Pastel Portrait Step by Step – Painting Flo

Sometimes a portrait painting calls you. Not for developing your technique or for the challenge, but because of who it’s about. In this post, I’m sharing a pastel portrait step by step, from initial sketch to final strokes. 

This portrait carries something extra. It’s a portrait I’ve wanted to paint for a long time: the subject is Flo, one of the care workers at the Salt Spring Island hospital where my Dad died on 31 December 2025.

She was warmth, joy, and grace in human form — so alive, so present. In those last days, she brought something light and human into a space that could feel unbearably heavy.

I didn’t know if I could do her, and the feelings I had about her, justice. But this month in the IGNITE! Membership, we’re focusing on portraits — and I knew it was time, time to finally begin.

The Drawing Up

I started with a quick full page sketch, trying to capture her expression and the gentle tilt of her head. I was intrigued by the way her hair was scooped up and contained in her headwrap.

Following that, as I planned to go ahead with a pastel portrait, I did a quick thumbnail to choose a distribution of three values. 

Then, once I’d chosen the paper and size to work on (UART mounted on board, 16 x 12 in), I drew up the face in vine charcoal. I was almost put off the whole thing at this point as I struggled to place all the parts. UGH. I didn’t want or need a complete drawing but I did want eyes, nose, mouth, and ear properly located!

At this point, everything was still full of possibility (and yes, anxiety!). 

I started. 

I pulled three colours in three different values from my Unison Colour set of pastels — light blue (light value), ochre (middle), and brown (dark) — plus the middle-value pink Sennelier, and began.

And then I slowly built the piece. Generally, I will work all over the whole painting but for this one, the face was where I spent much of my time at the start (understandably I think!).

The Messy Middle

There’s always that moment where things look… awful. I hit it about a quarter of the way into this piece. The piece felt raw and ugly. The drawing seemed off. The colours weren’t singing. And so much paper showed through the pastel. Doubt was definitely creeping in. I could feel the inner critic starting to jabber away.

But I told myself: stay with it.

This is the part where you decide to trust the process rather than take the easy (and unsatisfying) route and walk away.

Getting On With It

Once I’d applied more pastel, building up the layers, I could feel Flo coming into focus. That’s when I got excited again — refining the eyes, creating the loose design on her headscarf, deepening the colours in her skin (ohhhhh that reflected pink!).

I thought about her a lot as I worked. Not just what she looked like, but how she was. That grounded presence. The kindness in her eyes.

Tweaks and Finishing Touches

The painting was starting to feel like it was working but ohhhh, the background was a mess where my finger had touched the paper when I was too lazy (forgetful??) to use my mahlstick (slap my wrist!).

Nearing the end, I tidied up the background and added the final highlights to eyes, nose, cheek, and earring. I was also asking myself: Is the painting saying what I want it to say?

Not perfection.
But presence. And kindness.

I think yes.

Pastels I Used

I worked mainly with Unison Colour soft pastels BUT one of the reasons I chose to do this particular pose was the bright pink uniform Flo was wearing. And because, so far, the Unison Colour brand doesn’t have that kind of intense pink, I jumped into my Sennelier pastels and picked the deliciously gorgeous #342 fuchsia. 

As always, I kept my palette fairly limited to allow the colours to harmonise across her skin, hair, and head wrap. 

But Then…

I thought I was done, but when I checked the painting with a mat, the vignetting at the edges — that I thought I could get away with — just seemed to attract my eye too much. So I went back in to cover more of the paper.

And here is the finished piece (at least I think it is!) with a closeup. 

Final Thoughts

I’m so glad I finally got into my studio to paint Flo. 

This was about giving my attention to someone who showed up for my family with such deep caring in a time of distress and great sorrow, whose underlying joie de vivre helped us cope with my Dad’s final days.  

Sharing this pastel portrait step by step wasn’t just about showing you the progression of the piece. It was to show that even when the going gets tough in a painting, the best thing to do is keep going, keep painting. Quitting does not serve you in your growth as an artist. 

It also speaks to doing the painting that keeps calling you — even when you aren’t sure you can do it justice. You can only know the answer if you start the painting. We always win or we learn by the doing.

This painting of Flo is the first of what I think will be a small series — portraits of care, of presence, of someone who may not be remembered widely, but whose impact was deeply felt.

Thank you, Flo.

Over to you!

Has someone ever inspired you to create a piece of art? I’d love to hear who — and why — in the comments.

I’d also love to know if this pastel portrait step by step was helpful! Please leave any thoughts or questions below.

Until next time,

~ Gail

PS. I decided not to include the photo I worked from, out of respect for Flo’s privacy — but I hope the sketch, final portrait, and progress shots tell the story just the same.