Portrait of the Artist as a Portrait Artist.

Debra Jones · 03-14-2003, 02:19 AM

I was stuck at home for the usual Wednesday night open studio and got "Jonesing" (pun intended and highly anticipated) so I dove into a self portrait going through my mind.

THIS is how I look to most people who have interraction with me, either at work or in studio, so why mess with the real thing. I have overlong, completly undisciplined hair and a bit of a female absentminded professor air.

The hands in the reference photo were holding a camera, which I felt was a bit sacreligeous, so I opted for the correct tool of the trade.

It is 17x11 on sueded board with mostly hard pastel.
Curious if too cutsey, or valid, or is it even working?

Richard Huante · 03-15-2003, 12:36 AM

Debra,

I like it! It has a nice, loose feel to it. Viewed from the artist's perspective, it almost feels like I'm painting it.

You say you are using "sueded board". Could this be velour? (That's what I use for pastels.)

Good job!

Debra Jones · 03-15-2003, 12:51 AM

I used to use velour years ago and thought it felt like the top of an old Ken doll. It was scruffy and coarse. I was gently stepping into sanded boards but am poor (and cheap) and frankly feared sanding down my chalks too fast.

Then I got matting up a bunch of small watercolors and found a lot of centers from the framing department of an arts and craft store, so I grabbed a few 11x14's and 10x8 pieces. When I got some elegant Terry Ludwig soft pastels, I just couldn't use the rough boards so I tried one of these. Bainbridge and Cresent make them. My framer says the board is acid free, but the pigment in the surface will not be color fast, but then neither is most of my paper - stick it in the sun and it all fades.

They make it for matting so if you put it behind UV protected glass and keep it away from direct light it is probably more durable than most of my work on paper.

The suede is gentle and elegant. It absolutely embraces the chalk and I swear it doesn't leave a puddle of dust. I have been able to use fixative and had (now this would be the chalks) almost no shift of color. This is in a lot of hard pastel, which is not as easy or as rich as my soft sticks have been. This blends softly and needs lots of scrubbing with hard sticks to get any real guts. I went over it with the soft to bop it up, but this has a much sketchier look than the recent soft pastel stuff I have been doing.

Thanks for the compliment, I was a bit tentative about the gimmick. Not my usual style. It is really growing on me and I am happy you are reacting positively!

Leslie Ficcaglia · 03-16-2003, 04:48 PM

Debra, I love the face and hair but I'm not sure how to interpret the hand. Is it you painting yourself? Nice to have a good look at you, in any case!

Linda Nelson · 03-16-2003, 11:00 PM

Hi, Debra,

If you don't mind my comment on your work here -- I think it's absolute perfection. I love your expression, and the style of the pastels is rendered in a way that perfectly complements the attitude.

I think your having your own hand in there is delightful and not distracting.

Congratulations, I wish I could render as well!

Linda