Jessica Crabtree

My latest sketch: mostly soft charcoal, some graphite. The original photo was taken by Edward Curtis – and yes, she is smiling!

Click for larger view

See also: Edward Curtis and Smiling Indians

Another portrait of Braxton, also 8×10 2b graphite.

A recent portrait commission done in soft graphite, 8×10.

Painting a Wolf in Pastels – Part 4

(Click for larger view)

JESSICA CRABTREE NATIVE AMERICAN PORTRAITS & WILDLIFE: Mexican Wolf

Ok, NOW it’s done. I’ll be posting a photo of the finished framed painting shortly. For now you can see it up on my Gallery.

I saved the finest details for last, for instance you’ll notice a few whiskers and claws (plus the sparkle in the eye), but no major changes.

As far as the background and rock setting, I randomly blended some dark greens, blues, and browns into the black suede to give indication of a natural setting; nothing distracting. The rocky ground was also straightforward; I used some of the browns from my wolf’s palette (Nupastels 313 and 283) and the side of a black chalk to block in some craggy textures – no underpainting here, I wanted to keep the texture rough.

Last of all I’ve added my signature using my trusty Pilot marker (for more on this check out my Artist’s Tip Bag post How to Sign a Pastel on Suede Painting).

The latest view of my Mexican wolf painting: click for larger view.

Not much to add since the last time I worked on it – the further along the picture gets, the slower the going is, because most of the time is spent working in finer detail. You can see from looking at the last shot that I’ve roughed in the rocks and an indication of a backdrop, and added some finer detail to the fur around the head and shoulders.

I find that a lot of time in this stage is spent stepping back and looking at the overall picture (especially in the mirror), making last-minute adjustments and a few touch ups here and there. (A word on finishing…)

See the project from the beginning with the following posts:

Sneak Peek: Mexican Wolf – Day 1
Painting a Wolf in Pastels, Part 2

Coming up next: the last installment (finally finished!)

It’s finished! This is my first half-length portrait; normally I opt for a closer head and shoulders view. The original photo, as I mentioned earlier, was an old black and white taken around 1870 (public domain). As far as I can determine no one has been able to identify the photographer. However it is known that the subject’s name was Rabbit Tail and he was one of the Shoshone scouts serving in the US army under Captain Patrick Ray.

Incidentally, there is an oil painting by Joseph Henry Sharp of a Shoshone of that name, leaving many to speculate whether it is actually the same individual. The painting dates to a period when the young Rabbit Tail would have been a middle-aged man. Based on the comparison, I see some similarities, maybe even enough to make the two relatives, but I’m not convinced they’re one and the same.

JESSICA CRABTREE NATIVE AMERICAN PORTRAITS & WILDLIFE: Shoshone

Shoshone, 14×24 original pastel on suede. (click for larger view)

About the Shoshone

The Shoshone people were originally part of a very large extended family of nomadic peoples in what is today the American West. Their traditional territories centered in the arid Great Basin region, where they migrated seasonally hunting wild game and harvesting wild foods. Each of their main bands identified themselves after the staple food they followed.

Migratory bands of Shoshone were among the first Native Americans encountered by European fur traders and adventurers who ventured West in the early 1800s. Perhaps the most famous Shoshone individual of all is Sacagawea, the young woman who worked as a guide and translator for the Lewis & Clark expedition in 1804-1806.

(Click for larger view)

My latest pastel is about halfway finished. Next I’ll be working on the armbands and hands, and finishing his leather vest. After that, some detail work and a few finishing touches and I’ll consider it done.

A quick trick I learned for imitating metallic objects, like the silver-studded border on his vest:
use a plain white colored pencil.

Colored pencils are terrible on suede, but they come in very handy for this one purpose. I use them wherever I need to indicate points of light or very small areas of brilliant white. It’s so much easier than trying to achieve this with chalks. The best part is that the combination of textures works very well – the pencil won’t smear on the suede, so I can cover it with chalk and it still shows up well. Besides, I like the effect.

More to come…

I’ve just released the 2010 edition of my digital portfolio. It’s powered by the Issuu publishing module, an incredibly sophisticated script that converts standard media documents into digital magazines. The function and appearance are similar to Flash, but the load time is minimal.

Click here to view it as a magazine in full-screen mode.

Click for screenshots:

Please check it out and leave your feedback!