What initially drew you to hyper-realism, and how did you decide that pastels would be your medium of choice?
I’ve been drawing animals since I was little, especially horses. Either by imagining them, or by trying to reproduce photos but always with graphite pencil. And then in 2020, I discovered hyperrealistic portraits of animals made with soft pastel while hanging out on Instagram. I find this both impressive and magnificent and it makes me want to try this type of exercise. I never worked in color, I didn’t even know what soft pastel was, so I learned the basics by watching videos on YouTube. After a while, I decided to acquire the equipment and get started. I loved it straight away.
What techniques do you use to layer and blend pastels to achieve such lifelike textures and finishes?
On my paintings there are a lot of different textures, whether on the animals or in the backgrounds. When I draw, I proceed zone by zone, I concentrate on one piece of the painting before moving on to another. For each piece, I start by laying down my colors a little roughly with my pencils, in several layers. I blend, with my fingers, a twist or a sponge to blend the colors together, then I go over it if necessary with my colors to create the right shades. This gives me a base, on which I will create finer and more precise details, until I arrive at the result I want. To obtain this finesse, I only use pencils because they do not saturate the paper too much. I use sticks for my backgrounds, and even then, I regularly make my slightly complex backgrounds only with pencils.
How do you pick your subjects, and what do you look for before starting a piece?
When I make a painting for myself, choosing the photo is a moment that I love. I choose my photos either from those that I was able to take myself (this is the case for my painting of the lioness) or from royalty-free image banks. I’m looking for a photo that will give me an emotion, that will touch me. It’s not just the animal that interests me. There is the general atmosphere, the light, something in the animal’s gaze, a posture, colors… sometimes I take the entire photo as a model, other times I reinvent the background to highlight more value to the subject. My goal is to enhance a photo that I already find magnificent.
Why do you choose not to use fixative on your pastel paintings, and how do you ensure the longevity and preservation of your artwork without it?
When I started pastel, I learned from many other pastel artists that fixative had the disadvantage of altering colors and damaging certain small details, which can be very frustrating. In addition, certain papers like the Pastelmat that I use are ideally abrasive and retain the pigments enough to easily do without fixative provided you frame your painting under glass. Framing is the best way to protect a pastel in a lasting manner. I systematically frame my paintings (under real glass, not acrylic) and I advise all my clients to do the same because it is the best way to perfectly preserve the pastel.
As a self-taught artist, what were some of the biggest challenges you faced while mastering hyper-realism with pastels?
The biggest challenge of hyperrealism, I think, is being able to train your eye to correctly observe the subject to be reproduced. Train him to capture every nuance, every detail of his model and to be able to draw them faithfully. It is a difficult exercise. For example, to draw a white cat you often have to use colors that you wouldn’t believe like blue or green but which are essential to have a realistic effect. In black coats, multiple colors such as purple or red are often essential but difficult to see on the model. You really have to accustom your eye to observing your model as it is, not as our brain imagines it.
What advice would you give to aspiring artists who want to pursue hyper-realism, especially with pastels?
I would say to them: dare, persevere and above all observe because observation is for me the key to hyperrealism.
And also…have fun!
Portfolio
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Reglisse Maika Capucine
Cécile Carrega
Le tamia
Cécile Carrega
Misstinguette
Cécile Carrega
Le Daim
Cécile Carrega
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