Venice Portrait Studio

Woman with Long Hair

12.50" x 9.50"

Pastel

 Hard and soft pastels on La Carte Pastel card, Sennelier.  Blended only on the underpainting and kept final strokes crisp.  Happy with the hair and light on forehead.  I don't like to use my fingers for blending, especially on sanded paper.  La Carte is smoother than Wallis sanded paper, but still has plenty of tooth.  I use a piece of foam pipe insulation, six foot piece about 98 cents at hardware store for blending.  Cut on the diagonal into small pieces... will last me about a year even after giving pieces to friends and students.  This foam pushes the pastel into the paper much like a finger, instead of wiping it off like a paper towel does.  And the sharp diagonal can get into smaller places than a finger.