My first portrait in pastel

Portrait for Different Strokes from Different Folks

8 x 10 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

by Miki Willa

Portraits are very difficult for me to even contemplate, so I just haven't done one in color before. I have sketched likenesses of family members. I have even sketched myself. I don't know why I decided to join this year end challenge at Different Strokes, but I did, and I am really glad I did. I think it is important to get outside my narrow box, subject-wise, once in a while. My goal was to interpret the expression on the artist's face. I am happy with the results. I hope she likes it.

I have been looking at lists of favorite blogs on other artist's blogs and want to add my thoughts here. I have selected three blogs that I find very inspirational to the artist in me:

Linda Blondheim's Art Notes

Rose's Art Lines

The Colorist

Linda Blondheim's Art Notes: In addition to really liking Linda's artistic style, I enjoy her honesty. Many of the ideas she expresses seem to answer questions I have been pondering for a while. The path she is taking is very inspirational to me. I also enjoy the recipes. Her other blog, Landscapes of the South, showcases her paintings and shares her stories about the places she paints. I really like that idea, and thoroughly enjoy the stories. Finally, I really appreciate that she responds to comments and is very encouraging.

Rose's Art Lines: Rose Welty is sharing her artistic journey in a thoughtful, thought-provoking way. She has inspired me to think about trying other artistic endeavors. She has great courage, which is an important trait for an artist, I believe. She also responds to comments regularly.

The Colorist: Casey Klahn has more than one blog, but this is my favorite. He shares information about artists he admires, ideals he aspires to, and he promotes other artists whose art inspires him. I especially enjoyed his series about artist's traits. Casey and I have very different styles, but I am learning from him about stretching my usual color boundaries once in a while. That is a good thing. He is also good about responding to comments.

There are other wonderful artist's blogs out there that I enjoy for many reasons. I keep finding new ones when I have the time. Let me know what blogs you find most inspirational.

A portrait in pencil

A Friend

graphite in sketch book

Miki Willa

There was no studio time this morning, but I was able to grab some sketching time this afternoon. I rarely do portrait work, so this was quite a bit outside my comfort zone. This is a friend of mine who died quite suddenly a couple of weeks ago. I tried to capture the gleam in his eye and his warm inviting smile. I am not happy with the mouth, but it is better than it was. I think I should learn how to do portraits in the style of the Japanese artists of the Edo era (early 1600s to mid-1800). They weren't so fussy looking.

Speaking of Japanese artists, one of the best known from that era is Hokusai. This is just one of the many names he adopted during his long life and career. Take a look at his 36 Views of Mt. Fuji. They are quite wonderful. I will have more to say about the life of Hokusai and some of the artists he learned from as I learn more.