Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Portrait of a Teenager

Soft Pastels on pastel mat
35x50 cm

Some of you may recognize him- this is my son who agreed to let me take his picture after much cajoling ( I had to pay him ,actually, for the 'photo session'!) Well I thinks it was worth the effort, as this portrait has turned out nicely ( I will still wait for his verdict when he comes home from school!).
As he sat, the sunlight came through the full window and  fell on one side of his face.I wanted to capture not only that light, but the shadow area too, that somehow 'glows' when you are sitting in direct sunlight. I would love to hear what do you think of this effort.
Pastel mat is now my favorite support as it does not need blending.I did not blend at all.For smooth and fine details I used pastel pencils.They work beautifully on this surface.

My Group show opened last evening, with a nice little gathering.I seem to be one of the very few portrait artists here- mostly its landscape or animals painters in our Art Club.Here are a few pics:







20 comments:

  1. Beautiful portrait, Arti! I love that glow in the shadow - you have captured it so well.

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    1. Thank you, Karhryn! I was not sure if I could achieve that, but now that I have done it, it sure feels great.

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  2. Beautifully done Arti!!! and he so looks like his mom! just wonderful. and i love "abandoned" as well!!

    good luck with the show! your portrait work is outstanding my friend!

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    1. Thanks a lot,Suzanne.He does resemble me and we share a beautiful bond.I m glad you liked the portrait.

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  3. Is the wall really hot pink like that? I love that! Arti, your portrait of your son is amazing. And thank you posting the photo and explaining how you set up the photo session. You are truly a master portrait artist. Enjoy the show. I know everybody will love your work!

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    1. Yes Katherine, they have kept this wall for hanging the paintings- its called the 'Art Street'within the campus of a college.Thank you for your comment on my son's portrait.I really appreciate that.

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  4. It is a gorgeous portrait, Arti. Your son is growing up into such a handsome young man! No surprise to me as he was beautiful younger boy too.

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    1. Thanks Sherry, he is handsome, isn't he!I will keep painting him as long as he lets me take his pictures!

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  5. It is a fabulous portrait Arti. well done. Am sure he would have loved it.

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  6. What a stunning portrait, Arti. I like so much of your work, but this is one of your best. It takes my breath away. You might go broke doing it, but you should consider doing a whole series of portraits of your handsome son.

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    1. Thank you Julie; I liked this one ,too--I intend to do some more,even if he continues to fleece me for pictures ;)

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  7. This is fantastic, Arti! I love everything about it...his hair and skin tones, the folds in the fabric! This is wonderful!!!! He is very handsome and he looks so much like Mom!! I like working with pastelmat as well..the
    smooth surface is perfect..especially for portraits. Do you have problems framing them?

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    1. Thank you, Hilda.In fact I go mad painting clothes and folds..it is usually the toughest part for me! even my son said "why is there 'duct tape'all over my t-shirt in the painting?"!He was referring to the 'tape' style broad strokes!
      Painting on pastel mat is fun.Yes,they are a bit 'bendy' but so far I have framed two and they were fine.I keep them covered with glassine prior to framing, no problem so far.

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  8. The portrait is wonderful, handsome son… Congratulations on you show…

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  9. Love the light effect but then again for me light is the most important ingredient in a painting but I know we are all different. Love the colours and the rhythm of your textures. Hope the show went well.

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    1. I agree, Laura.I love to paint high contrast portraits.Glad you liked this one!

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  10. Beautiful portrait Arti! And your son looks like he has grown so much!! You captured that glowing effect perfectly. :) It looks stunning. And congrats on the show too!

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    1. Thank you, Crystal!He is growing up,alright!
      The age of 'innocence' has passed,he is no longer the 'chubby cheek cutie'; but many more stages to come!And I am ready with my colors :)

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