I'm an amateur painter who likes to paint with soft pastels

[LiberalLoner]

8. It's all my work. I've been studying with different artists and so my paintings reflect that.

When I’m studying Les Darlow, I try to paint like he does. When I’m studying Marla Bagetta, I try to paint like she does. Currently I’m studying Bethany Carter Fields and Karen Margulis.

I don’t think I’ve developed my own painting style yet. I’m still in the learning curve.

When I was a kid, I got into trying to draw portraits, with just pencil, so the portraits on that page are probably closest to my own style, if I even have a style, because those are the things I’ve worked on over the years.

I took up pastel painting after I had a bad attack of MS and transverse Myelitis that left me with damage to the “hand knob” of the brain. I took up art again as a way of trying to rehabilitate my right hand.

It helped some but I still do not have the fine motor control I used to have and struggle. I have a bit of an essential tremor, as well as being just kind of clumsy in general.

But it gives me a chance to comfort myself, when a painting goes badly, with the idea that at least I did some good physical therapy for my right hand.