Portrait attempt

Study of a Redhead 12x16 pastel, copyright 2011

Wow, portraits are hard!  This one started out as a portrait of my daughter, based on a sketch done during Life Drawing last week.  After hours and hours of working, erasing, and reworking, I finally gave up trying to make it look like her.  The only thing I kept was the hair.  I wonder if it's easier to do a portrait of someone you don't know as well.

Inspired by O'Keeffe

My annual three birthdays and a holiday in the same week is done, so now I'm just trying to get back into a routine of sorts.  Today seems like a good time to squeeze in a painting - the sun is actually shining after days and days of the cold dreary downpours that make November such a cheery month here in the Midwest.  When I stepped outside this morning, there was a thick layer of frost over everything, so I ran back in to grab my camera.  Much to the dog's annoyance, I stopped and got a few photos during our walk.  The light was excellent as the frost and sunrise turned everything soft grays and blues and pinks.

Before my crazy week hit I was able to do a quick pastel study of the deer skull I pointed out in the some-day studio photo.   If you read the comments below you'll see that I decided to take up the challenge of painting in the style of Georgia O'Keeffe.  Not sure if I accomplished that, but it was enjoyable to "research", flipping though books and web sites.  By the way, Sue Pownall, who urged me on in the challenge, is an excellent artist as well.  You should check out her fascinating blog, she's quite the traveller and is currently residing in Oman.  And she has a sketch of a skull too, if you are into that sort of thing.

Study of a Deer Skull 12x16 pastel, copyright 2011

Struggling with roses

I've started working on the pastel I mentioned earlier, based on the photograph posted below. An album of the work thus far can be seen on Facebook. It's been a bit of a struggle, and I am now remembering why I usually avoid roses - they are notoriously difficult for me! Much of the rest of the painting turned out well, and I am especially pleased with the camera. After working and reworking the roses though, I was quite tempted to give up and simply cut the paper in half. But I've decided to give it another try after wiping off the roses and laying down another layer of primer. With all the work that's been put into it, it's become a matter of pride now to finish it.