Busy living

I had the pleasure of company last week and have only stepped into the studio to hide things I didn't know what to do with :-)

But I did convince my nieces to sit for me briefly so I could try out some new Rembrandt pastels....unfortunately when I went outside to take the slides, the lens on my camera fogged up and the images are not very sharp.

They are both such beautiful girls, and I didn't do them justice in the time I had. Lindsay's (three quarter view) is delicate and I like the sketchiness of it, but I think her face is a bit more angular. Gracyn's is like a mug shot! We laughed about this, but as a model, she was a bit unwilling to let her personality come through. Or perhaps the artist is just limited :-) However, there is a likeness there.

Oh my, but I do love those Rembrandt soft pastels! I have never really worked a lot with pastels, but these will make me change my mind...they are like butter, blending so softly and grabbing the paper beautifully. This is a perfect example of how using better and more expensive materials really can make a difference. I have always tended toward materials in the mid-price range because I don't want the materials to become so precious I feel inhibited and unwilling to explore. But, I think I will invest in more and better pastels in the future.

The third picture is an oil sketch (about an hour or so) done several months ago, though I just took a slide.

There really is nothing like the feeling of pushing paint around canvas for me. It has an immediacy that no other medium has...and....I just love the smell.