Part-time lecturer, full time mum, cook, cleaner, gardener etc, and wannabe artist. I paint contemporary portraits in soft pastels and oils, mostly from my own photos, but also from photos taken by others - with the gracious permission of the photographer. I aim for realism, but I don't do "photo realism". I have recently started to sell paintings and take on commissions in order to "feed my habit" - i.e. find those new faces to paint and pay for the materials. Oh, and I have recently bought a Nikon D90, so that I can take my own reference photos. Wish I knew how to use it!!