Mother's Touch Baby Orangutan pastel portrait


                                                               Mother's Touch
                                                                   11"x12"
                                                                    Pastel

This is another lesson from Colin where again I chose my own reference photo but tried to utilize his techniques.  This is a shot of one tired Mom, but baby is content to just be held in that huge, but tender hand, and hopefully Mom gets a few minutes of peace.  This was my first try of the Ingres sand color paper that Colin really likes.  Matter of fact he is about the only one who likes this paper.  But it does hold a decent amount of pastel and adapts to the blender tool very well.  I usually like gray paper, but the sand/beige color goes well as a mid tone and doesn't dramatically alter either the light or dark colors.

The background here is pan pastel and the Orangs are pastel pencil.  Finally am figuring out a process to sharpen my pencils and they really do give you a lot of control and detail.  I just love all the wild hair that these babies have, although it is scary to put them in, like whiskers you can't be tentative and have to "zip" them on.  Later on it will get thick enough to lay down, but at an early age they are just "wild childs".  As you can see they also have really big hands and feet as babies, guess like puppies they grow into them.  One thing I do that is different than Colin is that I tend to use a lot more colors than he does.  I am not sure if he is purposefully keeping a limited palette or that is just his style.  I do like though, his philosophy of no straight black.  A big challenge in this piece was getting the flaky facial/hand skin and wrinkles.  Just winged that one, scribbled over the base color and then came back and added highlights over the top.  I think I could have actually accentuated it a bit more - but that will be next time.  I am ready for this piece to be finished.

Thanks much for stopping by and taking a look.

Comments

Joan Tavolott said…
WOW!!! You nailed this!!! It is wonderful!
Another fabulous piece Nelvia. As Joan says - 'you nailed it'! It is a wonderful image and you did a great job with it.
hmuxo said…
OMG! Nelvia!! OUTSTANDING!!!! You are getting better and better! ❤️
Sheila said…
Stunning work! Powerful...emotional. :)
Nelvia said…
Thank you much Joan, I am pleased with the results and will keep on working. I think the lessons are helping. Now on to composition and backgrounds.
Nelvia said…
Thank you Val, I do like the image of innocence and expression. Love to watch these animals when we get a chance to go to the zoo in DC. We saw one who recognized a videographer and put on quite the show for him. When the camera went off he shut down, as soon as it came on so did he. They are so intelligent. Not so pretty as adults, but smart as whips.
Nelvia said…
Thanks much Hilda. Am hoping that soon I will see you back at it!! I think the lessons from Colin have helped and I have learned techniques. Still have a couple more months with him and then have a couple more picked out to work with. Always so much that is obvious - but simplest thing I have learned is underpainting.
Nelvia said…
Ah Sheila, thank you so much. I am glad I rang your emotion bell, to me that is the biggest compliment if someone feels when they look at a picture.
Janet Bradish said…
Love your work Nelvia. I love animals and I can't quite find words to describe how your art makes me feel. Looking forward to more! Take care and have a good day

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