Kim Blair Artist

Laura's portrait by Kim Blair

Laura

(or as I like to call her in this portrait...'Laura of Green Gables')

(14"x11" pastel on 300 lb. gessoed w.c. paper)

My friend Laura loves animals... dogs in particular... and has a dog walking business in Calgary, AB, where she lives with her husband Tim. As you can probably tell from her rosy complexion she enjoys going for long walks outdoors with her furry clients and sometimes takes along her two gorgeous dogs 'Chili' and 'Morley.'

You can find her business on Facebook under: Laura & Dogs

Look how much Laura's furry clients love her... some of them even have a copy of her portrait to snuggle with... how cute is that!

;)

A special note to my subscribers:

*If you received this blog post via email subscription the video below will show up as a black box... and will not play in your email. Please go directly to my art blog by clicking on the following link for kimblairartist.blogspot.com in order to view the short 2 minute video of the creation of this portrait.

Ruth's Portrait by Kim Blair

Ruth

(14"x11" pastel on 300 lb. gessoed w.c. paper)

Many years ago I met my friend Ruth at our neighbourhood gardening club and we have remained friends ever since. Besides having a gardening green thumb she has been known to have a painted green thumb from wielding her own paint brush...as she too is an artist.

While having coffee with her this past July I expressed my wish to paint her portrait and she graciously agreed...allowing me to snap a few photos of her sitting across from me in the cafe. The afternoon sunlight illuminated her face and clothing creating the perfect reference photo.

There's no denying Van Gogh's creative influence in this portrait of my friend Ruth.

;)

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Ali's portrait in pastel, by Kim Blair

Ali

(14"x11" pastel on 300 lb. gessoed w.c. paper)

Ali is a very talented photographer and is the daughter of our friends Heather and Ken (the two previously posted portraits). She is a lovely young woman who enjoys traveling...which is where her love of photographer comes in handy. Ali's hair was a bit windswept (like her dad's in his portrait) and the effect was a treat to recreate using various shades of cream and yellow pastels.

While in a vintage shop recently I was rummaging around in some old photos and postcards... look what I found...

;)

A special note to my subscribers:

(If you received this blog post via email subscription but the video below is a black box... and will not play in your email... then please go directly to my art blog kimblairartist.blogspot.com in order to view the short, 2 minute video there

Ken's Portrait, by Kim Blair

Ken

(14"x11" pastel on 300 lb. gessoed w.c. paper)

The reference photo for this portrait was taken while Ken and Heather (he is married to Heather who's portrait I posted last week) were dining at an outdoor cafe. I burst out laughing when I saw it saying, "OMG Ken, you look like a rocker!" They said it had been a 'bit' breezy that day which is why Ken's hair looks a touch wind swept. I had so much fun painting his hair!

That look is definitely Rock Star material... and low and behold look what I found in the vinyl section of a local record store recently...

;)

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Heather's Portrait, by Kim Blair

Heather

(14"x11" pastel on gessoed 300 lb. w.c. paper)

Heather has the most beautiful thick hair! It was fun selecting the colours for her gorgeous mane...rusty brown, burgundy, terra cotta even some rich blue similar to the colour of her t-shirt. Okay, Okay so I took some artistic license adding the blue...but it works!

This portrait of my friend Heather reminds me a bit of a contemporary 'Mona Lisa'... a calm, relaxed look ...with the hint of a smile.

;)

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Gord's Pastel Portrait, by Kim Blair

Gord

(14"x11" pastel on 300 lb gessoed w.c. paper)

I think by looking at this portrait you can tell that our friend Gord is quite a character! He loves to have a good time and enjoys playing a practical joke or two when he gets the chance. He is married to Lois, the woman who's portrait I posted last week.

Gord loves a good cup of java... and the baristas at his favourite coffee shop have practiced making his foam extra special!
;)

When I texted Lois the portraits of her and Gord a few weeks ago I had no idea that the day I to sent the images to her turned out to be their 20th wedding anniversary!

Happy 20th Anniversary Lois and Gord

Lois in pastel, by Kim Blair

Lois

(14"x11" pastel on gessoed 300 lb w.c. paper)

Lois is such a good sport!

I told her she is my 'test portrait' because this is the third portrait I painted of her... and as the saying goings "Third time's a charm."

The first two times I painted her portrait using acrylic paint on gessoed w.c. paper... the second attempt was better than the first...but the third portrait (painted with caran d'ache aquarelle pastels on a terra cotta toned acrylic ground) that you see posted here is my favourite!

Since these caran d'ache aquarelle pastels are now my portrait medium of choice I invested in the large boxed set of 84 colours... a very early birthday gift to myself.

*(Next week you will see the pastel portrait I painted of her husband Gord)

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Pam's Portrait by Kim Blair

Pam

(14x11 pastel on gessoed 300 lb w.c. paper)

The day Pam showed me the photo used for this portrait on her cell phone I felt an immediate jolt of inspiration to paint her portrait! Her striped jacket reminded me of Van Gogh's portrait 'Portrait of Trabuc', and of course then the desire to paint her was doubled.

Pam's portrait was the first one I completed using caran d'ache pastels. I began with a purple toned acrylic background and drew her in graphite, then started applying the pastels in various marks and random patterns.

If you zoom in on the image above you will see the spontaneous interwoven pastel marks that read as a unified whole when viewed from a distance.

*Below is a 2 minute slideshow of Pam's Portrait from beginning to completion.

A special note to my subscribers:

Christine's Portrait in Pastels

Christine

(14"x11" pastel on gessoed

300 lb. w.c. paper)

I've been working on creating portraits of friends and relatives in various mediums over the past few months, trying to figure out which medium works the best for me.

Caran d'Ache aquarelle pastels seems to be the right fit for this project, although I did paint a fun one of my husband Ferdinand in acrylics that I will post at a later date.

This type of pastel does not create dust like regular soft pastels... they have a very high pigment content and are made in Switzerland.

The Swiss certainly know how to make top quality chocolate... and pastels... who could ask for anything more?

*I hope the little video/slideshow I created from still photos works. I posted it to facebook tonight and it worked there.

(Short video/slideshow of my drawing and painting of Christine's Portrait)

New large abstract painting, by Kim Blair

What's on my easel?

(a completed 4'x3' abstract painting)
'Montego Bay'

The same 4'x3' abstract painting
Montego Bay

(hanging in our dining room)

I completed this large abstract painting a few weeks ago... it now resides in our dining room.

This painting, 'Montego Bay' was inspired by our trip to Jamaica this past December... but the colours have been calling to me for quite a while. Aqua blue and green tones are the predominate colours accented with a variety of greys, bits of rust/brown and a few passages of deeper blue hues... all applied with a palette knife and various other tools.

Of course my signature scraping and drawing into the thick wet paint to reveal a bit of history can be seen when viewed from close range.

Watch 'Loving Vincent', suggested by Kim Blair

(beginning sketch of

Armand Roulin)

(completed painting 'after Van Gogh's painting of

Armand Roulin')

The visually scrumptious animated movie 'Loving Vincent' has been nominated for an Oscar for 'Best Animated Feature Film.' It is a beautiful movie with Armand Roulin playing the lead role, which is why I have reposted the painting I created in 2013, after Vincent's painting of Armand.

It was a challenge, but also fun to try and replicate Vincent's colour choices and brush work. This is one of only a handful of pieces I kept from all the art work I created during the many painting and drawing classes while attending the U of A.

The movie, 'Loving Vincent' is now available (through the 'digital content' site called Hoopla) at our public library, here in Edmonton.

The Oscars are March 4, 2018...

Enjoy!

Winter Sky I, by Kim Blair

Winter Sky I

(14"x11" oil on canvas)

A prairie winter can feel a bit bleak... but if an artist enlists the gift of imagination a winter sky can be transformed from a frigid landscape into a magical vista.

This piece was created using thick oil paint and a palette knife. Click on the image to have a close up look at the texture.

Winter Sky I

14"x11" oil on canvas (*needs some drying time)