This is a live pastel portrait painting of one of my favorite models, Laura, who I've painted many times, but I always find something new and interesting about her . That's a good model..... I worked on a wonderful surface called R-tis-tx Pastel Board(16" x 20"), which has a nice tooth to it, and just great to work on. After my initial drawing in charcoal, I layed in the shadows and then took a wet sponge and smeared in the deeper values. This gave me a nice foundation on which to work, as well as gave me more mileage out of my pastels. I use a variety of brands, but mostly Great American Art Works (the Judith Carducci portrait selection) and Sennelier.