pastel of Alex

[Mike McCarty]

Here is a pastel 12 x 15 on a fairly heavy watercolor paper. I thought I liked the additional texture of the paper but I have changed my mind. I think I like the smoother surface better.

[Steven Sweeney]

I will post a pastel in the critique section and let the sharpshooters have at it.

Mike McCarty

Was there some aspect of this piece in particular that you wanted to set up as a target? Ammo gets pretty expensive, over time.

[Mike McCarty]

I made a post in the "wet vs dry" thread which talked about doing fine detail with big pieces of chalk. At the end it seemed like a good idea to post an example of the technique I was describing. Maybe I should have posted this in that thread. There is a lot I could learn about pastel, whatever I know I taught myself. I thought the really good practitioners could point out any shortcomings. I meant the sharpshooter comment only with affection. I personally don't have that ability to do effective critique and I give thanks for those who do.

[Renee Price]

I'm not one of the sharpshooters, but I'll give it a try! The eyes are expressive and soft, and the details in the hairline and hair are wonderful. A few things caught my eye. The side of her nose (my left) seems anatomically off. It looks like you were a little afraid when working on that section (can't fool a psychology major!). Also in reference to the nose, you have this wonderful light coming in from the right without a shadow to the left of the nose to project it forward. Overall a good work, and I really love the eyes!

Take care,
Renee Price

[Mike McCarty]

Thanks Renee for looking and the nice comments. The area around the nose... I have a hard time when two surfaces come together and they are so very close in value. The photo was taken outside and didn't offer a lot of shadowing. I think in this case I could have "made up" a better shadowing around the nose and it would have been plausible. Thanks again.