Old Chevy

Watercolor on terraskin 

8"x10"

This is another painting from a sunday drive through the Caledon area. I must thank my son for making me take this photo. A car is not my typical subject matter and yet this is one of my favourite paintings. I loved all the rust spots and variations in the paint job on this car. I also liked the white picket fence.

Caledon Barn

watercolour on Terraskin

16"x20"

This was a painted from a photo that I took on a drive through the Caledon area in southern Ontario on Thanksgiving weekend. It was a dull day but the colour in the trees made it look like a sunny day...they were truly brillant. My favourite part in this landscape is the barbed wire fence. This was one of those paintings that came easy and I knew would work well from the beginning. Right after completing this painting I used the terraskin to paint a beach scene and it was a disaster...thank god we learn from our mistakes!

"Indian Ladies"

"Indian Ladies"

on Terraskin

Painting of a toddler face in detail on Terraskin

"Toddler Face"

on Terraskin

This photo was take when this little boy was two and a half years old. Painting children is my most favourite subject to paint. I love the innocence in their expressions and the delicate nature of the dewy texture of the skin. This piece was painted from a quick snaphot that I took without asking the child to pose. Unposed photos are really my favourite way to capture a child. This way you get the most natural expressions and also really see the personality and the feeling of the moment captured. He is ten years old now and this is still his serious face even though he has grown older and that is how I know I really captured his spirit.

The surface I painted this portrait on is Terraskin. It is quickly becoming my paper of choice. It really is a beautiful surface to work on and allows for beautiful depth and colour.

Isabella"s Grandpa

watercolour and pastel on aquabord

Choosing a Portrait Artist

Points to Consider When Choosing a Portrait Artist:

*     An artist rendered portrait is not a photo but should capture a likeness or spirit of the individual. This can vary from artist to artist based on ability, colour palette and even compostion.

*     Make sure you see plenty of work the artist has done in the past. Decide if you like their choices regarding colour, composition and overall style of the work in the artist's portfolio.

*      Don't be afraid to ask for examples of the original photo that the artist worked from in his/her portfolio pieces. There may be additions and/or omissions of details within the work. Make sure you have a clear understanding of this process as it relates to your portrait commission. If you really want some detail added or omitted make sure the artist is clear on this point. For example you may choose to change the background or colour of background.

*     Ask artist for their ideas or opinions and particularly related to compostion. A head and shoulder portrait is lovely, but a cropped and focused compostion can also be quite wonderful.

*     If you want to have updates during the process ask the artist. Some artists may not like to be constantly updating a client with photos but it is best to determine this prior to comissioning a portrait.

*    Be aware that colour on computer screens varies tremendously and will likely not represent actual work as calibration of screen to artwork and and visual on your computer is a long shot.

*    Above all make sure you like the majority of the artist's portfolio pieces. If you do admire the style in which they work it is likely you will love your finished portrait.



To view examples of photo comparisons from my portfolio see the following link to my website:



http://christinebeattieportfolio.weebly.com/portrait-comparison.html

" Exploring Cape Cod " - inspired by the work of Steve Hanks

" Exploring Cape Cod"

Watercolour on Curry"s 200 LB cp watercolour paper

I was inspired to paint this scene from a family photo after stumbling upon the work of american watercolour artist Steve Hanks whose realistic style of painting is beyond comprehension.

Take a look for yourself!

http://www.stevehanksartwork.com/

Terraskin Review

"So Worried" -Terraskin Review

"So Worried"

watercolour on terraskin

"So Worried" is the expression on this beautiful baby's face but it was also the expression on mine when I tried painting on Terraskin for the first time. For those of you who are unfamilar with terraskin it is a stable paper made from stone and non toxic resins. I was not sure if I would be wiping away paint with every new stroke of my paintbrush or not, hence the worried expression on my face. I was not sure if i would be able to get the ability to detail features with accuracy. Here is my first try at it and I would say it was quite a success. I actually loved it. This paper is stable and extremely forgiving and best of all very affordable.

This paper is water resistant, tear resistant, acid free, with no fiber. It is easy to cut accurately and although I have not tried it yet apparently you can emboss it or score it crisply and precisely. Terraskin is available in many different weights although I have only found one weight at the art store I go to, but now I am on the hunt for different weights.

The company advertises that it is good for oil painting, acrylic, charcoal, pen, pencil, inks, silverpoint, watercolour and paper cutouts. They also state that no trees, water or bleach is used in its production.

Here is the best part as a watercolour artist...You Don"t Need To Stretch It!!!!!!!!!!! This is a major plus for me as I seem to not be able to consistently get this right with traditional watercolour paper unless I use the really super heavy, expensive stuff.

There is some learning curve with this paper and I must admit there is some pickup of colour with brush strokes which is both a bad and GREAT thing. you can use a wet place to pick up or find highlights.

Oh yeah, there is another best thing about this paper and it is the colour you can achieve. It is vivid and luminous. I would say the pigmentation is very true on the paper and I think this fact increased the speed at which I finished this painting although I may have just got lucky...it happens although the moon, sun and stars have to be in proper alignment!...so I am guessing it was the paper affecting my ability to get the depth of colour I was looking for in my painting.

Thumbs up Terraskin!!!! I am a huge fan!

" Bella Isabella"

"Bella Isabella"

Watercolour on 300lb hot press paper

Now this is clearly why I love to paint children_ just look at that bright and lively smile. This sweet little girl captured my heart while I was painting her. Sometimes a painting is like a good book...you want to finish to see the end result but then are sad when it is done. Thanks Isabella for brightening up my days.

"Cheeky"

"Cheeky"

watercolour on hot press 300lb paper

Nothing is more precious than this sight of two brothers getting ready for their bath.

Nude in Solitude

pastel on canson mi-teintes paper

Again this is a rough for a commissioned piece. I will actually being doing this in a sepia painted watercolour but was playing around with the pastel and the figure by adding a face and now I intend to create a series based on some rough gesture poses I have created.

Nude Profile in Sepia

coloured pencil and watercolour wash in sepia tones on 140 lb cold press paper

This is a rough for a commissioned pair of male and female nudes.

Quick Study Of Male Nude In Pastel

pastel on canson mi-teintes paper

This was a very quick sketch in pastel. It's funny how sometimes I prefer the very rough and quickly rendered drawings that I don't over think.

Take My Picture

" Take My Picture "

Watercolour on 140 lb cold press paper

Splash

" Splash "

Watercolour on 300 lb hot press paper

Sweet Child Of Mine

" Sweet Child Of Mine "

Watercolour on 300 lb hot press paper

Stone Angels In Watercolour

" Stone Angel"

Watercolour on 140 lb cold press paper

" At Peace"

Watercolour on 140 lb cold press paper

A Boy And His Dog

"My Buddy"

Pastel on suedeboard

Low Tide in South Carolina

"Tidal Pools"

Pastel on Canson Mi-tientes

Looking Through the Trees - Somewhere in New Hampshire

Looking Through The Trees

watercolour on arches paper

I took this photo about nine years ago and just recently painted it. I remember liking how the light came trough the canopy of trees and hit the bark on the tree trunk that was in the forefront and I also loved how the water in the lake appeared green as a total mirrored reflection of the trees.

Pool House

Pool House

Acrylic on Canvas

This is a painting I did from a magazine photo. ("Veranda" I think ...it was a while ago and I could be wrong.) I love architecture and fell in love with the formal style that this pool house had been built in. I was also drawn to the large branch that was in the forefront of the scene and the quiet reflections in the pool. Wouldn't this be a lovely place to sip on lemonade and read a book?

I Think I Would Like To Live Here!

Backyard Retreat

Acrylic on canvas

Sometimes I like to paint where  I would like to live. Its kind of a fantasy thing. When I want to redecorate and can't the paint on a fresh canvas is inspiring enough. ( but seriously, I want to redecorate).

Garden View

Garden View

pastel on Canson Mi-Teintes paper

Seaside Stroll

"Seaside Stroll"

watercolour

Little Boy, Big Ocean

"Little Boy by the Big Blue" 

watercolour

While all the other children were playing this contemplative young boy was enjoying the beauty and vastness of the water or at least that is what I imagined when I snapped this photo on a beach in Mexico.

Fixative Or No Fixative

As of yet, I have never used a fixative on any of my artwork but it does mean that I have to handle my pastels very carefully until they are framed. I am terrified to use a fixative. I considered buying a workable fixative months ago but didn't do it.  I have heard that it will change the colours in the illustration dramatically. I would be happy to hear from anyone who has experience with fixatives particularly if they know of a brand that will not discolour.

Made Me Laugh!

Isn't She Lovely!

pastel portrait on paper

11" X 14"

This is a pastel portrait I did from a picture I had of a friend's daughter. I spent a lot of time of time on it constantly correcting colour and her eyes. I was really trying to make her as angelic as she was in the photo. She was standing next to my window on a sunny day and her dark hair had beautiful highlights that truly did make her look like an angel. I could not get the eyes right until a few trips to several art stores for the right shade of brown was finally a success. 

A few days ago I took the picture of the portrait and put it in iPhoto. you can imagine my amusement when the photo recognition aspect of iPhoto picked up who it was and put it with her actual photo. LOL! I may have to use this when I have spent too much time with a portrait. Maybe I can stop when iPhoto tells me who it is in the future. Wow, now if they apple could only produce a program to tell me where I went wrong.

Pastel Portrait "Naptime" by christine beattie

Naptime

pastel on Canson Mi-teintes paper

12" X 16"

original photo

For me one of the hardest things to do are portraits and yet I love doing them. Portraiture is  a perpetual challenge. It is more than just capturing the face, the colour and the shape but the capturing of the human spirit of the individual.  I find children particularly challenging. Sometimes i tend to age the children although that is certainly not what I intend to do.  In all portraits I start out by putting as much detail to the eye after rendering the beginning base of skin tones. I do this before I attempt to any of the other features in any detail. Part of the trick to rendering children is the recreation of the dewiness of their skin for lack of a better explanation. Highlights and lowlights are very important and sometimes I feel like I fall short when it comes to rendering the darkest values in depicting children. For me the fear is always making the child look harsh. As you can see from the photo there is a lot of red tones to the hair. while rendering a portrait it is important to either know or at least to have seen various photos of a person under various light sources to more accurately determine colouration. In this case the baby actually had blondish hair while his brother had the lightest brown hair with golden highlights.

Note: It has been quite a while since I have evaluated this piece and I know realize that the baby's face was longer and heavier. Wow there is always something to be learned and nothing is ever perfect. 

Landscape: "The Mayan Ruins of the Grand Sirenis Resort"

Mayan Ruins of Grand Sirenis

pastel on Canson Mi-Teintes paper

12" X 16"

This pastel painting was created from a photo I took on the grounds of the Grand Sirenis Resort in the Mayan Riviera area of Mexico. 

Figurative:"Bathing Beauty at Virginia Beach"

Bathing Beauty

Pastel on Canson Mi-Teintes paper

12" X 16"

I was moved to create this pastel painting by the beauty of this woman relaxing on the beach.

Her legs boasted of strength and athleticism and the depth of colour in her skin was amazingly beautiful.  She most certainly was enjoying the warmth of the sun and was a delightful contrast to the creamy tones in the sand.