Art Spectrum/Unveiling
 

I finally picked up a piece of Art Spectrum pastel paper, having read and heard about it for some time, and thought I'd post my initial experience.

I prefer a toned surface for pastels, and the Spectrum sheet is available is a mid-value grayed-down green, which I consider an ideal foil for skin tones. Its tooth is sort of large and irregular, although shallow; as I tend to have a somewhat heavy hand, I found that I filled it up too quickly, and that the under layers were more difficult for me to cover with subsequent layers.

As a result, I had the sensation that if I were to sneeze, the entire surface would just blow away. The upside to this is that mistakes lift beautifully with a kneaded eraser..in fact probably more completely than any other surface I've worked on. For pastellists who like to blend and smooth the surface, it is quite amazing as the texture of the surface looks JUST LIKE HUMAN SKIN. (Although I tried to get a close up of the surface, I was unsuccessful)

I plan to find out about whether the surface can be underpainted with a wash of some type and will give it another try.(At this late stage of the game, I doubt that I can change my touch, and actually probably wouldn't want to.)

Here's the tale behind this piece, BTW. This is a repaint of "My Cat Cotton", starring my daughter and our funny little cat. Normally I would be loathe to paint the same piece twice, but unfortunately version number one was stolen several years ago...it was a painting that she dearly loved.

I wasn't sure whether to post it here or in the unveiling section, but I was so interested in this new paper, I thought you might be, too.

Chris

Her's a detail. I use Kodak Gold film, but I find that it really "grabs" the reds, and overstates them in the print...any suggestions for film that won't do this?

Chris,

Once again I am in awe of your talent. I was very interested in your comments on the paper stock. I have been experimenting with pastel pencils and I plan on trying it out. I have a light hand and would probably love the shallowness. Where do you purchase your papers from? I have a couple of suppliers but I am constantly looking to expand my list of material sources.

After fighting off a case of pneumonia for the last few weeks I am just now getting back in the studio.

By the way your daughter is beautiful!

Thanks for the inspiration,
Rebecca

Chris,

I am finding several posts of yours today and am delighted to see your work. This one of your daughter I recognized (is the original in your book?) It is beautifully done. Your daughter is a pretty girl and a great model to have around the house!

What a shame the original was stolen? Where did this happen?

Dear Virginia,

Thank you! Yes, version one is in my book, although it is one of the very few in there without a good color match. Unfortunately I never had a really good negative of this piece. And it was stolen right here in Phoenix (if you ever see one that looks a LOT like this post, let me know!)

It was taken from the home of someone who was getting ready to display it...and was the impetus for me finally getting the Inland marine-type insurance Peggy Baumgaertner wrote about on the forum some time ago.

See you soon, Chris

Chris, this post of your daughter is simply elegant fresh, wonderful work of art. I will certainly check out the stock you were mentioning. I do not work in pastels but recently began to experiment with them. I love to blend and maybe this is something that I would like to try.

Again, I really enjoyed your work and ditto to Virginas post. Your daughter is lovely. Thanks for sharing this.

Film
 

Chris,

This is a beautiful portrait.

In regard to film, Kodak Gold films accentuate red, as you've found. Try some Kodak professional films for copy work. I use Kodak Portra 100 NC(Natural Color) for shooting copy work in daylight. I use Ektachrome EPT 160T for shooting copy work under incandescent (tungsten) light. (Make sure that you are matching film type--daylight or tungsten--to the proper light source.) Professional films need to be kept in the refrigerator and brought out shortly before shooting. Also, when buying, watch that the expiration date is not too close, as color balance shifts once film expires.

Best,
Tom Edgerton

Dear Tom and Patt,

Thank you both for your comments.

Tom, I'll try the Portra film...I also use the Tungsten slide film, with excellent predictable results.

Tom, although this may not be the proper spot, congratulations on your PSA entry, it is a beautifully executed piece and a well-deserved recognition. Good luck!

Chris

The image with this post has gone off to cyberspace, but I am going to repost it - but this time with the Porta T film on the left, and the Kodak Gold film on the right.

Although some of the background color has dropped out in the left image, the skin tones are much truer to the original.

I can't believe somebody stole this, it is one of my favorites! So you shoot slides of all your work? Do you keep two cameras one with ektachrome and the other with print film?

Hi, Beth,

I now shoot slides of all my work, but didn't very often for the first few years. I have an old (this means OLD) Nikkormat, given me by my graduate school professor (who taught me how to use a darkroom, as well as a few things about organizational theory) when he moved into the 20th century with his own equipment. (Actually, I think this was already an old camera when I was in grad school which was in 1975 - yikes!) I bought a good quality macro lens for it, and use it only for shooting artwork. It's often kept loaded with slide film, although more recently I am using tungsten film which needs temperature control, so I'll generally shoot a whole roll at a sitting.

I gave up my even OLDER dinosaur Pentax, after I could no longer buy batteries for it in the US, since mercury batteries were banned some number of years ago. For my every-day and source photos I use a Minolta that actually auto focuses. Gosh, I sound like a dinosaur!

I think it is SO important to have a slide record of your work - I'm sure that competitions/shows, etc., will continue to request slides for many years to come.

I recommend also shooting a facial closeup as well as an overall shot of the portrait. For featuring on a web site, this is the best way to capture detail, especially on full figure portraits where the face becomes very small in a photo or slide.

Try Sennelier Pastel Card
 

Firstly, fantastic portrait.

I personally think the Art Spectrum paper is a little toothy. You may like to try the Sennelier Pastel Card. Like you, I am heavy handed but I find that it grabs the pastel without chewing it up. It holds up well, to multiple layers and you don't need to use fixative.

It does have one drawback, and that is in Australia it is only available in smaller sizes and I tend to work big. Consequently I have experimented a little with it but not used it extensively.

Just a thought.

Thank you kindly, Rachel.

The Sennelier paper is one of my two favorite pastel surfaces (along with Wallis paper). This thread is sort of double posted, here and in the Materials topic, so you may wish to go there: http://forum.portraitartist.com/show...=&threadid=564 to participate in discussions about grounds for pastel.

Best wishes,

Chris:

This is really wonderful. I love how you captured her face. Really great. :)

Golden Acrylic Ground for Pastel
 

Chris,

I first want to say, beautiful job!

I have been using Golden's Acrylic Ground for Pastels for a few years now. I tint it and paint it on MDF panels. I have a discussion of my method on my thread on MDF board in the method and materials section. It really grabs the pastel, I go right into my painting with Schminke's, Unison's and Senneliers. You can erase crummy areas with a brush, it does not ruin the surface. My pastel in my intro was done on an appx. 3'x7' panel using that ground on a MDF panel.

I airbrush the final panel with Golden's matte fluid Acrylics but you don't have to do that if you use more layers and some white for opacity.

Sincerely,

Chris,

Your daughter must be thrilled to get her portrait back. It is beautiful!

Isn't it amazing how the same picture captured by the camera can come out so drastically different from the original!

Thank you all, so much.

Enzie, you bring up an interesting point, sort of a la Cafe Guerbois. I refuse to ever do a second painting from the same pictorial resource, even though it is a question that is not uncommon.

It always was like the problem of dating two guys at the same time: there seems to a human imperative to compare the two, with the ultimate intent of eliminating one of them. This painting is an odd type of exception, since I am the only one I need to please here. (What a breath of fresh air.) Too bad I don't pay myself.