Wonderment

                                                                   Wonderment
                                                                      11"x14"
                                                                       Pastel
I am working on an intense painting so I wanted to do something fun today and less involved.  So I went back to my old standbys - pastel.
When I saw this little girl on PMP knew I just had to do her.  Such an unusual pose and expression (loved the challenge of her partial eye and open mouth)  When I first started drawing, and even my first pastel portrait was a Native American chief.  I have drawn quite a few Indian portraits over the years and have an affinity for their hair, skin tones, clothes, etc.
Here I wanted to try working with different color combinations for the dark/shadow skin tones - no grays or black but lots of browns, oranges, purples and yellows.  Even the black of the hair is purple, dark blue, burgundy, brown and black.  Also I got a little adventuresome and tried to do something different for the background.  Since she is probably at a pow wow I thought she needed that little feather in her hair.
Hope all had a super weekend and that your week coming up is the best.  Thanks much for stopping by.

Comments

hmuxo said…
This is fabulous Nelvia! One of my favorites!!!! I love her sweet expression and her skin tones are beautiful! And perfect background.....A winner!
February 14, 2016 at 5:15 PM
Log Cabin Studio said…
Beautiful Nelvia ,I am in total agreement with Hilda.
February 14, 2016 at 6:14 PM
Jane said…
A super portrait , love the expression and the beautiful contrast in shadow / light !
February 15, 2016 at 6:16 AM
Nelvia said…
Thanks Hilda, she is one where you wonder where she came from. She just wanted to come out. Yep I am pretty happy with the skin combination, I better write it down or I'll forget.
February 15, 2016 at 8:45 AM
Nelvia said…
Hey there, how are you doing? Lot of snow in your end? Thanks for stopping by and glad you like her. I just knew I had to do her.
February 15, 2016 at 8:46 AM
Nelvia said…
Hi there Jane, thanks so much. I was a little worried by the eye but think it reads ok. Now just have to figure out how to do that contrast with different skin colors. I think I've worked so much with browns because of the animals, I need to go lighter and darker to figure it out. You and Hilda both get some great skin tones.
February 15, 2016 at 8:48 AM
Meredith Adler said…
What a beautiful portrait, Nelvia. It's funny how certain mediums are our "friends" that we go to for comfort and relaxation. Your pastel work is great!
February 15, 2016 at 7:37 PM
Nancy Goldman said…
I haven't visited your site for a while so I went through to catch up. You've been very busy! Congrats on finishing the January challenge.

I love this portrait. His expression is wonderful and I like how you did the background.
February 15, 2016 at 9:32 PM
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