A complete departure for me here. This is only my second attempt at a portrait. The first was a rather poor black and white acrylic of Patrick Stewart. The trouble with depicting people is they are either right, or not. There is very little room for error when it is a face we all recognise. Only the capable artist can "muck about" with a face. This week, in my art class, we were encouraged to choose a photo of an "anonymous person" as the teacher felt we would all be under less pressure to produce a perfect image. My choice was of a Tibetan Sherpa. It was a beautiful photo of an equally beautiful young man. On completion I was relatively satisfied but as the hours have passed, less so. The work is with soft pastels, using a limited colour choice, on sugar paper. I am pleased that I feel I have captured some of the subject's femininity and I like the eyes. I am less pleased that I think I have aged him fifteen years and in my depiction he has had a little too much good food. Incidentally, his cupids bow was worthy of any top model!
Overall, a satisfactory second effort, with pastels.
Great work and all the more amazing as its only your second go with pastels! I tend to steer clear of people and especially faces, but will have to work on it soon I fear.
ReplyDeleteReally great, a very sympathetic treatment of the subject. I'm impressed with your control of the medium... I find pastels extremely difficult personally. I particularly like the composition, the way the head fills the entire space of the paper. It's unusual. The soft treatment of the head wear is nice, and you have conveyed a certain femininity. It's almost androgynous.
ReplyDeleteThank you both for your generous comments. I like the way pastels blend to great effect but I'm not sure I enjoy using them. To be honest, I find them a bit messy and am forever wiping my hands. I'm sure that says something about my personality!
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