The painter of animals

This is a three-quarter portrait with light raking across the face from the left and slightly above, creating strong modeling on the cheekbones and a sculptural quality to the features. The subject's distinctive facial hair—a broad mustache and goatee—defines the face immediately and draws the eye. The formal black coat with white collar provides a stark value anchor below the face, while the background is a warm cream tone energized by loose, gestural pastel marks in pink, blue, and mauve that give the portrait an Impressionist vitality. The composition is intimate: the figure fills most of the frame, and the eye travels from the face's modeling to the expressive marks floating around the shoulders.

The darkest darks are concentrated in three places: the hair, the beard, and the black coat. The lightest lights are the white collar and select highlights on the face (forehead, nose bridge, left cheekbone). The face itself sits in a warm mid-to-light value range, with pronounced shadow planes on the right side that give it dimension. When you squint, you see a light face emerging from a dark torso against a warm, interrupted background—the background marks are intentionally soft and secondary so they don't compete with the portrait's focus.

• #1a1618

  Ivory black + burnt umber

  Deepest shadows in facial hair, coat, and eye sockets

• #b79480

  Yellow ochre + red ochre + white + touch of burnt sienna

  Base flesh tone across the face and neck

• #d6c4ab

  Yellow ochre + white + small amount of red ochre

  Warm midtone background and lighter passages on the face

• #e0d3b9

  Naples yellow + white

  Cream highlights and the brightest background areas

• #4f3e3c

  Burnt umber + touch of ultramarine

  Mid-dark beard and shadow planes on the face

• #2d2627

  Ivory black + burnt umber + ultramarine

  Black coat and darkest hair masses

The pastel handling here is direct and expressive, not precious. The face features softer, blended edges where the light transitions into shadow (especially along the temple and cheekbones), created by working the pastel with a stump or light finger blending. The beard and mustache are rendered with crisp, deliberate strokes that follow the hair direction—these stay sharp. The background shows loose marks layered over the paper: some strokes are left visible as individual gestures, others are lightly scumbled or dragged. The white collar is applied thickly and opaquely, never blended, so it reads as a bold accent. Notice the paper itself is left showing in many places, particularly around the background marks, which gives the work its luminosity.

1. 01

   Tone the paper and block the composition

   Your pastel paper is already a warm cream tone—this is essential to the work's light, airy feeling. Lightly sketch the head shape, the angle of the shoulders, and the centerline of the face using a dark pastel or charcoal. Keep the lines loose. Notice the head tilts slightly; the left edge of the face (viewer's left) is more vertical than the right. The shoulders are a simple rectangular mass below.

2. 02

   Lay in the background gesture marks

   Before you touch the face, establish the background's energy. Using pink, rose, blue, and mauve pastels, make loose, expressive marks around the head and shoulders—don't aim for control. These marks float; they're not meant to be architectural. The marks concentrate more densely in the upper right. Let these sit as rough notes; they'll anchor the portrait's compositional balance. This step prevents the face from feeling pasted on later.

3. 03

   Establish the facial value structure

   Block in the large value shapes using your flesh-tone and yellow-ochre pastels. The left side of the face (viewer's left, his right) is lighter and more illuminated; the right side is notably warmer and darker. Don't blend yet—just establish where light and shadow live. The eye sockets are deep and shadowed from above; the cheekbones catch light. Lay down a warmer, darker shadow plane along the right jaw and neck.

4. 04

   Define the facial features and expression

   Begin refining the eyes, nose, and mouth. The eyes have a particular intensity and warmth; the pupils are dark but not dead black—they have a soft edge. The nose is relatively simple in structure, and its shadow bends to the right. The mustache and goatee are the character of this face: draw the mustache shape carefully, arcing slightly downward at the ends, and show the goatee as a defined, pointed mass. These require sharp, deliberate marks, not blending. Notice the mouth line is subtle, mostly in shadow.

5. 05

   Refine the face through selective blending

   Now blend the transition zones selectively. Use a stump or soft tissue to smooth the cheekbones and temples where light meets shadow—but leave the brow line, eye sockets, and facial hair crisp. The goal is modeling and dimension, not smoothness. The face should read as sculpted, with the formal features (eyes, mouth, beard) remaining sharp enough to hold likeness.

6. 06

   Establish the clothing mass

   The black coat is a simple geometric shape framing the face. Block it in using your darkest pastels (ivory black + burnt umber). The white collar at the neck is bright and contrasts sharply; lay it in with thick, opaque white pastel—don't blend it. The coat's edge against the background should be mostly hard, not soft, to maintain its graphic strength. Keep the clothing secondary to the face in detail.

7. 07

   Layer and refine the background

   Return to the background marks with a second layer of color. Add more saturated pinks, blues, and a touch of red—these can overlap the earlier marks. Some areas remain loose; others can have a subtle scumble or dragging motion to suggest movement. The key is that the background stays subordinate—when you step back, the face reads clearly against it. The paper tone should remain visible in places, creating luminosity.

8. 08

   Final refinement and accents

   Step back and assess overall value relationships. The darkest darks should be in the hair and coat; the lightest lights in the collar and forehead highlights. If the face feels flat, strengthen the shadow plane along the right side. Add any final crisp strokes to the mustache or beard to sharpen expression. Soften any edges that feel too hard except where they anchor the face's likeness. A light fixative spray will stabilize your work.

• Over-blending the face into uniformity—this portrait lives in the contrast between soft modeled planes and crisp features; blend selectively, not everywhere.
• Making the background marks too controlled or symmetrical—they should feel gestural and spontaneous, even if placed deliberately.
• Losing the distinctive facial hair through insufficient contrast or by blending it away—the mustache and goatee are the portrait's character and must remain sharp and defined.
• Letting the black coat read as heavy or dead—it should have subtle value variation and texture, not appear as a flat silhouette.
• Making the white collar too chalky or isolated—it should feel like a bright accent that sits naturally within the color harmony.

beginner friendliness

value contrast

palette complexity

compositional simplicity

brushwork visibility