Torso of Meleager, Greek fragment

Soft Pastel on Franfurt Cream paper,

11" x 14" NFS

A Roman Woman, C.100 AD

Pastel and Charcoal on White Sketch-weight Archival Paper

This is a drawing that I started at home, continued as a demo for my students in

class as an example of my "veils" technique - which involves using many thin layers of color and applications of fixative combined with charcoal drawing -

and finished at home.

I used the Sennelier "Fixatif Latour", which comes only in a spray pump bottle.

It is wonderful because it has a citrus base, and unlike most fixatives (many

pastelists refuse to use any fixative at all, as a mattter of fact there is a big lack

of consensus about this...), you can spray it right in front of your face. You don't

even have to go outside. It has two drawbacks: one is that because it is not solvent-

based, if you are working on a thinnish paper, as I was here, it can actually cause

the paper to buckle. But of course this is not problem with Wallis sanded, or even

Canson pastel paper. Secondly, because it is a pump, one often gets little spots if

the nozzle isn't 125% clean. You can see the spots if you look closely in the pink part

of this piece. Sometimes that has its advantages. Sometimes not!

Thanks for visiting today.

Blue Cloud Landscape

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Pastel on Black Canson Pastel Paper, (9"' x 6")

I did this drawing as an example for the students in my

"Painterly Pastel" class at the Art League School in Alexandria,

Virginia, where I teach. This is a really fun way of working.

When people first hear black paper, their ususal reaction is

"yech", black velvet!! Elvis, tacky horses, farm scenes!!  But, it

is actually a very beautiful medium, because it makes the colors

glow.  This is a very loose interpretation of a landscape, but I do

love the blue cloud.

Two Golden Pears

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Soft pastels on Sennelier Carte Pastel Board, approx. 7" x 5"

These two Bosc pears weren't in very good shape anymore, but they still had

some beautiful colors in them, and in the right light they were worthy subject

matter. I had a piece of Carte Pastel left, in one of their colors - which are very

strage, by the way - this one is sort of a cross between tan, curried chicken, and

moss. I scanned the image. Whether a photograph or a scan, it's terribly difficult

to give a color image its due. The "golden" quality doesn't really come through, for

some reason. Oh well, I guess you'll just have to imagine it.

Thanks for visiting.

Angel from Another World

SOLD

Pastel on Wallis sanded pastel board washed with blue watercolor, 10" x 6 6/8".

This is an interpretation of a photograph of a cemetary angel. I really like the

colors, and I love working in pastel. I never get tired of it! It is a wonderful break

from painting. I don't have to wash and brushes, and I love to draw!

Pastel and Charcoal Head of Roman Warrior

SOLD
I have to admit that I love this drawing. It is done
in a method that I call "veils of color". It is done on
white bond sketch-weight paper. You do a drawing
with 1/8" round vine charcoal, and then go over that
with Nupastel in whatever color you want. This can
correct and mistakes if you are not done with the drawing,
or if you are, it can begin to suggest a color plan or direction,

Then I further develop the drawing with the vine, and add
more pastel, spraying between layers. I know that is contrary
to what most people think as pastel technique, but this is
just something I developed on my own, and I really like to
draw this way. It is very freeing, and fun. You never really
know what you are going to get. If you use regular fixative,
the paper remains smooth, and you can apply hard and soft
pastels, and charcoal pencils also - actually I prefer carbon
pencils, because they don't smear as much.

If you use Matte medium spray it leave little tiny globules
of spray on the paper, giving it a tiny tooth that is just great
for grabbing onto very soft pastel, in rich saturated colors.

Head of Hypnos

SOLD

Pastel, Charcol and Conte Crayon on White Paper

This is a demo drawing I did for my students in my "Painterly

Pastel" class at the Art League School. Usually I find I find it hard

to draw in front of people, but because it was a holiday there

were only three people in attendance that day. Amazingly, I was

actuallly able to concentrate, and produced this drawing, which

I actually like - a lot!

Hypnos was the Greek god of sleep, and this bronze head, which

isn't really this color (I like to mix it up when I am doing this type

of drawing....) has a wing coming out of the side of his head. It just

drives me crazy. I must have at least five pictures of this sculpture

from different angles. I just love it! I find it inspiring and beguiling

at the same time. This is the first time I've ever felt that I did it

justice, actually.

I've been in an art funk for a while, and haven't been posting -

obviously. Hopefully I'm coming out of it now, and will be back

to presenting some works for your consideration, if not daily,

at least a few times a week.

Thanks for visiting!

Portrait of Mary-Elizabeth

Pastel & Carbon Pencil on Drawing Paper,
9" x 16", NFS

I love drawing Mary Elizabeth, her high,
round forehead would have been the envy
of every woman in the Renaissance. I did
this is an open life class, and was very happy
with the results. Usually I find it hard to
concentrate.

Mary is also a swimming coach, so she
is a very graceful and imaginative model,
and just wonderful to draw.

Head of Herakles Chiaramonti

Oil Pastel over Charcoal on White Paper, 10" x 11" $100.00
SOLD

I just felt like taking a small break from oil painting today
and working with my oil pastels. To do this I did charocal
drawing of Herakles first on white drawing paper. I got his
curls, and beard, and head ornamet and features all taken
care of, sort of like an underpainting. Then, I sprayed the
heck out of the drawing with fixative.

Next I took my Sennelier oil pastels, because I know them
to be bit transluscent. Using the lighter colors, plus some
blues, I went over my charcoal drawing, not trying to cover
it up so much, but to augment it. This was a fairly new experience
except for the other small athlete a few posts back. I like this
techniques, which I discovered by experiementing, and plan
on doing more with it.

Contrary to general knowledge, you can same your money.
You do not need to buy fixative for oil pastels. They dry, just
like oil paints. I know, I have pieces that are years old. I never
fixed them. They are dry. Period.