Spring 2016 Pastel class: Project – 3 Poppies

I am working on a piece of navy blue mat board that I have treated with the Ground for Pastel by Golden, so I will be working on a sanded surface. You do not need to work on sanded paper if you don’t want to but if you work on regular pastel paper you will need workable fixative at some point. I like working on colored paper as well as the sanded surface, you work on a surface you like.

I had my design on my paper using a soft blue pastel so it was light enough to see but wouldn’t bother the colors I would be working with.

Looking at my reference photo and studying it before I started to work, I looked for some of the basic colors I saw in the image. Do not go with your brain that says that poppies are orange and you end up with flat looking flowers, really look at the thing and see what colors are in the highlights, midtones and shadows. I saw a golden yellow, a soft orange, a red orange and a deep red before I ever started to paint. I looked for these colors in my pastels so I have them ready to use.

Starting with the golden yellow, I looked for all the bright sunlit areas on all the poppies and worked it onto my paper, leaving darker areas without color. Next I took the soft (lighter) orange and worked some of it into the transition areas of the yellow blending with the chalk. I also worked this color into the uncolored areas, leaving only the darkest areas untouched.

Finally getting into some of the darker areas of the poppy I used the red orange, blending into some of that transition area and into all the untouched areas of the poppies. Then, looking at my reference photo I used the deepest red to work into those dark areas blending with the red orange in some places only where I could see that deeper color. Then I went back, starting in the light area and lightly blending with my fingers to blend the colors together. In smaller areas I used my color shaper or you can use a paper stump.

Blending is an option, if you like the way something looks without blending, just leave it. I like to blend these under painting stages then leave the top strokes unblended but that is my choice, you need to make yours to suit your needs.

For the stems I did a similar thing. First I looked to see what colors the stems were and really look close because there are some oranges in a couple of them from the light shining through the petals and a couple of shades of green and I worked it the same way: put the colors down first then blended.

I did work a little bit on finding edges and shapes in my poppies and to create the turned edges, I will go over that more in class. Try to have your paintings to this point at our next meeting so we can move forward. Keep painting and I will see you in class.