Okay, I'm calling this one done! I will wait until tomorrow to spray and varnish it, just to make sure I don't see anything that needs fixing. I'm posting a close-up to, just for fun and for anyone who might be interested.

I'm ready to move onto the next one! I'm starting to get anxious to get more paintings done. I'm tired of not producing anything! :D

This was a fun piece though and I enjoyed doping it very much. Now, onto the next one!


Correction: The horse's fur is not as red as shown in the full size photo shown here. It is closer to the color in the close-up pic. Don't know what went wrong there. Digi camera didn't get it right. *shrug*

Soldier Portrait & Equine Bling-Bling

I have finally completed my most recent portrait commission, and am currently working on two other paintings.



The first is SFC Adams. This soldier portrait is of a man who was killed in action in Iraq, leaving behind his three children, his wife, and his mother. The original photo had the soldier leaning forward, elbows on knees and hands together, almost in an attitude of prayer. I received the photo with the soldier's hands partially cut off. I asked my client if I could turn the portrait into a landscape view so I could see all of his hands. In addition, my client wanted to have a flag behind him. So, this is what I came up with.

So far I have only been working on the background, which is not nearly finished. I haven't even begun the stars yet. This will take awhile, and because it is on paper and we are entering into the hot and humid season, it may not be done for several months. Because of this, updates may not be very often.

This portrait is being done on sand colored Colourfix paper, 11" x 14" in size, and using only Prismas (with bristle & stencil brushes for blending). This photo is appearantly not quite as good as I thought it was. I'll get a better photo for my next update.

For more information on Soldier Portraits, a non-profit organization made up of artists who paint portraits of fallen soldiers for free, please see Fallen Heroes.




The second one is a fun piece!! I have been wanting to paint a picture of a very detailed and decorative horse bit and bridle, but have had a great deal of trouble finding just the right ref photo. Whenever there is a rated horse show around here, I either can not get close enough to the horse, the lighting is too poor, or the horse will not stand still long enough for me to get a good photo. So I went to WetCanvas' Image Library and found a very nice photo that I could use.

This is on gray Pastelbord, and is 8" x 10" in size. I used a watercolor pencil wash for the background, with Prismas over the top. The rest of the painting I am using only Prismas with bristle and stencil brushes to blend.

The background is just about done (although in this photo it looks a bit blotchy. In real life it is nice and smoothly blended together), but nothing else is even near completion.

I have been working on this quite a bit today and should have an update tomorrow.

Bird of Paradise

I have been able to finally spend some more time on my art. I still have a commission I am desperately trying to finish for my incredibly patient client. As you all know, I also work several pieces at one time so that when I run into a kink with one, I can move onto another until I figure out what to do about the problem.

Here is a small piece I whipped out in just three hours. It is not colored pencil however - it's in soft pastels. The size is a mere 6" x 11.5".

If you remember my last piece, "Morning Devotions", was done on the new Mattson sanded pastel paper and I had a terrible time getting the details I wanted with my pencils. I also deemed it not appropriate for colored pencils unless you want a more painterly effect, in which case it's fine. So, I decided to try out my new Rembrandt soft pastels on the paper and see what happens. I chose the terracotta colored paper (Mattson pastel paper comes in four colors) for its rich color.

I started by using my new Richeson semi-hard pastel sticks to draw and block in the colors. These are brand new pastels Richeson came out with and I grabbed up one of the first sample sets. The main difference between these and Nu-Pastels are that Richeson's are lightfast whereas the Nu-Pastels are not. Very important difference. I love the feel of the Richeson's. They are just soft enough to lay down the color comfortably, but hard enough to get nice solid lines. I highly recommend these new pastels! They come in 120 colors. I've shown below a sample of a 12-piece set.



After getting the color blocked in I pulled out my Rembrandts and began in earnest applying the local colors. The Rembrandts have an absolutely delicious range of colors and were perfect for this flower. I added deeper values and highlights using Rembrandts, Richeson, and Mungyos. At the end, I added the highlights.

I think I probably could have sharpened the edges on the yellow petals a bit more, but otherwise, I'm fairly satisfied with this piece and am calling it done.

BTW, there is another 1.5" of background to the right of the flower in real life. My photo of the painting cut it off unfortunately.

Sorry, no close-ups. I still do not have my new graphics software yet, so I am having problems with editing my photos.

Hope you all like it! Comments and crits are always appreciated.

Morning Devotions

Well, FINALLY, I have finished my latest inspirational painting, and it has been entered into a Christian art competition called Art4God.



This painting was done on the new Mattson pastel paper by Richeson. For colored pencils, I do not recommend this paper. It is far too rough in texture for pencils. I had a terrible time getting the detail I needed in the painting, such as the letters in the Bible. I do plan on trying out my pastels on it next; I'm sure it will work just fine with them.

I set this composition up one afternon and took many photos of it, trying to get the elements and lighting just right. However, it wasn't until the sun started to set and the beautiful colors of the setting sun were shining into the kitchen that I realized it was truly just right! I had to use my photos for reference because it was the only way to keep the lighting while I was painting it.

Originally I had designed the painting to be a 6" x 12". Then I changed it to a 9" x 12", which I did not like at all, so I switched it to a 7.5" x 12", and that seemed to be just right.

I apologize for not showing any detail or close-up shots, but all of our computers are down and out at the moment and I am having a devil of a time trying to crop and adjust my photos. When one of our computers comes back, I'll post some more pics for all of you.

Making Primer for Sanded Supports

Well, here's what I have been doing lately. I have been interested in preparing my own surfaces for artwork, but didn't know how to go about it until recently. I found an outstanding book on pastels that gave me a recipe for making my own primer. The book is called Painting with Pastels by Maggie Price. I have had a lot of fun making the primer. It has allowed me to make my own colors as well as have control over the amount of texture in the primer. It saves me money from having to go out and buy sanded paper all the time (although I can't see myself giving up Colourfix completely). I've been using mat board as the surface I paint the primer onto.

I use a large spoon with which to mix the primer. When I paint the primer onto the mat board, I use a foam roller rather than a paint brush. This is mostly because if I want to use pencils on it, the paint brush does not produce as even a surface as a foam roller will. These are the foam rollers I use:



First thing I do is to paint a light layer of HP gesso or Liquitex matte medium on the back of the mat board, being sure not to use too much. After the back of the board has thoroughly dried, I turn it over and mark off the part of it I want to paint the primer onto. I make various sizes, the most common being 11" x 14" and 12" x 16". To mark it off, I use blue painter's tape. I then proceed to paint the primer onto the surface, being careful not to paint beyond the blue tape (although I am not always successful). However, if I go beyond the tape, it's okay because that part will end up behind a mat anyway.

I have learned to apply the primer in thin layers or the primer will not come out with an even texture usable for pencils. It is very difficult to get an even surface on the primer if you apply it in layers that are too heavy. Make sure you let the layers dry completely before adding another layer. Generally I use only two layers. If I apply much more than that it may end up saturating the board.

After the primer dries completely, I gently peel off the tape and place the boards into resealable plastic bags. Then I set very large, heavy books on top of the boards and leave them there for several hours. This simply makes sure the board lies flat.

Here are the results:

The first mix I made came out so-so. I used 1 cup gesso, 6 tsp. pumice powder, and acrylic color. It ended up being very coarse. I tested it and found it worked fine for soft pastels, but would not be appropriate for colored pencils. I did sand down the primer a bit, but it is still quite coarse. I call this color sandy beige.



The second mixture I made was much better! I mixed 1 cup gesso, 1 tsp pumice powder, and acrylic color. It came out much finer in texture. Although I haven't tested it yet because I just mixed it this afternoon and it needs to set for a bit. I call this color sky blue.



And finally, I mixed a medium coarse primer. I mixed 1 cup gesso, 2 tsp. pumice powder, and acrylic color. This also seemed to come out well, though, again I haven't been able to test it since I just made it. I call this color Raw Sienna.



CAUTION: When handling Pumice Powder you MUST wear a NIOSH approved nuisance dust respirator mask that will not allow the fine pumice powder to be inhaled. Pumice powder is made from volcanic ash and is a cancer agent if inhaled and will cause lung damage. It is also recommended that you use the pumice in an exhausting hood or glove box. Be sure to wear gloves when handling the pumice. In addition, I have nearby a set of goggles to wear.





When mixing the pumice into the gesso, gently fold it in so as to avoid creating any dust that might become airborne. Clean up your work area thoroughly after using the pumice. Do not use near food, cups, utensils, etc. I keep any utensils I use for mixing separate from my other utensils and only use them for mixing primer, nothing else.

I hope this article has been of interest to some of you. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.