Peggy and Marcelo, nearing completion

"Peggy and Marcelo" in progress, 19" x 27", pastel on Pastelmat

                   An update on Peggy and Marcelo's portrait commission, now nearing completion.  

Progress on part of a couple's commission

Still a few more refinements to come on Kat, but here is a detail in progress from Kat and Dick

Kat and Dick's portrait in progress

Here is a progress update on my commission of Kat and Dick.  Dick is next!

Further Progress on Peggy and Marcelo in Color

Further progress on the color pastel of Peggy and Marcelo

The color pastel of Peggy and Marcelo is moving along.  There is still work to do in many areas
such as the turquoise pillow, the hands, etc., but I want to get everything blocked in and then I will pull together
 the details and nuance the values a bit more.

Peggy and Marcelo, a color pastel

Peggy and Marcelo in progress, 19" x 27", pastel on Pastelmat

Here is my start on the color pastel commission for Peggy and Marcelo.  Some of you may recall the black and white version:

"Peggy and Marcelo, Study #1", 21" x 25 1/2", charcoal and pastel on acid-free gray board



I'll be overlapping my work on Peggy and Marcelo with the start of another couple's commission,a black and white portrait of Kat and Dick.   Kat and Dick chose this concept drawing for their portrait, which will be rendered similarly in charcoal and pastel, and more soon on this one too:

"Joe"

"JOE",  15" x 18", black and white charcoal on Mi Teintes paper

A portrait study drawn from life of model, Joe, that I did at one of our last SVA Alumni drawing sessions this Spring.

"Eric", a portrait of my nephew

A scanned detail from the pastel of Eric

"Eric", 19" x 23", pastel on Pastelmat


Coming up is a couples portrait I have in progress, but first this portrait of my nephew Eric.  It was started from a live sitting and completed with the help of a few supplemental photos we took during our time together.  It provided me some needed practice in working in full color directly from life.  Live sittings in full color are not easy, especially at this size, and I only succeeded in developing a rough version in the time we had, but through this process with Eric, who sat very patiently, I noticed a few things I might have otherwise missed ~ about slight camera lens distortions and skin tones.
The rest I pulled together from the supplemental photos.  Above, I've added a scanned detail from the portrait, and this one goes to the Mendoza Conner family.

"Amelia's Starry Night"

"Amelia's Starry Night", 3" x 2 1/2" (6 1/2" x 4" framed), egg tempera miniature portrait on Kelmscott vellum

(shown slightly larger for detail)

And here is a picture of little Amelia in April with her first ponytail!  Is this  little girl cute or what?!!

This is a portrait of Amelia, daughter of Erika and Brian Boccia.  Amelia's mom, Erika, is my sister-in-law's niece.  As with the portrait "Carol By Moonlight", I used a new gemstone pigment in my pigment collection made from  lapis lazuli along with the other blues in the sky of this painting.

"Carol By Moonlight"

"Carol By Moonlight",  a miniature portrait of Carol Curtiss,  in it's silver oval frame

"Carol By Moonlight", 3 3/4" x 3", (shown enlarged for detail), egg tempera on Kelmscott vellum

This portrait is for a remarkable friend of mine, Carol Curtiss, who has done so much for the Miniature Art Society of Florida.  ---- 
P.S., as I forgot to mention this earlier in my post, Carol's portrait was the first where I included with my egg tempera a pigment powder that I bought this year which is made from real lapis lazuli (ground from the actual gemstone).  It is mixed in with the other blues in the sky and water, and it's subtle, but the pigment seems to have a slight shimmer to it.  It was fun to try it out in a painting with lots of blue.

Portrait Drawings From Recent Wed. Evening Sessions

"JOHN, Study #1",  15" x 17", carbon pencil and pastel on Mi Teintes paper

"JOHN, Study #2",  19" x 16", carbon pencil on paper

"SELENA" (detail), 17 1/2" x 14 1/2", carbon pencil on paper

"CHARLIE" (detail), 22 1/2" x 19", pastel pencil and pastel on Mi Teintes paper


This week I'm beginning a color pastel of Peggy and Marcelo, and Kat and Dick have chosen sketch #2 (see below), so I am really looking forward to starting their portrait soon too!

Two miniature portraits will post later this week, but here is a selection of some of my favorite drawings from recent Wed. Eve. Alumni Drawing sessions.  Several of these are scanned details for now until I have a more satisfying shot of the whole image .

Our models continue to be so wonderful! --- a different person each week, alternating men and women.  In Study #1 of John, I tried to convey his gentle side, and in Study #2, his strength.  With these qualities, I can envision him as John the Baptist.  Third is my favorite pose by Selena.  And Charlie held this truly challenging pose with raised arms for 40 minutes and only one break in the middle - Whew!

Kat and Dick

Here are three sketch options I've offered to Kat and Dick for their portrait commission.

"Roman"

"Roman", detail from a 40 minute pose, carbon pencil, white charcoal and white pastel on  Canson Mi-Teintes paper

I'll be posting two new portraits soon which I've been working on over the last month, but meanwhile, Wednesday evening SVA Alumni drawing sessions have happily resumed after the holiday break, and will continue through mid-April.  Here is my effort to capture Roman.  

"Yves"

detail from "Yves", carbon pencil, charcoal and white pastel on gray paper

"Yves", 18" x 18"

"Yves Hands", carbon pencil on newsprint

Professional dancer, Yves, was our kind model for this week's Wednesday evening drawing session.  He hails from a city in France which is a complex of small villages known as Marseille.  The first drawing was from a 40 minute pose, and the hand study was 20 minutes.  As with "Carolina", I embellished both drawings further from memory after 

the live session.  Merci,Yves!  

"Carolina"

"Carolina", 9" x 12", detail from a 50 minute pose

My portrait of Carolina, a beautiful model and professional dancer who posed for SVA alumni at this week's Wednesday evening drawing session.  I spent another half hour or so at home, strengthening the values of this study.

Progress on My Spiritual Portrait Series

"Amma's Devi Bhava in Kimberly", in progress, 19 1/2" x 15 1/4", egg tempera on panel

Here, you can see some changes I am making to the leaves in the lower right corner of the painting, and a gold sash I'm adding.  After some consideration, I also decided to remove the shadow from the right side of the painting in order to open up the space more and I hope it will help me deepen the picture plane as I attempt to show the petals going back in space by varying the size of some of them, showing them smaller and further behind her.  Some of the petals have been redone, in one instance on the right-hand side, three times, in order to get a feeling going that I have been aiming for, and I think it is there, but more petals are still needed for the feeling of a 'petal shower'.

There are many mysteries to Amma's Devi Bhava flower petal blessing, and having experienced it for myself, I wish I understood it more deeply on a metaphysical level, but physically, it is a 'shower' of flower petals, from all of the flowers Amma has received in three days of darshan, so perhaps you can just imagine how wonderful it feels.  In this instance I have portrayed Kimberly with a rose petal shower for several specific reasons, and you can read more about this in my latest post on Grander Joy of Spirit

Benjamin

"Benjamin", 15 minute pose, charcoal pencil

We had another great model at the SVA alumni drawing practice session this week, and his name is Benjamin.

from Wednesday evening live model drawing sessions at SVA

Drawn from a live model at the SVA alumni Wed. evening drawing sessions

An important part of portraiture for me is honing my skill with figure drawing from a live model, and as an alumni of the School of Visual Arts, I have been enjoying the free Wednesday evening drawing sessions they provide to all SVA alumni.  Student RA Shane has been coordinated these sessions, providing us with professional models who traditionally pose nude.
  
Nude poses help artists enormously to understand correct anatomy as it appears in various dynamics of the human figure.  The timed poses warm us up, and vary from several minutes to one 40 minute pose within each session.  The above is a detail from a 20 minute pose from last Wednesday's gathering.  Shane and the models have been great, I enjoy the camraderie, and I hope to see more of my fellow alumni and SVA buddies taking advantage of this wonderful opportunity!

Shifting the Light - More progress on the pastel of Sandra

photo of "Sandra" still in progress, pastel on La Carte pastelboard

 A scanned detail of the pastel in progress

I'm still working on shifting the light source on this pastel portrait of Sandra, so for a progress report, here are some views of it at it's current stage.

Victorian Nostalgia Portrait

"Four Sisters At Bloomingdales," (detail) from a 12" x 15" egg tempera portrait

If anyone out there has a favorite old photograph of family members or relatives, I love painting nostalgia portraits too, and the Victorian era is one of my favorite times to paint. I've even "adopted" a few relatives, as I love to collect vintage and antique photos.  One of my rare finds was a photo which was actually taken in Bloomingdales department store professional photo studio (it bore the 'Bloomingdales seal') around the turn of the last century, and I could not resist painting this scene.  Although it's an older painting of mine, done circa 1984, it still remains a personal favorite.

A scanned peek at Kimberly With Roses in progress

A scanned detail from a portion of my egg tempera spiritual portrait in progress of Kimberly with roses, egg tempera on true gesso panel

It's been almost a year since I've offered the last update on this painting on Mona Conner Portraits, but I've actually been slowly progressing with this egg tempera portrait of Kimberly over at my spiritual portrait series blog, Grander Joy of Spirit.  Large egg tempera portraits on panel do take a lot of time and patience, but are rewarding for their depth, and I thought it would be interesting to share this scanned detail, since recently I was discussing the differences in quality between a scan and a camera shot of my pastel self-portrait at age 3.  My own scanner bed is small, so it only captures about 12" x 9" from this 19 1/2" x 15 1/4" painting in progress, but it reveals to you the paint strokes, details, and depth, much better than a camera shot with my 5 mg camera, which tends to flatten out the values.  It also reveals the areas that I am still blending with many thin layers of egg tempera.

pastel of Sandra

"Sandra", pastel in progress on La Carte pastel board

Here is a detail from a pastel portrait of Sandy I've had on the side and am working on again.

Completed Value Study of Peggy and Marcelo

"Portrait Study of Peggy and Marcelo", 21" x 25 1/2", charcoal and pastel on acid-free gray matt board

detail of Peggy from the study, 21" x  15"

Here is the completed version of my first study for a couples portrait of my sister, Peggy, and brother-in-law, Marcelo.

Self Portrait at Three, completed

A scanned detail from "Self Portrait at Three"

Photo of "Self Portrait at Three", 24" x 19", pastel on Pastelmat *

It was fun to get back into this pastel portrait of myself at age three and add it's final touches.

*Sometimes a scan can really do better in matching the color, value, and depth in a work of art, so after trying a scanned detail, I've added it to the top of this post, and I'll replace this photo too, as soon as I have a scan of the full image to share.  

Princess Kate #2, silverpoint with egg tempera

"Princess Kate 2", 3 7/8" x 3 1/8", framed silverpoint miniature on toned museum board with egg tempera highlights, available on Etsy

Here is the second in my series of portrayals of Princess Catherine, this time on a pink-toned background with highlights and light touches in egg tempera.  I'll add a picture of this one in it's frame later today, which is the same style and color as the frame for Princess Kate 1.

Princess Kate - One of Several Portrayals of Her in Silverpoint

"Princess Kate", (shown actual size), 3 7/8" x 3 1/8", silverpoint miniature portrait on prepared museum board in antiqued silver gilded wood oval

Here is the first of several portrayals of Princess Kate I have been working on this week.  This silverpoint miniature portrait is currently for sale on Etsy.  Stay tuned for another portrait of Princess Kate which I hope to post tomorrow.

Congrats to HRH Kate on Her Special Day!

preliminary drawing for a silverpoint miniature portrait of Kate Middleton, who today becomes Her Royal Highness

In just a matter of hours, Kate Middleton will become HRH Princess Catherine! I am so excited about the Royal wedding, so I want to try a portrait of Kate. I'm already trying to picture what she may wear, and I can't wait to see her wedding gown today, -- can you?! I've read that her dress includes a nod to Princess Diana, and will be inspired by fashions from the Renaissance period. One of her jackets is a bit reminiscent of the Renaissance without the under blouse, so I've sketched that in. I thought she might wear her hair partly up and partly down. Here is a preliminary pencil drawing for a silverpoint portrait, and depending upon whether I want to include a bit of wedding apparel, this may change later today, but first I must stop to watch this historic and happy occasion. Congratulations to Kate and William!

Progress update on my portrait of Nelson Mandela

My portrait of Nelson Mandela in progress

I've been back at work on my portrait of Nelson Mandela, which is still in progress, but here is a detail from it that you can enjoy.  I'm portraying him shortly after his release from prison, when he honored New York City with a triumphant visit.  A small detail reflecting this is the gold apple pin worn on his lapel, which symbolizes the "Big Apple."

Value Study for a Couple's Portrait

value study in progress for a portrait of Peggy and Marcelo, charcoal & pastel,
done on one-half of a 26" x 20" warm grey acid-free paperboard

 I thought it would be interesting to share some of the various steps I use when preparing for a portrait commission.  I don't do all of these steps each time, but to demonstrate the possibilities, I'm working on several versions of this one, which my sister, Peggy, has commissioned of her and my brother-in-law, Marcelo.  This first version is based on the initial photo I took of them, and doing it in black and white allows me to explore the range of light to dark which is a key component I want to emerge in the finished painting.

Next is my sister, so stay tuned for the rest of this value study, and soon I hope to also post my self-portrait at age 3.

Completed Miniature Portrait of Marcia and Harry

"Marcia and Harry", 3 7//8" x 3", egg tempera on gessoed panel

Here is the main reference picture I used for this portrait (eliminating myself, and adding behind them the window view from the opposite corner of the restaurant.)

Here is the final version of the miniature portrait of Marcia and Harry.  I replaced my original scan with a better one, after also making a few tiny changes to the far right.  You will notice in both this instance and in the self-portrait in progress at age 3, that "rim lighting" illuminates the faces around the edges and with reflected light, giving them a soft glow.

Self-Portrait, Age 3, More Progress

"Self Portrait, Age 3" in progress, 19 1/2" x 23 1/2", pastel on Pastelmat

I'm making a bit of progress on the nuances of the facial features and starting to block in the pants and lower portions, so here's another update.  Still struggling a bit with this new surface, but I may try a little workable spray fix to see if it helps me refine things further.

Pastel in Progress - Self Portrait, Age 3

"Self Portrait, Age 3" in progress, 19 1/2" x 23 1/2", pastel on Pastelmat

I'll get back to a final post of my dual portrait soon, but last week I also started this pastel of myself at age 3, from a picture taken by the water in Long Beach, CA.  I am using Pastelmat for the first time, and in working on this I discovered it holds pastel very nicely, but also maxes out it's holding capacity sooner than I anticipated.  I'm going to see where it takes me on this surface, and if I'm not satisfied, I may try another pastel surface, or possibly try it in egg tempera and oil.