Cameo Portraits

This lovely young lady was created with a new type of pastel called PanPastels and the pastel is applied...get this...with sponges! 

However, not being one to turn down a challenge, I persevered...and here is one completed image. I love the colors that can be obtained...there is a learning curve with using a utensil rather than the pastel stick itself and not all the colors are available but all in all I was very pleased, as was the client, with the end results!

My cameo pastels of one subject are created on an acid free 9 x 12 surface.  This charming young lady has a lovely, big smile in which both  her upper and lower teeth can be seen :-) In cases like that, in which her natural tendency is to smile, a portrait created from an angle solves the problem!

Saddlebred Horse show at Blowing Rock NC

It's been fun creating a collage for the both the Hunter Jumper and Saddlebred portions of the Blowing Rock Charity Horse Show held each year in the incredibly beautiful location in the NC mountains of...Blowing Rock! The show has been an annual event for many, many years and we enjoy being there for the activities. OK, maybe the climate has something to do with that too!
I have completed the Saddlebred collage which will be auctioned off at this year's event and also used for the T-shirts. The Hunter Jumper collage that I am creating will be for next year's show. They are held in the same location but on different days. This pastel is 18 x 24 in size.

Black lab and Mallard duck Pastel

This Pastel is a surprise gift measuring around 14 x 14. I had
digital images of the Lab and additional ones of the Mallard
duck.
Combining subjects by sight is the original artist "photoshop!" No computers, no gimmicks, just visually pulling together the images to create a portrait that will be enjoyed for years!

Duke Charity Horse Show

Well it is that time of year again and we are set up and flourishing at the Duke shows in Raleigh NC! Beautiful, crisp fall weather has perked the colors of the trees and although we need rain badly, the weather can' t be better at the moment! The explosive Grand Prix is Saturday night and a glittering assortment of spectators will be out in full.

And of course, with our booth set up at the doorway and both Steve and I painting, we have encouraged all of our clients to stop on by!

Now I must confess that as I write this, it is 8 pm, cold, dark and I am in front of a fire while Steve is at the show :-) But hey, that's life! Our home is about 30 miles from this show so unlike Saratoga, NY or Blowing Rock NC, we are close enough to commute and not camp.