This painting started out as a quick sketch of my niece. It wasn’t entirely accurate, so the real likeness is not there, but I decided to continue working on it anyway and produce a nice portrait of a little girl.
![Quick sketch](http://www.meilindis.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/2014-10-02-19.55.07-800x582.jpg)
First I worked with my harder Jaxell pastels, to block in the darker areas and getting the values right. It looked more like a little gypsy girl because of my limited palette! I was almost tempted to add the famous tear…
![Set up with the Jaxells](http://www.meilindis.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/2014-10-03-11.42.09-800x581.jpg)
Then I brought out the softer Sennelier and Schmincke pastels. It almost feels like painting with butter! I layered more colours on top and smoothened the looks a bit. The hat is still a bit unfinished at this point, but I don’t feel like adding more detail to it now. Maybe later?
![Finish with Sennelier and Schmincke pastels](http://www.meilindis.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/2014-10-03-13.28.101-800x579.jpg)