143. Garden Tulip in Pastels

Schminke and Unison soft pastels on

Clairefontaine Pastelmat, 9" x 12" (cropped to 8" x 8")

Don't you just love soft pastels? The colours are simply delicious. However, my fingernails are a very interesting colour right now - time for a mini manicure! Happy painting everyone!

Detail

116. After Paul Cezanne: Detail from Still Life Flowers in a Vase (1888)

(After Paul Cezanne)

Caran d'Ache Neocolor II Watersoluble Wax Pastels and

Pilot DR 05 Pigment Pen on Goldline Sketchbook Paper, 2.25" x 2.25"

Hi Everyone, Apologies for not posting for a few days. Have I told you how much I love Neocolor II wax pastels? They are yummy - look at the depth of colour! Another good thing about them is that you are allowed to use them in the national galleries if you use them dry. You can wet them with a brush later - either at home or in the cafe!

This detail is of the rose and carnation at the extreme left of the original painting; can you see them? I drew the outline lightly in pencil, softened it all with a wash brush then, when it had dried, went back in with the pastels. I had to straighten the 'wonky' edges by making a black ink border - LOL! (Paul Cezanne's original painting is below.)

The last day of Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30 challenge will be tomorrow and I'm looking forward to seeing all your beautiful collages. xx

Original painting by Paul Cezanne

"When the colour achieves richness, the form attains its fulness also."

(Paul Cezanne)

115. After Paul Cezanne: Detail from The Card Players (1893-96)

(After Paul Cezanne)

Oil on Pebeo Linen Canvas Board, 4" x 4"

Original Painting by Paul Cezanne

(Work-in-progress images are beneath the text.)

Hi Everyone, we're on the last stretch of Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30 Challenge now! Thank you Leslie and congratulations to you all - everyone has done really well and it's been great to meet some new friends along the way.

This is the painting that Qatar bought in 2012 for $250m!!! (That was £160m in our money, at the time anyway.)

This time, I thought I'd just pick out a detail from the original and chose the hands as it is such good practice. Oh my! This painting was so hard. At first, although happy with the fingers, I could not get the flat shape of the back of the hand right - it just looked swollen. I took heart from something Tom Coates said at a workshop I attended; he said portraiture is about painting mistakes and then correcting them until you get it right. So I persevered.

I started fiddling then remembered hearing that Paul Cezanne had reduced his work to painting the cylinder, the cone and the sphere. So I removed some of the paint and focused instead on the shape of the knuckles (I noticed diamonds), the base of the wrist and the middle of the hand (looks almost like a Ferrari symbol). Once I got the knuckles right, the 'swollen' look disappeared - merci, Monsieur Cezanne!

Have a successful, productive and happy weekend, everyone!

 Smoother

Household lighting!

Before eliminating some of the 'black' and tidying up the sleeve (in daylight)

(Schminke Atrament Black and MH Magenta)