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BarryKeller
Posts:54
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| 05/08/2008 7:15 AM |
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I came to pastels a few years ago and now don't really want to work in any other medium, though I don't mind charcoal and pen and ink. This is a picture of my father I did on a Mexican cruise last year for my parent's 65th wedding anniversary. My dad hates it because, heck, he looks every bit of 86 and not too happy to be there. I remind him that the alternative is not so swell either.
This is like Nupastels and Unisons on 9x12 Apersand board. |
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BarryKeller
Posts:54
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| 05/08/2008 7:32 AM |
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| Oops! Make that on pumpkin-colored Canson paper, the rough side. Here is a detail shot. |
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iglazier
Posts:82
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| 05/09/2008 9:43 AM |
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 Hello Barry,
Your new posts here are very nice, especially your father's. 86 isn't so bad, I bet he is doing whatever he wants to do. Its great you did this pastel of him and I'm sure that means a lot to him as well. I stay with a gentleman who is going to be 95 this fall, it the very house he and his father before him were born!!! He loves life, and is the very meaning of optimisiusm!(SP)----anyhow, it's tuff to grow older, and your attitued is the most important thing you have. Keep Painting, you are really doing well. Welcome. |
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Ida M. Glazier |
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Treasured moments
Posts:14
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| 05/09/2008 3:48 PM |
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Hi Barry,
I see you do paint portraits!! I love this one. He has such an expressive face and I love the skin tone.Faces with personality and a bit of longevity to them are so fun. I do charcoal portraits of people but haven't tried pastel yet. Doing the eyes are my favorite part and I love your Dad's eyes. thanks for sharing.
marci |
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Marcicollins.com |
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mikec@pols
Posts:791
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| 05/10/2008 6:39 AM |
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Hello, Barry,
Welcome! This is beautiful! Fantastic use of color and it's seems that you have captured your Father's feelings about his age very well! Love him and cherish every day with him. I just lost my Father about three weeks ago, he was 83. He was very proud to have made it 83 and his favorite saying was "Life is a gift", how very true that is.
Keep posting, I love your work!
Mike |
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"You either grow or regress...nothing stays the same...." (unknown)
"A man may fall several times in life, but he is not a failure until he says that he was pushed..."
www.portraitsoflifestudio.com |
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pastelmimigt
Posts:359
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| 05/10/2008 6:06 PM |
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Hi Barry,
Beautiful work. I'm not a portrait person, but I think you've done a great job. The blue shirt works well with his skin tones (I love complementary colors). The background is a lovely color, but I'm wondering if it's the best choice for portraits (again, I don't know much about portraiture) - but I'm thinking it looks so intense that it might take away from the focal point.
Michele
P.S. I feel the same way about pastels, I love them; you get to draw and paint at the same time, the color is immediate and it's so easy to setup and clean up.
P.S.S. LOL about the "alternative".
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BarryKeller
Posts:54
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| 05/12/2008 2:19 PM |
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Michele,
You might be right about the background, but I wanted something warm and bright as I was worried that the piece, and therefore my father, would come off too cold.
As for pastels, I love the immediacy of the medium and that it is the opposite as well; that you can come back to a piece four months for two years later and play with it like you painted it today. There is also something that hits my brain at a much lower level when working with pastels. The rich, tactile facet of the medium, it's like a primal experience; like wallowing in the mud of creativity. Like it is part child-like play and part sensual creation, where you end up wearing your art on your hands and fingers and inhaling it through your nose. I always feel more connected to a pastel piece than, say, a drawing or something digital. But, I'm a strange guy. |
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gene
Posts:1236
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| 05/13/2008 7:03 AM |
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| Barry, this is great. I think I agree with Michele about the orange background. It seems to me that if you backed it with a cooler color, the warmth in his skin tones would show up more. Maybe I'm wrong. I am not a portraitist either. I love the personality you captured in this piece. Thanks for sharing. Gene |
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BarryKeller
Posts:54
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| 05/13/2008 12:01 PM |
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Gene,
Oh you could both be right. I struggle a lot with color and have little confidence in my own choices regarding such. It doesn't seem to matter how many times I take classes or read articles on color theory, somewhere in my head is a disconnect that I rarely can overcome.
I also have a thing about not doing something in art because the prevailing theory says you have to do it that way. I really am more of an emotional artist, I do what I do because it feels right to me at the time. When I do a piece to follow a rule "I'm going to use the three primary colors" or "I'm going to use the three secondary colors", I lose affinity for the piece. It no longer feels like it's mine; it's something I know I need to get past, but have no idea how to do it. I keep waiting for the day when I see the theory as part of the creative process rather than something outside of it, but in 51 years, that has not yet happened. |
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klippie
Posts:1880
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| 05/14/2008 12:01 AM |
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I love this portrait, and the background of the warm colour makes it a warm portrait. what I have done before is just add some darks in the warm background it makes a difference.
but don't fiddle with this it stunning.
Retha |
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If at first you dont succeed.........don't ever give up! |
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LovetoPastel
Posts:86
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| 05/14/2008 1:50 PM |
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| This is wonderful. I completetly understand about loving the pastel medium and not wanting to work in any other medium... I'm right there myself! The sensations you speak of when using pastels are right on!... If you are strange for feeling that way than I am too! I'm looking forward to seeing more of your work! |
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Suzanne |
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pastelmimigt
Posts:359
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| 05/14/2008 5:15 PM |
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Hi Barry,
You're so right about the wonders of pastel. I can paint for hours and get totally lost in the process. Now you've got me wondering if one of the things I enjoy is getting my hands dirty, lol.
About needing to change to follow rules - I don't think that's necessary. You're work is beautiful, and it's probably because you follow your gut and create without being hampered by rules. I'm strive to know the rules (and hopefully remember them) but I still paint the way I want. It's when somethings not working that I go back to the rules to try to figure out what I need to change on my painting.
I just read a book and they addressed the importance of choosing color themes. It was interesting (and a bit eye opening for someone who does things her own way) but I don't follow it because I want to choose my colors based on the scene, emotion, whatever. Again, if things don't work, then I look back and say, hmm, what if I chose a different color.
Michele |
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My Website
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Bruce Johnson
Posts:124
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| 05/14/2008 6:06 PM |
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| Excellent portrait Barry. outstanding drawing skills.. I would love to see you experiment more with warm and cool colours in the skin tones and push your darks even more.. Another tip would be check your edges, any edge that is not on the same plane as the facial features will be very soft and blend into the background.. i.e hair at the back of the head and the edge of the neck at the back. Great job either way Well done |
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BarryKeller
Posts:54
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| 05/29/2008 9:30 AM |
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Retha, yeah, some darks in the background might just make the portrait "pop." Good advice.
Suzanne, we are two of a kind!
Michele, what was the book you were reading? I think the more exposure to the "rules" I get the more likely that I will incorporate them without thinking.
Bruce, "push your darks," I hear that all the time and I try, but I always need to hear it again. I might try softening the hair and pushing my darks. Also Retha's suggestion on darkening some of the background. Everyone has great suggestions here. Thanks to you all.
-Barry |
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1artysister
Posts:6
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| 06/19/2008 1:42 PM |
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ok, here's a thought. I think the darker of the warm colors makes it pop like crazy. It thrusts him forward more, to me, and he becomes more three dimensional. Even though the 'rule' is that cooler colors recede, I think that with this piece, if the whole background was darkened with that deep warm color the whole figure would just slap you in the face. Michele has great advice. Try something, if it doesn't work see what 'da rules' say - although my opinion is opposite of the rules.
Sister |
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