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Dark pastels
Steven, Doreen,
Actually there are a great deal of dark pastels available nowadays. The quality and color range in the last 5 years have exploded. Schminke, Unison and Great American have a range of darks and some sets devoted to darks or dunkles.
I am now doing a series or pastel dance figures, one is on my introduction. They started out from life, but as my model went back to Japan, all I had left was the costumes. I put them on a dress figure to get the color and it keys the color of the face. I use the photo only as a drawing and value reference.
I had drawn many models in that same lighting situation so I had somewhat a grasp of the color on the skintones.
Pastel is in my view one of the most difficult mediums to master. You have to match the color you see with a stick of pastel, I may use 10 to
20 just in a face.
I think the problem with most of the portrait pastels I see, including yours is the overwhelming desire to use the lights and highlights.
In the thread, "Critiques and Anger, a Lethal Mix") I have outlined what I think is a series of steps to take if you are serious about improving.
When you first wade into color I would suggest oils first to master the nuances of skintone, then it is much easier to master pastel.
I like and have studied Daniel Greenes videos on drawing, pastel and oil portraiture.
The cast drawing is an excellent way to begin, it is a time honored method.
I also have a thread on pastels on Materials And Methods, which is a somewhat of a guide for materials.
Continue working from life.
Sincerely,
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