Now, at The Getty

Quick blip to let you know about a couple of interesting exhibitions at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, CA:

“The Birth of Pastel” now through Dec. 17, 2017

Portrait of Gabriel Bernard de Rieux (1739-1741) 79″ x 59″, pastel and gouache on paper mounted on canvas, by Maurice-Quentin de La Tour (French, 1704 – 1788); collection The Getty Museum

Did you catch the size of the painting above?  A whopping 79″ x 59″!  The Pastel Journal interviewed curator Emily Beeny, who states it is “Pieced together from over a dozen sheets of paper”.   Wouldn’t you just love to see this one in person?!

The other exhibition is a celebration of one of the most important British artists of the twentieth century.  It includes his photography, drawings, paintings, even iPad drawings spanning 65 years.

“Happy Birthday” Mr. Hockney” now through Nov. 26, 2017

Please visit the links for more information, and let me know if you attend and how you liked them!

Abby and Cassie

One of my longtime clients brought me a handful of photos of two of her cats that had passed away to see if I could use them to paint her a portrait of them.  We reviewed them and decided to use one of them as kittens sitting on her bed.  They also happened to be sitting on an afghan that her mother had made for her.  Below are some progress pictures showing the original photo with the drawing, all the way to the finished piece.

 

Thank you for visiting, please feel free to leave your thoughts by clicking on the link to the comments section above!

Pastel Portrait of Leon-From Start to Finish

My most recent pastel pet portrait is of Leon, a beautiful Australian Shepherd.  The portrait was a wedding gift from my client and her sister to their niece and her husband.  When my client and I met, she brought along photographs and the one we decided on was of Leon sitting between his owners, which also happened to be the wedding invitation.  She said if I needed any more for reference, I could visit the website for their wedding.  Most of the photos on the site were of Leon, so  I knew he had a very special place in their hearts!  Below you will see the progress of the painting from the original charcoal drawing I start with all the way to the finished piece.  The painting is done on 14″ x 11″  tan Ampersand Pastelbord.  Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Original charcoal drawing of Leon

Background of Leon, pastel

At this point, my client and I agreed to tone the background down a bit more.

Starting to add color

Finished custom pastel pet portrait of Leon, 14″ x 11″, Denny Martindale

Thanks for viewing the progress of Leon, have a blessed day and would love to hear from you!

Pastel Pet Portrait of Peanut, from Start to Finish

I love painting portraits of pets, and animals in general, and I am always honored when someone commissions me to do one of a beloved pet that has passed on, waiting to cross over the Rainbow Bridge.  Such is the case with Peanut Patton, a beautiful little dog that meant the world to his owner Jim.

While I do many pet portraits, I have a tendency to get rather focused on the painting itself and forget to take photos showing the progress from start to finish.  Below you will see the photos of Peanut’s portrait starting with the reference photo and ending with the matted and framed painting.

Reference photo.  Peanut’s coloring is a little bit ‘washed out’ in this photo.

Charcoal drawing of Peanut

Jim and I agreed to place Peanut in the grass, so the background was blocked in.

Starting on Peanut.

I started working on Peanut, beginning primarily with the areas that would have other areas of fur overlapping them.

From blocking in to establishing a color range of the various shades of fur.

Sometimes the progress doesn’t always look the best…

…but if you continue working it will all come together!

Peanut Patton, pastel, 11″ x 14″, matted, framed, and ready for shipping!

I thoroughly hope you have enjoyed seeing the progress, and would love to hear your comments!  God bless!