Why I love to paint faces - Linda Evans Davis

Here is an actual scan of Daxon's pastel portrait. I removed the dark bar next to his face. It was a fence post that was in the reference photo, but it was distracting in the painting. I will be posting a painting of his twin Cash in the next few days.

If you zoom in to see the detail in this portrait, it may surprise you that there are colors there that you don't think belong in skin. I used purples, greens, blues and oranges to add depth and character to the neutral tones that make up the color of skin and hair. Daxon was photographed outside, with cool bluish light hitting him from his top back right. Where light is blocked, the shadow that results will be toned by the opposite of the color of the light. Orange is the opposite of blue, so the shadow side of Daxon's face has lots of juicy warm shades.

I love painting faces and studying the colors of the light as they fold around the planes of the face. It can be a real juggling act, mentally thinking about the light and color while not losing the spirit and expression of the subject. If you focus too much getting the details from the photo right, the portrait will lose the quality that differentiates it from the photo. Below is the reference photo of Dax that I used. As you can see, I used much more saturated color, and I changed his jacket and shirt to blue to balance our the warm tones that I used in his face. The colors that I used are actually there in the photo, but I exploited them to bring zest to the painting.

I am having a solo show in September, and will be including a number of portraits. Stay tuned to see more. If you would like to commission a portrait, email me at linda.evans.davis@gmail.com.

Daxon says Shhhh! - by Linda Evans Davis

I spent the last two days painting my grandnephew in soft pastel. He is one of a pair of twins. Although people who don't know them may think they look alike, they are yin and yang to each other and best buddies. Daxon is the little engineer -- quiet and brilliantly observant. His wheels are constantly turning in his head as he figures out how things work. I will be painting his brother as well, who is a little firecracker. 

This has been a breakthrough piece for me. I have been struggling a little this month as I have been incorporating new, very soft pastels into my work. I had to learn not to be so heavy handed. For some reason with this piece I started to get the hang of it, and I'm starting to understand why the "buttery" brands are so coveted by my fellow pastelists.

I love painting kids in pastel, so don't hesitate to email me if you'd like to commission a portrait (Linda.evans.davis@gmail.com).