Pastel portrait of a seated man.

Pastel painting 11 inches x 17 inches

Carmen has been kind enough to pose for us quite a few times at our figure drawing sessions. I always feel that my pastel portraits make him look stern but he really is a wonderfully warm man who is always a pleasure to talk to.  Click here to see a previous pastel painting I did of Carmen last year.

Pastel portrait painting of a middle aged man with a white beard

Pastel painting 11 inches x 18 inches

This is my new favorite pastel portrait. OK, I know it seems like every work I post is my favorite, but when I am working on a new painting, it HAS to be my favorite. I have to give it my all and paint like there will never be another chance to create. In our figure drawing sessions, we only have about 2-2 1/2 hours to capture a likeness, so it is very intense. The model and artists take breaks every 20 minutes or so, and then it is back at it!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. There is nothing like working from life to improve your drawing and painting skills. You simply can’t learn to capture the form, color, light, and other nuances working from photographs. I’ve got a lot to learn and look forward to every chance I have to paint from life or en plein air!

Pastel portrait of an older man.

Pastel painting 11 inches x 18 inches

I really don’t know how I feel about this figure drawing from one of our recent portrait sessions. I think it is a pretty decent physical likeness but it doesn’t seem to capture our model’s personality. He was not a stern or gruff man at all, and yet this pastel portrait gives that effect. I always try to capture both the external and internal spirit of a model, so I feel I may have been a bit off the mark on this one. Ahhhhh…..so much to learn….

Pastel portrait painting of an older man with a beard.

Pastel painting 11 inches x 16 inches

The best part of our  figure drawing sessions is that we get a chance to paint many types of people: men, women, old, young, heavy, skinny, happy. sad. There is such a huge range of differences in humans that each pastel portrait is a completely new challenge. This elderly middle eastern man is an accomplished poet and an artist in his own right. He was calm, serene, and comfortable in his own skin in a way which I have not seen in many others.

Pastel portrait painting of a man in profile

Pastel painting 11 inches x17 inches   $300

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

We had a great pastel figure drawing session this afternoon. Our scheduled model didn’t show, but we were very lucky that Jack lives nearby and could run over to help us out.  We’ve all drawn him many times and you think we’d pine for someone new. But Jack is a great model and has such an interesting face. The more we paint his portrait, the better we are able to capture his unique look.

This pastel painting is one of my favorite portraits ever. I think I caught Jack’s likeness but I also like the painterly effect I was able to achieve.

Jack told me his friends all over the country check out my blog to see his portraits. Hi all!