Clea again
 

While Gary's charcoal drawing was banished to the wall I started a quick study of my favorite model Clea. It's about 13X19, on sanded paper in a very deep violet grey. This is the first time I've used a dark toned paper and it was quite difficult to judge value. Every pigment I put down looked too light. This isn't quite done yet so comments and critque are welcome.

Jean

This is very nice, Jean and the drawing is excellent. Not sure that the greenish tinge that comes through on my monitor works well for skin tones, though, especially with the violet background. New materials are always so challenging, aren't they? But they do have a way of pushing us out of our comfort zone, which can be quite productive in the long run.

Hi Leslie,

I seem to put myself out of my "comfort zone" often, I like exploration. I found I had to use deeper colors to avoid a pasty look to her skin tones. I'm close to done. The green and violet were in her skin, the reference photo was taken outdoors with a bush on her right side. It reflected onto her skin. It was a cloudy day, producing the violet, plus I chose a complemetary palette. I changed her dress to rose so I could introduce the rose reflections in her skin. If this doesn't work please comment. The colors in this photo are very accurate to the original, I hope it posts okay!

Jean

All done.

I deepened the skin tones even more. I really didn't like this particular color of paper at all. Next time I use a dark toned paper, it won't be in the violet shades. I'll try green next. Or maybe I'll know enough to start out with more intense pastels.

Jean

Jean, I think it works much better now, in terms of skin tones. Lovely job!

Beautiful, love the colors, especially the bright and bold ones!

Thank you Jimmie and Leslie. My next one of Clea will be based on a pose that she took while I was photographing her. Pure grace, but this time we'll do the clothes and setting right. I'm happy that you like her!

Jean