H is for HER

This summer I taught a week long workshop on Faces. In the process of researching fabulous faces painted by artists I stumbled across Kees Van Dongen, a Dutch Fauvist who painted in the early to mid 20th century . I had never seen his work before.
I LOVE it.

His paintings are bold, vibrant, colorful portraits that absolutely tell a story about each woman in his paintings. Some describe his work as garish - to me his work is glorious.

I have spent hours looking at copies of his portraits, especially focusing on the way he used color -  green shadows? Cool.

So, I have been trying to learn how he makes this work by copying some of his pictures. Instead of paint, I have been working in pastels to get a feel for the layers of color. Today's face seems to have captured the Art Deco girl (my favorite style), the cool soft coloring, and still let my own style come through.