I worked on 16" x 20" grey Canson paper for this project., and enjoyed the ability to blend the pastels on the smooth surface. Robert is a great guy who teaches film at the Cleveland Art Insistute, and although he is an easygoing guy, I thought this portrait captured his serious and intense "filmmaker" side. I attempt to keep the outer areas of my portraits looser then the focal point, which is the face. Getting a likeness is what's most important to me, and although my tendency is to work in a realistic way, I like the painterly quality in the outer areas... and like to leave that for the viewer to see. I use a variety of pastels, but mostely Great American Art Works (the Judith Carducci pastel collection), and Sennelier.