I prayed for this child, and the lord has granted me what I asked of him. – 1 Samuel 1:27
“Victor in the Pines”, 9×12″, pastel on Canson Velvet Pastel Paper by Annie Dash Studios
When our oldest son was 4 years old, my husband and I took him and his brothers to Valley View Farms in Cockeysville, MD at Christmastime. Our boys were enchanted by the beautifully decorated Christmas trees, lights, and ornaments.
Victor peered at me through the pine trees on their lot and I took the following photograph of him, which perfectly captured his countenance and curiosity at a precious time in his life:
I used PanPastels to produce a painterly look for the underpainting of the face, hair, background, shirt, then added layers of Rembrandt pastel sticks, and pastel pencils for all the detail work. I chose to soften the deep shadows for this piece, as they are often too harsh for portrait work, especially of children.
Here is a collage of the stages and many layers of this work:
I truly enjoyed creating this beautiful portrait, and am very happy with the end result! I believe that pastel portraits have the ability to capture the essence of not only how people look, but who they are.
As they say, time is fleeting, but art endures. I hope that Victor enjoys this piece well into his golden years and remembers this special time in his life and how loved he is.
I hope that you enjoy this work as well — if so, please be sure to leave a comment below.
If you’re interested 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.