Hayley Ostronic, Self Portrait, 2026, soft pastel on Canson Mi-Tientes Velvet

© Hayley Ostronic. All rights reserved.

This is proving to be one of the most challenging pieces I’ve ever done. It’s been taking a while, since I‘ve had to do a lot of optical blending to maintain vibrancy and luminosity by layering strokes of color. I’ve found trying to blend with a tool or my fingers risks muddiness and just doesn‘t produce the same effect. Lots of experimentation and learning throughout this process.

I still have to finish the dorsal sepal, falls, and perianth tube, but I’m pretty happy with how it’s turned out so far. Obviously I’ll need to clean up the background, but that will be done last, for obvious reasons.

This is one of my first pieces after a long hiatus from my artwork. I was afraid I’d lost all my skill after 15 years but I ended up surprising myself. Very excited about this piece so I couldn’t wait to share.

All that to say, it’s never too late to get back into your artwork. Trust yourself. Your brain and hands remember more than you know.