Sharon, here I go

[Sharon Knettell]

Jimmie,

I neglected to address your question about Nupastels. There is a thread in Materials that discusses various manufacturers and lightfastness. As this is an ongoing investigation by the ASTM, there is no definitve answer as yet. I do believe, however, the Unisons, came out with flying colors, that there is no information about Giraults and that there is a problem with the NuPastels.

As to the pastel portraits, now that the weather is amenable, drag a few high school students outside and do color studies of their faces. Use a clothesline, anything, to drape different colored backdrops. Avoid direct sunlight and too much greenery, an umbrella on a rooftop would work fine. Just spend a couple of weeks studying the wonderful variety of color in the human visage. Do quick studies, half hour, one hour. Don't make them too precious.

[Jimmie Arroyo]

Sharon, thank you so much for your advice. There will be a 6 hour model session this month that I will be attending and I will have my pastels in hand. Hopefully I can pick up color variations while I'm in the right setting. I may even be able to squeeze in two hours on Mondays while my daughter's in school to work on my patio. I've never been good at color and not having proper lighting at home is no help either. I read Marvin's thread on lighting and plan to buy sometime soon.

Even if this piece turns out to be a huge failure, I know I will take something from it and use it later, even if it's what not to do.

Thank you again.

[Sharon Knettell]

Without a willingness to risk failure, we rarely succeed. Big pastels! How are you going to frame them? Who's going to buy them?

Color was never my strong suit either. Actually color acuity is the one faculty that improves with age, that's why doing lots of color studies at first will help the process. At first, just think simply about complementary colors; ex.,a dull orange head on grey blue background with a hit of bright orange red. A pinkish skin tone on an olive background with a bright pink lipstick. A yellowish skin on a greyed lavender background with a bright lemon yellow flower. One color is more neutral while its compliment can be at full strengh. This is a simple explanation to get you started. It is really like learning to ride a bike, once you master balance and technique, you can enjoy the scenery.

Hope this helps!

[Tom Edgerton]

Sharon--

Thanks for the comment on color. I've heard this before and it's reassuring to hear it again--that color is the element that one develops a mature sensibility for last of all. I'm counting on it. I've been painting like mad for a number of years and I only now feel that I have anything like a rudimentary grasp of color. I've said I'm a tonalist, but I suspect that's often an excuse to avoid getting in there and wrestling the beast.

Jimmie, you're ahead of the game if you take what Sharon is giving you and start to apply it now. Again, it's a strong start. And you've got the right attitude---you'll learn more from a big failure than a small success.

Best of luck--TE

[Jimmie Arroyo]

Thanks again Sharon and Tom. I'm sure I'll get it one day, right now I gotta try to fake it really well. I was able to put another hour into it, trying to kill some of the bright orange. I'm going to try some ochres next and take it slow from there. I still have to fix some features also, her chin, right eye and lip shape. I should have a further update in a couple of days. Thanks again.