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"I am a retired veterinary surgeon who has become a pastel artist. Born in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, I now live and work in the heart of the Herefordshire countryside. I was introduced to pastels as a teenager by a friend of my father’s and in fact I still have remnants of my first set of pastels. I passed A level art at 16, then went on to complete a veterinary science degree - my understanding of animals allows me to add that something extra to my artwork. As a pastel artist I feel that pastels have a great vibrancy and richness of colour that is often under appreciated. I work largely from photographs and undertake commission work as well as create artwork in a wide range of subject matter. I like to give each piece a three-dimensional effect and detail is of importance to me - each 12in by 16in artwork takes me 25 to 30 hours to complete. I have completed a large number of works in the past 15 years, many of which can be seen on my website. I admire the work of many artists including the Impressionists, Pre-Raphaelites, David Shepherd, Simon Coombes and many of my contemporaries. I have exhibited widely in Herefordshire and currently have original work exhibited at the Sable and Hogg Gallery in Brecon, Wales. My next exhibition at home during Herefordshire Art (H-art) week between the 8 and 16th of September.
"The Aviator" is an interpretation of a image by an unknown photographer using soft pastel and pastel pencils on Colourfix pastelboard. This image attracted me because his character shines through and he must have appealed to others as he sold very quickly. I enjoyed capturing the details and creating a 3D effect in the completed painting using layers of colour.
I use a mixture of Rembrandt and Artspectrum soft pastels for the background and a mixture of Derwent (soft), Conte (medium). Cretacolour (hard) and Faber Castell (hard) pastel pencils. I sharpen them with a blade and sandpaper to get a fine point for the fine details of the hair, beard, eyebrows etc." - Ivan Jones