Artist, instructor, and author Alain J. Picard has a passion: To reveal beauty through art and help artists develop their creative potential.
Picard is on the faculty of the upcoming virtual art conference, Pastel Live. We asked him to share his inspiration behind one of his incredible pastel portraits, titled “Wonder” (shown above).
“My neighbor Cailee is an amazing dancer,” Picard said. “She posed for me in a series of young ballerina paintings, and this one is still my favorite. I just love the beautiful rim lighting and childlike beauty.
“’Wonder’” is a great example of using dynamic contrast in mark-making and color. The skin of this child is pearlescent and smooth, with very refined skin tones.
“For contrast, I used bold marks and color accents in the tulle skirt beneath her face, as well as the flower crown and background. These bold marks contrast in color, refinement, and shape to the sensitively refined skin.”
Additional Pastel Paintings by Alain Picard:
“The objective for my upcoming Pastel Live lesson is to share a painterly depiction of an arrangement of orange slices,” Picard added. His lesson will demonstrate “dynamic contrast with bold marks, edge variety, and complementary color contrast to stimulate the viewer’s senses in a loose, citrus-inspired painting. It’s going to be such fun!”
Connect with the artist:
Website | Instagram
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