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| "Lance" 11 x 14" Pastel, $300.00 |
Lance has a great face doesn't he? I have been wanting to paint him for a long time but finally found the right reference photos to make it work. The image that I used was actually a combination of maybe 3 photos, plus my own imagination of course. I wanted to allow the viewer to see for themselves how hot, muggy and bright our Virginia summers are. I hope it brings to you the feelings of being right there observing Lance in one of his more pensive moods. You can almost smell the honey suckle that grows all over Williamsburg.
I used a very different technique here. For the first time I did a fully finished watercolor painting, then went over it with several passes of pastel, allowing the painting to peak through. Normally I do an under painting with wet pastels in a warm value scale, so this was a leap for me. I wanted to make Lance bright to bring him to the foreground, and soften the composition behind him to give a sense of deep depth and the feeling of humidity. The vibrant under painting really emphasized this and gave it a kick... BAM!
My friend Rita Kirkman, ritakirkman.com, suggested that I observe the work of Jeannette Cuevas. Rita ran across some watercolors on my web site which I did a few years ago and thought I should utilize my watercolor chops with my current work in pastel. I friended Jeanette on Facebook and she gave me some wonderful advice and inspiration for using this method. Thanks Jeannette! http://www.jeannettecuevas.com/#portrait/1.
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