and I was amazed to find how well this surface grabs the pastel powder. It also accepts coloured pencil and graphite very well, and happily there are no issues when applying fixative. The biggest problem I had with this artwork was getting an effective scan - the original is very soft, but for some reason the scanner didn't like that and gave it a dirty, grey appearance, so this image has been altered digitally in an attempt to match the original.

Latest commission - Peter the Red

Peter the Red

8x10 inches

Soft pastel and pan pastels on Pastelmat

Not much to report today. The Pastelmat used in this portrait really is a joy to work with and I would be interested to hear if anyone else has tried it and what their thoughts might be. I am keen to try some pet portraits on this surface to see whether it is suitable for fur. Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend and be back soon!!!! :)

Mark down on Commissioned Pastel Portraits

I am currently working on another pastel portrait and am enjoying this medium so much that for a short time only, I'm offering 10% off on all pastel portraits for people and pets. The sale should show up on Ebay as a markdown over the next 24 hours, but if you purchase from other sites, just mention this blog for a 10% discount. This discount is not available for any other mediums at this stage.