Naive elegance

[Cynthia Daniel]

This is an amazing portrait.

[Chris Saper]

Oh, wow, LIsa. Wow. Gorgeous.

Did I say wow?

[Kimberly Dow]

I believe I said 'wow' first.

[Isabel Chiang]

Congrats on another brilliant portrait, Lisa!
Wow this is very realistic, I can't believe my eyes... How did you do it?

Yes, she is very elegant and you have certainly captured that look! I esp. love her eyes, they're gorgeous and soulful! Darn, this is so inspiring....

How long did it take you?

[Lisa Ober]

Jean, encouraging comments are never late. I know you must be really busy with the move and all. Before I ever even think of sending you a print I need to send you that house warming pencil sharpener I owe you! Thanks tons for the triple wows. Though not totally deserving of them I am still grateful and smiling. Let me know when you are ready for the sharpener. A deal is a deal.

Isabel, you are so nice! You inspire me so we can just trade inspiration back and forth. I'm really flattered you like this. I do love her eyes. She is a lovely and soulful person in my opinion so I am glad that comes across. This one did take much longer thanks to the detail on the sari. I know I have at least ten hours in it which for me it darn near a world record. I think the time was equally balanced between the face and the clothing. If I had a brain I would make sure my next one includes a solid color for fabric but no. I am already starting another one of the same girl in another sari which is more detailed. Glutton for punishment am I. Again, thank you for your enthusiastic and generous comments.

[Jean Kelly]

Okay Lisa, check your PMs.

Jean

[Renee Price]

Excellent! This is a beautiful breathing portrait that deserves to be in the seasoned professional area.

Renee Price

[Brenda Ellis]

Hi Lisa,
I know I'm not qualified to give any sort of critique so I'll just bow down at your feet a little bit.
I had chosen my God of Pastels a while back and in fact, that is who got me inspired to try them myself.
Now I have found the Goddess of Pastels!
The detail is amazing and I have to ask...do you use pastel pencil for the fine detail or do you sharpen thicker pastels? You don't have to tell me if it's a trade secret and I don't know if this is the correct place to ask you this question, but this detail is so fantastic that I have to ask!
Thank you for inspiring me in pastels once again!
(Any time you are doing a workshop in the Louisville area, I hope I hear about it!)
--
Brenda Ellis

[Lisa Ober]

I apologize for not responding sooner. I have been on what most people call a vacation. It was indeed fun but I am exhausted and after riding the waver runners yesterday like a maniac I feel like I have been in a car wreck. LOL. I bet I look like that too!

Terri, thanks so much for you comment. You know I love your work.

Renee, I really appreciate the compliment! A "breathing" portrait? Now that ranks up there with one of the nicest things I have ever heard (read). I don't know where I belong. I think it's somewhere between knowing just enough to pass and not knowing enough to open my mouth except to say "thank you." Thanks!

Brenda, as I mentioned above my whole body hurst from hitting the waves on that "motorcycle for water" so when I read your comments (which made me laugh), everything hurt! You are so nice it's funny. Ouch. Please don't tell anyone you are my sister...or daughter. But seriously, thank you so much for that incredible title! Who is my husband, the God of Pastels? Is he cute?

I am thrilled you are inspired to do pastels and I can't wait to see you post some of your work. In the meantime, the answer to your questions:

For detail work, my favorite thing to use is my Nu-Pastels. I don't sharpen them. I break them and use the corners for the details. Granted, I have lots of broken pieces and my work area is a disaster but I love that they aren't so hard. They seem softer than my pastel pencils which I do use for eyelashes, lips and teeth when necessary. Everything else is done with broken Nu-Pastels. If you like to do detail work like I do, try them out. I must admit I lean heavily toward the much harder pastels. I mainly use Rembrandt and Nu-Pastel. All the other stuff seems greasy or flaky to me. I don't have a very light touch so other softer brands just crumble on me. That's just me. Play around with them and see what you like best. Just keep in mind that if you choose to do detail work (little tiny details) the pastel pencils are pretty hard which makes it difficult to use as a finish over very soft pastels. That's why I don't use the pencils for hair as an example. I'm sure you know that but I thought I would throw that in.

Again, thank you again for your undeserved compliments.