Bathtime

I decided it was time to try and paint a portrait using the cross-hatching stroke technique. I was searching in the National Archives and found a beautiful black and white photo with this woman and her baby and couldn't resist. This is the first blocking in stage of the painting, using pan pastel burgundy and light blue in the negative space around the subject.

24x16" on Canson paper smooth side

Pastels

Next stage I worked on the mom's face and clothes more and started on the baby. I decided that he needed a fatter face to go with the chubby body, so I brushed that off and started again.

Here I worked on the far wall with the curtains and faint light coming threw. Pulled the chair and table with vase to sit in front of the curtain. Worked on her white apron and the towels on her lap and behind the baby.

I decided it was too dark overall especially with the extra light coming from outside as well as the left side indoor lighting, and lightened up a few areas.

Here is a closeup of the baby and moms apron. I had a good time with this trying create different colors by stroking mix combination's over each other without blending the traditional ways. On too another portrait as I usually need to go through a series of at least 3 before moving on to a different subject.

Thanks for looking as always!