Reviewer: Dan S.

This video is one of the best I've seen. Very informative and I learned a lot from her tips.

Reviewer: Barbara H.

Good video on both portraiture and pastel techniques.

Reviewer: Evelyn Y.

The information Perri shared on the video was very good. Unfortunately, she did not get a likeness of the model, which sort of defeated the whole purpose.

Reviewer: Donald K.

Very informative. A very good demonstration of simplifying a drawing to dark and light areas and then adding warms and cools and more specific local color. I've read many how-to books and seen a few DVDs, but was still able to learn a lot of new techniques from Perri Sparks.

Reviewer: Sandra B.

I noticed that another reviewer said that she didn't get a likeness of the model. I think the likeness was very good. She also said that if it was a commission, she would paint for many more hours to get a more realistic look.

I, personally, feel that this is one of the greatest videos I have seen on painting portraits. Although I paint in oils, I found her explanation of the whole process exactly what I needed and wish I had seen it when I first started painting portraits.

Reviewer: Sandra B.

This is a wonderful video on portraiture no matter what media you use. I ordered it simply to see how anyone can draw a portrait using pastel. It seemed like an impossible task. Now I want to buy pastels!

There were so many interesting techniques and instructions, I made notes. I played it three times before returning it to SmartFlix.

I regret not having this video when I started painting 5 years ago. I think she achieved a remarkable likeness from the very first lay ins of light and dark, but did say that if it was a commission piece she would have to work several more hours to refine the painting. I liked this video so much I purchased her video on painting a portrait in oil.

Sandra B.

Reviewer: Mary Y.

This was an excellent DVD. Perri went into depth regarding measurements of the head and how to achieve a likeness. I rented the pastel disc, but I feel that it would be helpful to other media artists as well.

Reviewer: Marti M.

Extremely educational, I would highly recommend it.

Reviewer: Marti M.

Perri Sparks is a very organised person, Her process is not only well thought out but well taught. I would highly recommend this film.

Reviewer: Michael K.

The amount of information here is great. Highly recommended if you want to start painting/drawing portraits. Everything was outlined clearly and directions were great. 5 stars

Reviewer: kathleen c.

Perri Sparks presents a dirth of information in a very organized and easy to understand manner. This dvd really helped me with the idea of layers of color, i.e. dark and light then moving into hot and cold. I highly recommend it.

Reviewer: Dee Ann H.

Excellent! Perri Sparks covers every aspect of creating a likeness in oils, couldn't have asked for a more thorough lesson/workshop. Great painter, great instructor.

Reviewer: Martine V.

This pastel DVD is probably one of the best I saw (along with those of Daniel Greene, Wende Caporale and Gwenneth Barth). You'll learn a lot about measurements, the choice of color for light, shadow and midtones and a lot of useful topics for portrait artist. You can benefit from this video even if it's not for pastel. Also, Perri knows how to communicate her knowledge with serious and fun! Don't hesitate it's a gem!

Reviewer: Elizabeth B.

I recommend this video for someone who is interested in learning how to integrate color variety into skin tones. My criticism is that I would have preferred that she omit the minimally-relevant lectures inserted between stages and, instead, use that time to show us much more about the final finishing steps when she started to add a layer of the actual skin color she sees over the colorful warms and cools below. She talked about it but we didn't actually see or hear her give us her thoughts about this. To me, this is the difficult stage, integrating the colors so they are not too "spotty".

I looked for her 2nd video hoping that it moved on to this but was disappointed to find that it was an oil painting video.

Reviewer: mike b.

The dvd was very good, and easy to understand.