Adriatic seacoast plein air

I just returned from visiting Adriatic seacoast in Croatia. I spent nine days on Island Vis. This island used to be a navy base and was restricted for tourists. Now it is becoming know for its quiet and relaxed atmosphere, beautiful beaches, caves, old Venetian fortifications and towers, ancient hellenic walls, and how could I forget, amazing local vines. 

I took with me my small pastel set and bigger full plein air set too. Out of practicality and ease I used the small set more often. This limited me in terms of color range, but it gave me opportunity to paint more often because I could cary the set anywhere. I am building a new portable set that is slightly bigger and will cary more pastels. I will post about it when it is finished.

This is the first of two posts from this trip.

"Island Vis: Grandovac beach"

"Island Vis: Luka"

 "Svitnja beach"

Portrait commission

Here is a commissioned painting that I recently finished. I started with a small concept painting, searching for the right mood, colour and composition. I was not concentrating at capturing the exact likeness at this stage as much as I wanted to  figure out what message or story I wanted to convey.

Of course, for the final painting I paid attention at likeness accuracy, which is nerve racking at times. The client was satisfied with the work, and to me that is the most important aspect of any commission.

"Study for Luka"    5x8in    Pastel on Canson

 "Luka"      11x14in     Pastel on Canson