Toddler and Chicken - giving up

Well, this looks a little over-saturated to me but looked good on my graphics software so I don't know how you'll see it.

Sue and Christine gave me some good advice that I tried to follow but am not sure how successful I was.  I guess it's not bad considering that I'm not a people portrait painter and it's terrible if I were!  lol  We'll just call it somewhere in the middle and also call it finished as I don't have the heart to keep messing with it.  It's already getting somewhat muddy.

I've not shown it to the parents nor to anyone else, for that matter.  I'll do some slight smoothing then email it to my vet and see what he says.

Now, on to other things - I still have the Rottie to finish and also have a commission for two Coton de Tulears to paint.  I go to meet the Cotons next week and I'm excited about that as it will be the first time seeing that breed in person.

Until next time!

Toddler With Chicken WIP

I don't know if any of you remember the pastel I was working on quite a while ago but I've picked it up again and made a small amount of progress.  This one is really frustrating me because I really like the reference photo but can't seem to get my painting to measure up to it.


For what it's worth, here's a small update.  Any help gratefully received!

Oh, one of the items I bought at Jerry's was a small Conte' crayon and pencil set.  One of the pencils was the color "sanguine" which seems to be working well for the ruddy complexion of the child when overlaid with a peachy skin color.  The skin color still isn't there yet but nothing is finished at this point.

Various pastels/pastel pencils on Ampersand PastelBord - 5x7" size.

WAAAAY Outta My Comfort Zone!

Hi all.  I have been painting but just not posting all that regularly and this time, I think I've really over-reached myself!

This is a painting that I've started of my vet's son holding a chicken that's almost as big as he is- isn't he just the most precious thing you've ever seen?  The child has evidently inheirited his father's love of animals and when I saw the photo, I just had to try to paint it (& "try" is the operative word!).  I was given permission but now I wonder if I've bitten off more than I can chew! 

You all have never seen a portrait of a human from me for a reason - I totally suck at them!  But, I'd really like to finish this one and do well with it.  So may I please get some advice from those of you who do such wonderful portrait work?

You can tell that this isn't finished but I've run into some problems.  The main thing is the shadow work - there are several very deep shadows on this fair-haired child but when I add them, he just looks dirty.  I've tried browns, red-browns, violets (purple ranges) and some green underpainting.  So, my main question is - how do I get those luscious deep shadows without the painting looking dirty or just downright weird?

Secondly, how do I keep the portrait fresh looking - the face especially looks as if it has makeup on it?  I'm seriously debating washing it all off and starting again but I know if I do, I won't ever go back to it.  BTW - this is pastel on Ampersand PastelBord.

I hope someone will answer but I won't be able to get back to this for a at least a week as I have a lot of things on the calendar for the foreseeable future.  I doubt that I'll even be able to post any more here for a time either.

Sooooo, think about it and please offer any suggestions you think might help - maybe with your suggestions and some fresh eyes, I can finally say I've painted a portrait - a human portrait!