A perfect day at the zoo

I did this pastel portrait of this little girl  enjoying the animals in the zoo the same day that I took the reference picture for my "China Doll" (back in March).... She was in a stroller next to her... so maybe they were sisters?.  I loved her face and her pretty pink angora sweater.  I enjoy  watching children enjoying the day!!    Their faces are always full of amazement.  Priceless in my eyes!!

Christina

I painted this pastel portrait from a photo.  Christina is my cousins daughter and a beautiful girl perfect for this portrait.  I painted her awhile ago with her husband on her wedding day.  The lighting hitting her face and her hair is what I love and always look for from a reference picture.

Portrait of a cat

I never knew painting animals could be so much fun.  I found the reference picture for this pastel portrait from a photo I took many years ago but was always afraid to paint it....  I'm a dog person and never owned a cat but I think they are beautiful animals.....some with amazing markings and colors.  I hope you like this little guy as much as I enjoyed painting him!!

Joshemari Sketching

I saw Josh's picture on his blog and got his permission to paint this portrait.  Josh does plein aire painting mostly in beautiful Barcelona... his
passion for watercolors is so evident in his work.  He paints a lot of landscapes,  Cityscapes but I have to admit his Seascapes are fantastic
and I enjoy seeing them SO much!  In this pastel portrait, Josh was sketching and I loved the expression on this wonderful man doing what he loves so much!!  If you get a chance, drop by his blog... you'll love his work!!
http://jmlarranagaacuarelas.blogspot.com

Rembrandt Study

I think copying the work of the Masters is a learning experience.  I enjoyed painting this portrait of Rembrandt.  He studied himself very closely in the mirror for most of his life...painting about 100 self-portraits, which explains how there's so many facial changes with his portraits.  I imagine it had to be very challenging.  Some people say that he did it because he always had a model on hand!!  He always painted with dark shadows that I always liked.  I would have painted this in oils, like he did, but I still don't have the nerve... so I stuck to the comfort of my pastels!!!

Spare Moment

One of many reference pictures that I have..this one is of a man enjoying Gramercy Park, NYC on a sunny and brisk afternoon... maybe on his break?  but his expression caught my eye and thought it would make a nice pastel portrait...

China Doll

Some little girls needs to be photographed.  This little girl was in the Bronx Zoo a few years ago looking at all the animals.  She didn't take her eyes off of them for one moment.. you wonder what they're thinking about!.  At that moment, I photographed her for a future pastel painting!!

DON

I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday.  I was able to visit my Aunt and she's doing so beautifully...when I looked  at her, it was so hard to believe she's 104...so healthy and so happy already planning her 105th birthday!!!
This is Don... Don is in my oil workshop that I go to on Wednesdays.  After we work on our paintings, we sit and enjoy each other's paintings by doing a critique.  Don had such a pensive expression on his face that was perfect for this pastel portrait.

Lifetime Dream

I received a picture of my cousins son with his future wife in the mail...it was a "save the date" picture for their wedding next year.  I absolutely loved the reference photo and painted a pastel portrait of them... a beautiful pose that needed to be painted.  Two very happy and beautiful people about to share their lives together.

Hyla

This precious little girl is my brother-in-laws great grandchild, Hyla.
I found the reference picture so perfect for this portrait...why is it perfect?...no teeth!  LOL.  I feel so comfortable painting this in pastels but I would like to paint this in oils someday.  I'm still experimenting with colors and blending, but would love to at least try.....A definite challenge !!

Golden Beauty

I rarely paint horses but I enjoy seeing them on everyone's blog so I decided to paint a pastel portrait of this beauty after seeing this on Morgue.com.  I loved painting this cropped version so you can see all those wonderful details.  Last Saturday, I visited a horse farm on Long Island and took some reference shots for another horse portrait which I'm doing now in oils.    I hope you like my Golden Beauty...

The Head of an old man

Besides John Sargent,  one of my favorite Artists is Rembrandt and "Head of an old man" was one of my favorite of his paintings.
He painted this portrait about 1629.  As you know, he painted many self-portraits but I really like this one enough to copy the
"Master".   I think its a good practice...of course, the shadows and colors are already there for you to copy....so do we really learn ??  I'm hoping we do...!   Although the original was painted in oils, I chose to paint it in pastel.

Deep in Thought

I took the reference picture for this pastel painting from morguefile.com that I found from visiting Linda Popple's wonderful blog. http://lindapopple.blogspot.com .  She was generous to post Morgue file which displays hundreds of free pictures that you can use.  I usually use my own photos but when I found this man's picture...Well, his face was SO full of emotion that I really needed to paint him.  The photo was in black and white so I painted it in sepia and added a little color.  I only wish I knew something about this man that I was able to  share with you.

Since I am the original dinosaur,  I don't know how to highlight so I hope you'll be able to find this site!!

Dance Recital

I took the reference picture of Lexi right before her recital a few months back.  (So many pictures of the grandkids!)   I told  her not to smile, once again!!  She's getting used to me already..and knows when I take a picture...you're not allowed to smile.  LOL
I used my Unison pastels for the bows and trim on the dress.  Unison pastels are very soft and the colors are so intense.  I went to Blick's this week and as you all know, going there is like going to a candy store..!!!  I hope you like this portrait....  I enjoyed painting her.

Grandma's Little Doll

A little over 15 years ago, my daughter presented me with a gift..probably the best gift I've ever received.  When I opened the box, it was her Wedding dress with a note..I was, of course, ecstatic to find out she was having a baby.  She asked me to make a girl's Christening outfit from her Wedding dress as well as a boy's outfit since she didn't want to find out the sex of the baby..
I think I was so excited that I took my sewing tools out the next day and started to cut up her gown.  Since she had a girl, she packed away the boy's  Christening outfit so that someday her girls would have it for their children.  It turned out to be such a very special day for me !  This painting was done in pastels.

Rudy

Rudy is about a year old now and the cutest little dog.  He's
a cockapoo...a cross between the cocker spaniel and the
poodle.   He's very bright, affectionate and loves people !!
He's so sweet and extremely "Patriotic".. LOL... he made
his debut at this years 4th of July party at my niece Debbie's
house.  I enjoyed painting this pastel portrait of Rudy...loved
his curly fur...!!!

Sierra

I have painted Sierra several times in the past, but when you get a wonderful model, one tends to keep them....especially when they're your granddaughter.  She's only 14 but loves to model for me.  She's growing up so fast.  She has the perfect hair that I love to paint.  I painted this, of course, with pastels and loved the shadows in her face from the sun when she was looking out the window.   I value the opinions of all my Artist buddies...my question....Should I omit the shadows?

Julia

When I visited my friend, Josephine, she showed me a picture
of her beautiful granddaughter who recently made her First Communion.  I looked at Julia's face and thought it would make a
beautiful pastel painting.  I realized afterwards that one of you should have painted the flowers for me..LOL.  You all do such amazing jobs with florals...yet...I find it extremely difficult..I have practiced in the past and will continue to practice.  I'm on a mission!!

Tuesday Afternoon

I wish I can say that this painting was from life but this is a pastel portrait of the young lady who modeled for us at Suzanne Young's workshop.  I had taken a few photos of her for  those details that I didn't want to miss, so I used a closeup reference picture for this painting.  It was pretty warm in the workshop so she "poufed" up her hair which I loved, and took the shot before she put it down.  There was those perfect shadows on her face that "called" me as well as her beautiful flawless skin!  I truly enjoyed painting her.

First time Dad

A Father's Love

A father is respected because he gives his children leadership...appreciated because he gives his children care...valued because he gives his children time...loved because he gives his children the one thing they treasure most....himself..
author unknown..
My heart melted when I was painting this..the love between Dad and son is so obvious.  You can see how proud he is of his baby boy..holding him so tightly and so lovingly.  I enjoyed painting this portrait as I did my previous "First time Mom"....This is the second commissioned painting I did and Mom and Dad will receive them on Saturday!!