Suzanne and Sharon
I had the pleasure of meeting Suzanne and Sharon at belly dancing class.
Belly dancing raqs, as they say.
It was at belly dancing class that I first got the itch to draw again, after 20 plus years of graphic design. I fell in love with all the women there and the movement and felt I had to draw them all. So I started bringing my newsprint pad to class and staying a little later to sketch with charcoal pencils. It was wonderful.
Eventually, I decided to try using pastels, and now, five years later, and with a daily practice, I feel like I’m starting to understand how to use them. It’s been an awesome journey. Can’t wait to see what happens next!
Thank you, Suzanne, for sending me yours and Sharon’s beautiful faces to paint!
Suzanne and Sharon, Nos. 29-30, 30 Friends in 30 Days, 10×8″ pastel on illustration board by Marie Marfia
Suzanne and Sharon, Nos. 29-30, detail, 30 Friends in 30 Days, 10×8″ pastel on illustration board by Marie Marfia
Suzanne and Sharon, Nos. 29-30, detail, 30 Friends in 30 Days, 10×8″ pastel on illustration board by Marie Marfia
Suzanne and Sharon, Nos. 29-30, detail, 30 Friends in 30 Days, 10×8″ pastel on illustration board by Marie Marfia
Here are the work in progress pics:
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- Charcoal sketch on grid.
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- Blocking in the darks.
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- Blocking in posterized color.
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- Local color.
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- Final tweaks
This is my 30 Friends in 30 Days series. Each day I take a friend’s selfie and make a pastel painting from it. Then I post it to ebay at auction for 7 days. Follow my progress as I learn to paint pastel portraits with a little help from my friends.
