Drawing Children in Pastel Pencils

This is the first stage of the painting of the two children based on Emile Vernon Poster's Painting. This is going to be a delight to do and as you can see the pastel pencils are proving to be an ideal medium for this subject.I needed a different approach with this subject as I normally paint adult portraits. The main difference is in the smoothness and translucence of the skin, no lines or wrinkles. To achieve this effect I used the usual white, ivory and ochre's but added greys to the mix. The eyes were particularly tricky and I had to adopt a more impressionistic approach, but this was all to the good as I feel that they are turning out well so far. The nose, lips and teeth are again a very different process from my usual adult techniques but once again I am pleased with how they have come out. This face is not finished as yet for I will return to add more refinements as the picture progresses.I will pose an interesting question for you. Try to guess what part of the picture of the two children would you do next - The hair? The other child's face? The background? Well I won't give it away here but I can say there is a very good reason why I have chosen which part it will be and I will explain the reasons next time.