Pastel Project: TJs Bouquet Week 3

This week I started the finishing process to my painting I put in background color I detailed out flowers and leaves added more shadows added more detail so that it is virtually finished at this point.

Pastel is a rather frustrating subject to teach because there aren't any absolutes when it comes to color we are all limited by the colors that we have in our boxes so my best suggestion is to try to simulate the colors as best you can. For instance, in my background I used 5 different colors to create the background I had 3 very similar colors but different in value - light to dark - and then I used a blue and a dark purple to finish it off. You may only have 2 colors that are similar and one dark color so you are going to have to improvise for a lighter version you may have to use white or light cream color blended into it, then in the darker colors you may have to mix a dark blue with a dark brown or purple and if all else fails mix in a bit of black to deepen the color.

It is best if you test this on a separate piece of paper and not on what you're working on, you will be very upset with yourself if it doesn’t work the first time. Also learn to blend colors together using the chalk itself: put down one color and then near the edge of that color take your next color and blended into the first color you may have to go back with your finger and blend but you will get some very nice blends using this chalk on chalk technique.

Have your reference photo in front of you before you start, this is your guide.

In my background I had 3 teal colors: a light, medium, and a darker plus my dark blue and dark purple. Starting near the flowers with the lighter color, I colored in areas around my flowers and if I went over the fern or something else, I didn't worry about it, I can always put it back in later. I switched to the next darker color and starting just inside the outside edge of the first color, I started laying down the second color blending with the chalk as I laid the color in. I repeated that process with all of my colors until I got to the very darkest purple then I took my finger and blended from the lightest to the darkest occasionally wiping my finger off so that I wasn't dragging the colors too far into the next color but softening the blend so that it looks almost seamless.

I did a similar thing on the table starting with a lighter color, I used a very light lavender color, followed by a darker lavender/blue color, followed by an indigo blue and then a purple doing the same thing as I did above and then blending them lightly together with my finger.

I went back in and finished up details in my flowers and, once the background was done, I could go in and add ferns or fix any I smudged. I used light colors where they were against the dark so they stood out. I added in darks where I thought I needed them for contrast, looking at my photograph to help me find where I needed to add some dark. I also detailed some of the insides of those little flowers by adding little touches of dark around the center where you can see into the flowers, if you look at the photograph you will see little bits of dark between the petals of flowers. I also used reds to detail out the edges of those flowers. Lastly, I took a very light yellow and in places around the flowers and the leaves were I wanted to have a glow I added touches of this very light yellow.

 

Basically my painting is finished I will look at it for the next few days and see if there's anything else I need to add to it or would like to change but I could stop right here without too much trouble. You are going to need to get to the point where you feel that you are done, to finish your painting. Until then, keep painting and I will see you in class.

Pastel Project: TJ’s BouquetWeek 2

We got pretty far along last week with our underpainting now we're going to start doing some of the detail on our flowers and leaves.

You are going to have to look at your own pastels to see which colors will be a close approximation to the colors you need, it is unfortunate fact of life that in pastel I can't be any more specific about color but you will learn how to find these colors or blend to them with practice.

Use a medium dark yellow, you don't want a bright light yellow but more towards the orange side, to start shaping and filling in the petals of your sunflowers. Use this color in most instances but have your photo in front of you so that you are using for reference in front of you. The photo will tell you all the information you need to know about what colors go where, you want to look for places on flowers that have bright light areas those areas you will use your light or lightest yellows because this is where the sun is shining through the petals and creating that glow.

Also at the same time I am looking to see where the shadows and curves are on the pedals, for those areas I was using a reddish orange and a darker red for the shadows. The reds are for the darkest part of the shadows it's not like our traditional shadows where we use blues and purples because that won't quite work when we're dealing with yellow. Try blending the dark color with a lighter color using the lighter color with little pressure.

On the roses I needed to start creating that look of all the folded petals as they are unfolding from the outside in. You don't want to use white to create the lighter reds this will only make pink so instead you can use a light red if you have it or orange and tiny touches of white or pink to create the lighter edges of the rose. Be sure you are looking quite often to your photograph, please notice that all of the flowers look in several directions some look up, some look to the side, some aren't even looking at us at all and you have to keep that in mind as you are painting. Think ovals not circles.

For the darker colors in the roses you can use a darker red and/or a very dark blue to create those deep dark shadows that you see inside the rose and in between the petals of the roses. Make sure the as you are painting these roses that your strokes follow the natural growth of the petals, most of your strokes should go from the outside then you curve down towards the bottom of the rose where they attach to the stem, even if it's only a short stroke it needs to follow the natural growth of the petal.

I also started adding in more dark green into the leaves and using that darker green to shape some of my flowers and flower petals right now we are kind of filling in where we may have missed with our underpainting be sure to blend lightly from time to time and try to get as much of this done as possible and we will work on it next week.

Keep painting and I will see you in class.

Summer Pastel 2015

Pastel Project: TJ’s Bouquet Week 1

To begin the last class I did a demo to show how easy it is to create your own sanded paper using “Golden’s Acrylic Ground for Pastel”. I had prepared a piece of light gray mat board by first painting the back side of it with white gesso to seal it also to help it lay flat when dry. You can use any acrylic medium or varnish to seal the surfaces of your paper or board gesso is nice because it also has a bit of “tooth” to add. If you use gesso to seal both sides of your board you might want to lightly sand the side you will be applying the acrylic ground to get a smoother surface. You can add color to the gesso as you seal the board to get a colored background or paint a color using watercolor or acrylic to get a toned paper or board which is what I did to the board I was working on, I had black gesso I used to seal and tone it first then applied the ground.

When I applied the ground, I had thinned the acrylic ground with equal mix of water and ground and mixed well then applied it to the surface of my board. You can use it straight out of the jar but if you dilute it first you can get the kind of texture you want to work on. Let it dry and if needed add another layer of ground.

You can use this process on almost any surface you want to do a pastel on though I do suggest that you use heavier paper like watercolor paper or Bristol Board, it can go on Masonite, wood panels, mat board, foam core, the choice is yours you just need to find what surface you want to work on and experiment with it.

To start the project I showed how to transfer a design on to my board by chalking the back of my design then tracing over the line once I’d placed it on my board. You can also draw directly on your board using a color such as a light blue or lavender or gray that will not interfere with the other colors you will be applying.

Once I had my design on I started filling in the basic shapes with color starting with the basket. I looked in my colors for a soft warm gray for the base color for my basket, I also looked to see if I had a darker version of it and a lighter one but if you don’t have other versions of colors find a warm white like a soft yellow or orange for the light color and use a lavender or blue with the base color for the darker color, then base in the basket starting in the middle with the warm gray and work to your left adding and blending in touches of the lavender or blue and to the right adding in the warm white color. Use the base color with the warm white for the handle of the basket. I did a bit of detail on the basket using a sienna color for the rusted paint and a very dark brown for the deeper rusted metal.

You should have your photo in front of you as you paint so you know where you are going and what you need to do next, I am constantly looking at my photo as I paint no matter what medium I am painting in my reference material is where I can see it.

The yellow flowers I based in with a medium yellow, not my lightest yellow. The centers of the sunflowers were a dark brown with a little sienna in the centers. My roses were 2 different reds one a bit brighter the other a bit darker and cooler like a dark crimson, the leaves had 4 different greens from a very light almost yellow (you can use yellow for the very lightest green if you need to) to a medium light green to a mid-value green to a dark green for shadowed leaves. I am just placing color at this point not doing detail not worrying about anything other than the overall design. If I need to make changes at this point I can no problem or I can start getting more detailed if I don’t see anything I need to change. I am far from finished at this point so don’t panic if you are still figuring it out.

Last but not least, I wanted to separate the basket from the dark background because when

I added the dark brown to my basket it was hard to see. If you look at the photo you will see that there is a bit of light shining on the counter, it is not a bright light but it does help separate the sides of the basket from the dark background please note the shape of the light there are angles to it because the basket is blocking some of the light casting a shadow on the counter. I used a soft lavender blue for this light area and I made go back later and add more “light” but this will do for now.

Try to get you painting as close to this as possible and I will see you all in our next class.