I found this very difficult! I think I might have more luck if I make my paintings bigger (this is only about 30 x 25cm).

Portraiture in Oil Pastel with Samir Rakhmanov

I found this very difficult! I think I might have more luck if I make my paintings bigger (this is only about 30 x 25cm).

Skills

Posted on

March 26, 2025

← Another self portrait- at least the sitter is always there when needed! I have called it finished, though as ever I can see things I want to correct when I have taken time away from the work. I enjoyed doing this but feel that I can push the thickness of application and expressive marks a lot further. For HW2, I decided to go for a self-portrait on 23×31 cm hot press watercolor paper. I started with a mummy brown gouache mix as my mid-tone base, which gave me a solid foundation to build on. Instead of focusing on realistic skin tones, I wanted to experiment with the lighting: cooler on the right, warmer on the left. I also brought in a palette knife to add some texture and a few expressive lines. →

2 Comments

Julie Cross on March 29, 2025 at 6:47 pm

Thank you for the critique – brilliant. Sorry I couldn’t be there. I was unexpectedly away as my mother-in-law was in hospital. Should be back next week! Thanks.
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Keith Wilson on March 28, 2025 at 6:41 am

I love the light on the clothing, implied with just a few strokes of pastel.
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