Kelly on Ice-my first custom panel

[Lisa Ober]

Sharon, welcome back! Yes, I really love the pastel ground. I also love that I don't have to special order panels and pay a fortune. What a great tip.

I definitely have the disease of not knowing when to stop on the details. For me the details are the fun part but I guess I should think more about flattering people so I can keep getting work. I know I wouldn't want anyone to paint me the way I actually look. So, I am for sure wiping out the neck line and I think I will heed your suggestion to soften the eyebrows. I should say that the eyes and eyebrows are Kelly's most stunning feature in person. Her eyes are VERY dark and deep set and her eyebrows look drawn on even though they aren't. They are just perfectly plucked (which I can't imagine since it hurts so much). Still, since this is practice and could be a sample I think it is right to do what you suggest.

You can put oils on a photograph? Regular oil paint? Where have I been?! I can use Photoshop and follow your advice but I didn't know oils could be put on photos. See, I am showing how much I don't know.

I love working from life but barely get the chance since I do so many children's portraits in pastel. The local university does have evening model sessions that can be attented. I've been thinking of doing that again. It's great for honing drawing skills. You are right about stepping back from the painting more when working from life. Photos just aren't the same but I try to make due with what I can.

Thank you very much for your help. I feel privileged to have you respond and I'm grateful for your input.

Garth, you blinked and missed my speed painting workshop? See! You can't blink. The next one will be yesterday (wink). But seriously, it will be decades before there is any hope of a worthy workshop from me--and neither of us are likely to live long enough to see one (even if you are 20). I appreciate your thoughtful comment though. Thank you. I have another speed item to post once I get time to take a photo of it. I did it earlier tonight. You can tell me if it is a wonderful experience or not. Don't hold your breath in anticipation however and please don't blame it on the cute subject.

Thanks to both of you!

[Elizabeth Schott]

Lisa, this is lovely.

Is there anyway you can post a super - extreme closeup? I would like to see your stroke detail. Do you blend all of your applied pastel?

I think someone mentioned the chroma change in the hands? Personally I think you have them right - a woman of her age would have hands with a bit more red in them.

I'll look forward to that close up! IhopeIhope

[Lisa Ober]

Elizabeth, thank you so much! I also appreciate your comments on the hands. I had a teacher in college who told me the same thing about adult hands though I can't say I really had that on my mind.

Please find the close up you requested. If you want a higher quality version feel free to e-mail me and I will e-mail one back to you. I have found that with this new pastel ground I do not need to blend quite as much with the texture I have been able to create. It sort of blends itself. I do some smudging of course with my fingers. I like a softer look for skin. In fact, my finger was bleeding earlier (I thought of Jimmie and his Wallis warinings) and I had to put a liquid bandage on it! That's the first time that has ever happened to me. I don't think it's the rough texture. I think it has more to do with my pastels getting larger and slightly more complicated.

So, I hope this helps. It's the clearest I could get. Color is off but the texture should show. I think it has a similarity to linen. I brush in both directions with the ground. Thanks again for replying!

[Elizabeth Schott]

Thanks for the close-up Lisa.

You know the guys just don't understand that by this lovely ladies age we have those reddish hands from smacking those fellas around!

I will need to search about your panel process. I have used the wrong material for the backing before and the sanded primmer really warped it, rendering it useless. But this is looking very promising!

Sorry to be so intrusive, but when you say brushing, do you actually mean with a brush or those cracking fingers of yours?

Hint for the fingers, the texture of the paper or panel can reek havoc but this is also compounded by the pastel actually drying out your skin and cuticles - I don't know if you have noticed this. I try and wear latex gloves when I can stand it, it also keeps your skin's natural oils (well what's left of them) off your surface. I am pretty sure you knew all this, but just in case someone reading might not of...

[Sharon Knettell]

Lisa,

Actually they use oils for the tinted photo technique, which gave me the idea to do that.

Yes, regular oils and a Q-tip. You can really play with it. The older emulsion style prints work better than the new digital prints. In the digital prints the color can come off if you want to make to many changes that require wiping.

I hope my comments did not lead you to believe that I did not think that this was not an admirable piece.

[Lisa Ober]

Elizabeth, I am just now learning what I want to do with the board but I either use masonite or MDF panels. I have done one that I primed with gesso and them applied the pastel ground (made by Golden). That was fine but added more texture from the gesso than I wanted. This particular one was on MDF which I lightly sanded (very lightly). I did not apply gesso. I made a mildly diluted batch of the ground and added a little bit of Golden's matte acrylic to give it a color. I then took a big Purdy house paint brush for trim which is about 3 inches wide and swooshed on the ground. While still wet, I delicately swooshed back over it with the brush----very delicately in one direction. After that was dry I did the brush routine again in the other direction. That gave almost a linen weave look to it and a great texture. I recommend trying it. I think I will use it for all my larger pieces. I'll probably stick with Ampersand Pastelbord for the smaller standard size stuff. It's great to have options and it saves a lot of money.

I don't know if I could do pastels with gloves on but I might just give it a shot. My fingers really hurt today. Thanks for the reminder about oils from fingers. Any oil I had has been sucked out. I need a lotion fix.

Let me know if you try it. I'd like to hear your thoughts and discoveries.

Sharon, thank you for the info. I didn't know oils were used for tinting. I thought phtoographers used special tints. I haven't seen a regular photo in years since the computer age but it sounds like a good thing to try.

All of your comments are greatly appreciated. Please don't ever hesitate to speak your mind. Everything I learn here helps make me better even though it doesn't always show in the work.

[Mike McCarty]

Lisa,

Have you tried using one of those fabric band-aids wrapped over the tip of your finger for blending? It still has a pretty good sensitive feel.