“Little Smiling Girl” 8×10″ pastel portrait. © Marie Marfia. Contact me to purchase.
I think I love Wet Canvas. Have I said it before? Maybe a few times? It’s true. This week I love it because I am getting lots of practice doing portraits. There was this sweet little girl posted in the reference library (thanks, Dewi!) that I had a pretty good time painting today. How could I resist that winsome smile, those shining eyes, that button nose? The answer is, I couldn’t. I don’t think of myself as sentimental, but it’s impossible to resist a face like this one.
The reason for the portrait is, I’m practicing. I’d like to get a lot better at them, less fearful of portraits, less worried about screwing them up, and the only way to do it is to practice, practice, practice. Because of WC’s handy library of thousands of photos, I don’t have to annoy my family and friends–asking them to pose or pointing a camera at them–while I’m learning. So, you’ll be seeing some portraits here, at least for a while. Until I get this fear of faces thing licked.
What a darling little girl. Beautiful job, Marie.
Thanks, Mary!
You are sentimental. It’s just hidden behind the crusty cynicism/optimism you’ve got going on on the outside. Also, I like the form of the pastel work; the colors really work together to give it a sunnyish feel, even if they aren’t colors one usually thinks of as sunny. There’s at least some of the very ESSENCE of that little girl trapped in this portrait, and it kinda resonates with you no matter what mindset you’ve got when you look at it.
Thanks, Eris!