Pastel Class Project: Summer Fun Week 3
This week was all about finishing up this project and one of the things I needed to figure out was how to tie the bottom of the painting with the top. What I came up with was to bring some of the same colors I used in the sky area up through the sand and even into the water.
I highlighted the tops of the track ruts and added shadows to the sides to give the tracks some depth but I also brought some of the sky color up into the tracks as well.
Using my indigo color (dark blue gray) I added some darker detail where boards crossed or had one on top of the other or on the sides of the rails or under things. Shadows are always their darkest right under the thing that is casting the shadow, use that to your advantage.
Still using the indigo I suggested roof tiles making little short, choppy strokes. I also added the cables that pull up the window awnings and lined the window frames. If you want you can add the Ave C to the tower but please look at the photo first to see placement.
Overall, I am pleased with what I did with this painting. Is it something I will have a steady diet of? No, but I learned a lot and the whole point of this lesson is to not be afraid to take chances and experiment and that is what you as an artist need to understand: No one dies because something didn't work out and you never know, you might end up doing something you really like.
I am done with this project and if you are as well, you will need to bring something of your own to work on, we have about 3 weeks until class ends, not enough time to do a second project but enough time for you to get started on your own.
Keep painting and I will see you in class.
Pastel Project: Summer Fun Week 2
This week I now that I have the lifeguard tower in, I want to tweak the tower and background and start working on some of the detail. I probably have one more session on this before I call it done but it is getting close.
Starting in the background, I thought that my chalk hadn't covered as well as I would have liked so I took the same colors and went over the areas again but this time I didn't blend them together. I liked the texture I got from the rough surface. I also went into the other colors more to give it an aurora feel to it. Don't be afraid to experiment, not everything needs to be blended or perfect.
The tower was done with several similar colors of different values. The dark areas were a dark teal color and an indigo blue the lighter areas a lighter teal and lighter blue. If you need to add white to lighten, that is okay. I blended these colors and went over them again to get the darkness or lightness I wanted. The windows are not white they are 2 shades of gray. the lighter one for the side windows and the darker one for the back window. Remember they are in shade. The sign on the back of the tower was just a different blue and a few marks made with gray and a red to make it look like words, you literally do not need to spell out anything on that sign, just make marks.
The flag is really simple and again, you are not going to be making a flag with 50 stars but the suggestion of the flag blowing in the wind. Just know that the top and bottom stripes are red, the stripe at the bottom of the blue field is white, just suggest the flag.
The shadow under the tower is very important because it sets the tower down in the sand. Look at the shadow in the original photo of the tower, see how there are areas of light going between parts of the tower and show on the sand? Also, notice that the shadow doesn't have nice straight lines. That is because the sand is uneven and shadows follow the surface they fall on. I used my indigo (dark gray/blue) and my dark lavender blue to base in the shadow then blended the colors together. Because this is a shadow it needs to be cool which is why I used the blues, there is also the sand color that was originally there that also blended into the shadow. Once blended, I took the indigo again and made some darker marks to indicate uneven sand and I lighter softer tan for the highlights on the sand.
Finally I started working on the sand itself. First I put in the orange float which is a combination of red for the shadow, orange for the sunnier part and yellow for the highlight and lightly blended.
Using that light tan color, I made a series of flat "u" shapes to indicate the tire tracks in the sand as well as a touch of the indigo for shadows. Look at the photo and study it to see how the light and dark make up the uneven sand and the tracks.
As I said, I will probably finish this in our next class but do not feel rushed to finish yours in the next class. Take the time you need and I will be around to help. Keep painting and I will see you in class.
Pastel Project: Summer Fun Week 1
This project we will be facing our fears: The fear of making a mistake, of doing it wrong.
There are times as an artist we need to break out of our comfort zones and try something new or different, whether it is a new kind of paper or surface, new colors, different style... adding these new skill to our tool box only makes us better artists. We may not always use this new skill but we won't be afraid to use it if we see a place where it will work.
That is what I wanted to do with this lifeguard tower. Yes, I could have done something very close to the photo, but what fun is that? So I am going to just break out of my comfort zone just a bit and try to liven this routine scene up a bit.
I started out on a gray sanded surface I made myself using mat board, gesso (black and white) and Golden's ground for pastel. To that I transferred my sketch.
I like to start with my subject when I am working in pastel. I just base it in and only do a bit of detail then work on the background. I started with the tower using 2 colors for both the shadow areas of the tower and for the light areas. The shadow was a lavender blue and dark teal the light was a light blue and light teal. then I blended the colors.
The PV peninsula behind the tower was soft gray tans and gray greens with a bit of the lavender blue in them as well. I lightly blended the colors. Don't forget to do the area behind the railings and under the tower as well.
The windows I used a dark blue and a bit lighter blue, using the dark blue to suggest shadows and "things" inside the little office. You do not need to be specific, just make some shapes.
The sand was several colors of tan - one lighter one darker and some dark indigo. Because my surface was a dark gray to begin with, some of it shows through, even after blending, creating texture in the sand. I kept the lighter sand nearer the tower and used the darker colors as I got closer to the bottom, this helps focus the viewer into the painting and breaks up that stretch of brown. I may do something with this area later, this is just the beginning.
The water was just a couple of shades of blue that I had already sued in the lifeguard tower, thus repeating colors already in my painting.
With the basics of my painting based in I started on the background sky area, this is where I went a bit wild - at least for me.
Near the top of the peninsula and around the tower I started with my lightest yellow, then switched to a darker yellow, then orange, crimson then dark blue. I blended them together starting in the light yellow and working my way out to the darker colors so the transition areas blended gently together. Keep a wet paper towel handy to clean fingers when you blend especially if you are going back into the light area after working in the dark blue, if you don't you will get green.
This is where I left off in class. I will continue to work on this and I may change or add things as I work and inspiration hits me - that is the fun part of art. You can chose your own colors or just do a normal background or play with it like I intend to do. It is just a piece of paper and we are having fun.
keep painting and I will see you in class.
