Gift of Art

Sometimes we learn by copying the masters. This originally was done by Mary Cassatt in pastel. This is my version which is as close to hers as I could get it.

I think this is a pretty good rendering but I find myself wishing I had owned a better set of pastels when I did this one.

When we first start learning something, we hesitate to buy the better tools, simply because we don't want to invest a lot of money into something that may or may not work out. I have a lot of cheap pastels now that I loan out to my students when they can't afford to buy some or just need to expand their selection.

When I purchased my Senneliers, the first thing I noticed was better coverage on the paper. It didn't take as many layers to fill those holes. I see a lot of those holes in this one.

You can see in this painting the difference between the cheap pastels and the Senneliers. Not only does it give better coverage on the paper but the colors are richer and more vibrant. I did this painting with far fewer layers and I'm much happier with the results.

By the way, both paintings hang in my daughter's home. She has also been a source of continuous support for my art. Every artist needs their patrons.