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Sharon Knettell · 01-22-2005, 06:04 PM

Carolyn,

I think you have done a REMARKABLE job with the very limited amount of sticks at your disposal. My first set of pastels was done with a beginners set of 300 colors, and I found that difficult.

I don't mind the blue, little patches of a color surprise don't bother me as long as they are the proper values as yours are.

I have two areas of concern, the first is the yellowish patch on her jaw line. You don't need it it, it jumps. The other part is her arm, the upper part is too narrow. You don't in my opinion, need anything on the right of the picture.

You seem to have a natural aptitude for pastel, it must be in your genes as the greatest pastellists of the past were French, like de La Tour, Jean-Baptiste Perronneau and Jean-Etienne Liotard.

However, not to be chauvinistic in these delicate times, I find the Great American Pastels superior than the Senneliers in color sequencing and softness.These features are important to the figurative artist and they do not crumble. They are also now available in France.

I really think you should add to your collection of pastels. You are off to a really wonderful start.

01-22-2005, 06:04 PM	#6
Sharon Knettell Approved Member Joined: Sep 2002 Posts: 1,730	Carolyn, I think you have done a REMARKABLE job with the very limited amount of sticks at your disposal. My first set of pastels was done with a beginners set of 300 colors, and I found that difficult. I don't mind the blue, little patches of a color surprise don't bother me as long as they are the proper values as yours are. I have two areas of concern, the first is the yellowish patch on her jaw line. You don't need it it, it jumps. The other part is her arm, the upper part is too narrow. You don't in my opinion, need anything on the right of the picture. You seem to have a natural aptitude for pastel, it must be in your genes as the greatest pastellists of the past were French, like de La Tour, Jean-Baptiste Perronneau and Jean-Etienne Liotard. However, not to be chauvinistic in these delicate times, I find the Great American Pastels superior than the Senneliers in color sequencing and softness.These features are important to the figurative artist and they do not crumble. They are also now available in France. I really think you should add to your collection of pastels. You are off to a really wonderful start.