Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. – Matthew 5:9
“Andrew, My Husband”, 9×12″, pastel on paper by Annie Dash Studios
My beloved husband, Andrew, has been a consistent source of love, inspiration, and joy to me for 24 years. Andrew is my one true love, dearest friend, cherished companion, soul mate. His kindness, strength, compassion, tranquility, good humor, faith, and devotion have been a bedrock in my life for well over half my life. I am deeply grateful for the beautiful life and family we have together.
Here is the photograph I took of my husband last fall, which I used as the reference for this piece:
I used PanPastels to produce a painterly look for the underpainting of the face, hair, background, sweater, then added layers of Rembrandt pastel sticks, and Faber Castell Pitt pastel pencils for all the detail work.
Here is a collage of the stages and many layers of this work:
This piece was challenging, as I felt pressure to accurately convey both the countenance and personality of my treasured spouse, and I have less experience creating portraits of adult men than of boys or women.
However, I loved the process, am happy with the end result, and am so grateful for the opportunity to create this piece!
I hope that you enjoyed it as well — if so, please be sure to leave a comment below.
If you’re intersted in booking your own commissioned fine art portrait, please get in touch!
Annie Dash Studios is a portrait artist and painter serving New Albany, Indiana and beyond with commissioned and original realistic fine art pastel, watercolor, and acrylic paintings.