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!
;)






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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.
;)







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.






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...
;)




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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...
;)



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.


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.
;)




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 this short 2 minute video)