Nina Progress

This is a big portrait and I have so much to do, but here it is, in all its rough vulnerability. Nina has sat for me twice. Now I must print out some photos to use as reference. This will be good, because my studio is tiny and I was practically in Nina's lap while working on this. I need to get waaaay back from the drawing and use the photos to help me construct the figure. I had to rebuild and turn the torso - still needs work. Yesterday I sprayed it with workable fixative - the pastel was getting so it wasn't sticking to the surface - the fixative gives the paper a new tooth. It also deepens the pastel on the paper and now I can layer on top of that. Nina also added some new props, including the neon ribbon headband. She is going to e-mail me some images of Ukraine women to use in her portrait.