A recent pastel
 

99% of my commissions are in oils. I really miss pastels though. I guess its the tactile nature of it. I've been trying to encourage folks to commission pastels and did this one recently as a sample for one of the portrait agencies. I've gotten a couple nice compliments, just thought I'd share it with the forum.

Steve

That's lovely Steve. Not only the model is pretty, but the whole composition and colors too.

Steve,

This is really, really fine. You have captured such a beautiful countenance - she is so very lovely. Your handling of this medium is perfect, I think. The colors are just right, as well as the degree of finish. Exquisite!

Would it be possible to post a close-up of the face?

David

Steve,

WOW. WOW again. It is such a delight to see your work, I always learn something new from seeing your paintings, and from talking to you!

Beautifully handled edges and value/color transitions.

I saw Susan's portrait of you and it is also spectacular. Perhaps she can post it:)

Steve, this one is outstanding. You've handled these values so sensitively and with such enviable skill. I love how you've vignetted this, too. It's always a pleasure to see your work.

Steve,

I rarely see paintings that look so alive, and it's just a photograph of it (I am sure I could spend hours looking at it "for real") !

Many people are skilled enough to do good portraits, but you are more than that. You are very talented, and this one is excellent ! I can feel that you admired that little lady's soul. You must have had a great time painting her, especially with pastel.

I thank you very much for sharing with us.

I must admit that I didn't know your work quite well, but you are now on my favorite painters' list ;-)

Sincerely,
Karine

Steve, this is awesome! Excellent choice in values and hue. I have visited your page many times and like the way you work. I also appreciate the choices that you make when determining a pose.

Steve,

After potential clients see this, I have a feeling the percentage of oils to pastels might change just a wee bit! Not that your oils aren't great, too, but when people think of commissioning a pastel of their children, a certain kind of portrait probably comes to mind. This example will blow the roof right off their preconceived box.

I agree with everything that has been said, but I want to add that I'm really impressed with the delicacy and thoughtfulness of the color and textural relationships. This is especially evident in the dress, the background, the area around the eyes. There's a shimmery feeling to the light and a richness in the shadows though they are not dark.

Just beautiful, Steve!

Thanks everyone for your nice comments. I didn't realize how naked I'd feel posting in front of a group of perceptive artists. I'm glad you can see I spent a lot of time trying to get the forms while keeping the color alive and being aware of the edges. Its great to have a beautiful little model and a little luck too.

Steve,
thank you for showing this beautiful pastel.
You paint with the greatest ease and I too would love to see some really close up's to try to understand what you actually do to make this rich expression.

Allan and David, Here's a closeup. I don't know if you do pastel, but you might be interested in knowing that I use a combination of Nupastels, Rembrandt, Schmincke, and Unison. Really anything that works. I love the give of linen and therefore do pastels on a finely woven polyester fabric coated with acrylic gesso, pumice, toned with raw umber, and stapled over stretcher bars.

Claudmir, Linda, Mischa, and Cynthia, thanks so much for your nice compliments.
Karine, I'm honored to be on your list.
Chris, sorry I missed you at the last seminar. I'll get Susan to post her
winning portrait soon.
Alex, you have a good eye. I enjoy reading your comments.

Steve

Steve,

Thank you so much for the close-up and for the explanation concerning the materials you are using.

I have a question to ask you... You must have been asked this a thousand times, but here it is : how do you protect this kind of pastel artwork?

I also paint with pastel on canvas, and people usually do not want them to be framed under glass.

Each artist has its own opinion on this matter and I would appreciate it greatly if you could share with us your point of view.

Have you, by any chance, found a way to avoid using glass framing for your pastels?

Who knows, you could have rediscovered De La Tour fixative recipe!

Sincerely,
Karine

Hi Karine,
If you use DIN glass or a nonreflecting glass from other manufacturers you really don't see it. I tell my clients that pastels are made of the same pigments as oil paint yet they don't crack or discolor with age. They do have to be protected by a sheet of glass though. I remember seeing a de la Tour pastel and a Chardin self-portrait pastel at the Louvre the last time I was there. They looked as fresh as if they had been painted the day before, at 250 years old that's pretty good. I don't remember noticing the glass.

Hello Steve,

Well, that's exactly what I was looking for. And that is well-said. I am sure you can convince your customers to buy pastels with these nicely put selling points.
Demanding people might though have some concerns about alteration over time when pastel artworks exceptionally go through - even small - shocks.
I am talking about this because some people reported that pastel, over some period of time, when you put fixative on them, tend to amalgamate and loose their freshness and look.
I personally sometimes use fixatives (several layers of pastel all "covered" with fixative), sometimes not at all (I prefer this option). I do not know yet of the more suitable way to choose between those and I actually myself noticed that using a fixative tends to amalgamate the pastel powder, and when there is some shock on the artwork, more quantity of pastel thus falls (this might just be a problem of quality of the fixative used - I tried a few different brands).
Is the pumice you are using when preparing your canvas sufficient to prevent your pastels from being altered when exposed to shocks?
As you are so experienced in this field, I was wondering if you could tell us wether you use a fixative or not, and what were your observations concerning this issue.
Thank you again for taking some of your precious time to answer these questions. I sincerely appreciate.
Karine

Steve, this pastel could have been made by De Laszlo.
I think you completely suceeded in what you were trying to achieve. A truely charming portrait and a painting in its own right, I think it would be nice to have it on the wall even if one was not the client
Ilaria

Steve, this is wonderful.

I've noticed that when the best artists swing between pastels and oils, there isn't a significant difference in understanding or handling between the two media. This work is no exception; your sensitivity and control always shows whatever the materials.

Great work!-TE

Karine,
I don't use fixatives at all. They drastically change the colors of the portrait. There will be some dusting of the pastel, but 99.99% of the pigment will remain embedded in the ground. You won't see difference in the portrait from this dusting. However, its a good idea provide a gap between the glass and the pastel for the dusting to fall and collect.
The pumice I use is distributed by H. Brehlen & Bro. Its #4F. I have a tendency to use my fingers a bit and that grit will grab the pastel, but not tear up my fingers.
You mentioned earlier something about the de la Tour fixative. I'm curious, what is that?
Also, you got me interested in seeing some of his pastels again. Here are a couple of Maurice Quentin de la Tour for anyone who is not familar with his work. I think they were done in the 1770s.

Thanks Tom. I know you must be on that list of the forum's most favorite artists.
Ilaria, ...de Lazlo? Yikes. I wish. Thanks anyway. By the way, I like your Britboy very much. (http://www.ilardt.com/ilardt/openstu.../britboy-1.jpg) I studied with Henry Hensche, an artist/teacher who spent his entire career working with color. He would have liked that one.

Dear Steve

This is just really, really technically very good. Thanks for posting a close-up - so nice to see your excellent mark-making and your sensitivity to tone variations.

Thanks Thomasin.

Steve,

She is so lovely.

I love pastels as well. Have thousands of the little sticks myself. There is a wonderful freedom about pastels that is hard to describe.

Duvenek did a wonderful full sized nude in pastel.

Do some for yourself. Don't wait for a commission.

Thanks Sharon. That Duveneck pastel sounds very interesting. Do you have a link or photo?

Steve,

I forgot where to put the c in Duveneck!

I saw it in a book I have. I will try and find you a link.

I have been experimenting with life sized pastels myself and buy any book that has an example. I believe either Largilliere or Boucher did a 60" pastel of Madame Du Barry or Madame Pompadour. In the 18th century pastels were all the rage until the Salon refused to show them. The pastels were more brilliant that the paintings and the oil painters were jealous and prevented them from being shown, thus the decline.

Hi Steve, and thank you for answering my question.
I will try to find some pumice similar to yours here in France and give it a try.

Concerning de La Tour, this artist is well-known for wanting to always create perfect artworks. He also spent all his life trying tons of recipes to obtain the perfect fixative, that would not alter the colors, and that would protect the paintings from time damages. I remember consulting a website about this matter. They were showing differences between his different artworks when using such or such fixative of his own. Specialists of his work say that he finally found "the" recipe, but that no written notes about this fixative has been discovered to this day.
I unfortunately do not remember the website's address, since I saved it on another computer. I will try to find it again.

De La Tour was also known in his times as the pastel painter who could show his models' souls. And it is true that his portraits were very strong. You really can feel how he perceived people's minds. That is impressive.
Thank you for posting these two portraits, Steve. I LOVE to see pastel portraits, expecially De La Tour's.

And Sharon, thank you for the information about pastels not welcomed into Salons because of the oil painters competition. This could explain so many things, to me.
Did you, Sharon, post some of these nudes on the forum? I would love to see them.

I myself generally paint almost life-size pastel portraits and nudes. I will think about posting some in the nudes section, for any critiques you may have.

Sincerely,
Karine

Thanks, Steve, I hope you will post more of your works in the future.
I am glad you spotted that painting : not being a commission I disregarded the likeness (not particularly good) and tried to push colours.
As of Sharon suggestion of working for yourself, I find that keeping up a private practice, especially during busy commission times, is a good way of stay focused on the quality of the paint as well as the mouth of the sitter!
Ilaria (envious oil painter)

Karine,

I don't have any to post right now of other artists.

I did post one on nudes unveiling called "Dakini"

The Salon was the place that the portrait artists showed their latest oeuvres and they were being shown up by the pastellists.

With pastel you are using pure pigment (in a good pastel). For brilliance oils cannot compete.

Steve, do have any problems with the flexibility of the material loosening up the pastel? I use a cradled MDF board or an aluminum substrate that are more rigid.

BTW, try the Great American Pastels. They are creamy, hold a fine line and don't crumble. This earth colors for skin-tones are evenly graded and don't jump.

I use a spray that does not change the color, Perfix by Rowney.

What a beautifully delicate portrait. I was fortunate enough to see this in person a few weeks ago -- such a gem!

Beautiful portrait, Steve!
A lot of sensitivity.