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Saturday Soft Pastel Painting

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I made this soft pastel painting in 7 hours. Initially I wanted to use the reference for August's Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators Draw This, but I was disappointed with the final result; therefore I discarded it.  As an artist there'll be one of those dreadful moments that you'll hit rock bottom and the only creative therapy you can turn to is art. I won't deeply delve into it, but I can say that it propelled me to create the latter piece within one day.  The last week I explored, researched, and experimented with soft pastel. There were countless errors, and I am certain there still are, but I learned from it. I had to be meticulous with the type of paper (which I used Canson Colorline Black Paper). I also learn to manipulate the fixative spray - using it to add more layers or darken some region of the picture. Overall, I am not disappointed with this piece, but one day I'll look back at it and see the sole reason for why I create art.  -Bi...
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Soft Pastel Landscape Painting

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I really enjoyed creating this piece. Although I don't consider it one of my best, it was a great audacious start to exploring soft pastel. I made a few mistakes; one mistake was using strathmore tone paper. Nevertheless, the piece turned out well. After I finished painting the piece, I digitally rendered it - adding the pandas. Initially the landscape looked emptied and there was no focal point; therefore I added mama and baby panda to give the viewer something to look at. In addition, I added more whites to the clouds, and covered up or added colors to necessary areas. I hope you enjoy it!
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Introduction

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Hello there! Thank you very much for checking out my blog. First and foremost, I would like to introduce myself: My name is Billy Thao, and I am a children's illustrator and visual artist based within the Twin Cities, Minnesota. I've exhibited and donated numerous  artworks around the Twin Cities; for instance, I'd donated two acrylic pieces to Senator Bigham and Senator Foung Hawj at the State Capitol; I've done a group exhibition in Red Wing. I'd recently finished illustrating my first children's book written by Hmong author, Kao Kalia Yang, titled Yang Warriors which will be publish by University of Minnesota Press in Spring of 2021. Thus, I am very excited! By October of 2020, it will be 10 years since I've began this artistic journey. There were countless trials-and-errors, self-doubts, rock bottoms, but I am grateful that I've made it this far; in addition, I've become the person I am today because of the strenuous persistence and vigor I put i...
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