Christmas Carol

Christmas Carol
13x15 Conte Crayon 
Carol Horzempa
NFS

I've been away from my studio and busy with the holiday madness so I decided to post this drawing I did several years ago. For inspiration I used an old photo taken of me on Christmas morning when I was a small child. This drawing was done with Conte Crayon on Canson drawing paper.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to everyone!

Great-Grandmother

"Great-Grandmother"
12x14 Conte Crayon on paper

Carol Horzempa
NFS

Thirteen years ago I did this portrait of my mother-in-law Estelle meeting her first great-grandchild, Casey Ray. It was a moment in time that I was able to capture with my camera and later as a drawing with Conte Crayon on Bienfang paper. Casey of course is a teenager now. You can see a painting of him titled "13" done by his mom (my daughter) on her blog.

Estelle is ninety-six years young now and is able to remain independent in her own home with the help of family members taking care of her needs.

This is going to be a busy year for me but I hope to focus on doing more portraits in the near future.

Pennsylvania Landscape

"Pennsylvania Landscape"

pastel on sabretooth sandpaper
9x5
NFS

I can’t believe I’m still doing pastels! For days I kept seeing Karin Jurick’s black and white photo of a Pennsylvania landscape in colorful pastels. I found an old sheet of sandpaper for pastels that was laying in a drawer for at least 15 years so I decided to put it to good use. I also took liberty in cropping the photo drastically so I could concentrate on the trees and fields.

For Karin's DSFDF Challenge I understand we were to “invent colors” and “pay attention to how those colors marry with each other.” After poring over my favorite Kevin Macpherson’s book on Landscape Painting – Inside & Out, I found myself using colors I never would have considered. After I had the values down I put the book and photo away.


I really had fun inventing colors and drawing on my memory of Wisconsin landscapes I see so often while driving through the countryside. Even though my colors are not characteristic of Pennsylvania farmland and look more like the southwest I feel I learned a lot from this challenge.

Morning Rush Hour

"Morning Rush Hour"
pastel on paper
7.5x10.5

I decided to do Karin Jurick's latest DSFDF challenge in soft pastel on Canson MI-Teintes pastel paper. Cityscapes are a real stretch for me, especially doing tall buildings in soft pastel. I almost gave up until I started working on the traffic and taxis...my first attempt at drawing cars. I tried to get the feeling of depth with my values. I had a little fun with the people mixed in with traffic and all the spots of color and shapes fading off into the distant.


I used pastel pencils for some of the detail and Rembrandt and Schmincke soft pastels for every thing else. I will definitely be looking forward to getting back to oils in my next challenge!

Diana's Love for Her Hound

"Diana's Love for Her Hound"
     pastel drawing on paper
                  NFS

This is my submission for Karin Jurick’s DSFDF Challenge. We were asked to draw or paint an entire marble sculpture of goddess Diana and her hound. I decided to put away my paints for a while and work on my drawing skills. Karin suggested taking our time working on the three dimensional qualities, details, weight and elegance of the sculpture. My focus was also to capture Diana's loving gaze at her hound as he licked her thigh.

After reams of practice drawings with vine charcoal, one even upside down and backwards, I finally felt confident enough for the final drawing without having to use a grid. The drawing was sketchy so I could correct as I went along, while continuing to work on values, form, and edges at the same time.

I decided to do my drawing on Canson Mi-Teintes pastel paper using the smooth side. I used Stabilo CarbOthello Pastel Pencils that are soft enough for glazing and firm enough to sharpen in an electric pencil sharpener to keep their points sharp for detail.

My experience of working in hard and soft pastel years ago while studying under the guidance of the late James C. Prohl, classical realist painter and teacher has been a big help in this challenge. I never thought I could go back to doing such detailed work again or even have the patience. Thanks to Karin Jurick, she has again come up with a great challenge that stretches my skill further than I thought I could go. Be sure too check the Different Strokes from Different Folks blog for the many wonderful versions of Diana and her hound.