Fall 2018 Pastel Class

Pastel Project: Dancing Boots Week 2

I finished my painting in the last class. I started with the cactus though I added the spikes at the end.

I made sure that my darks and lights were where I wanted them then with a soft, warm gray I added the little nodes to the ridges where the spikes come out from. Look at the reference photo the spines were 2 shades of a dusty pink but I waited until I had the background in first in case I had to clean up edges.

The back ground had several colors in it from a warm rich sienna, to a gray tan with soft yellow, to the dark shadows which I used my indigo color. The pebbles were just quick shapes and marks of various colors, just be sure that your marks are different, sizes, shapes and you don't like them up like fence posts or a heard of turtles. I blended the ground and shadows before adding the rocks.

The flowers also had several colors in them: A soft light yellow, a light orange, a darker red orange and pink. The dead flowers around the open flowers were a dark warn brown.

I continued adding highlights and shadows to my boots until I got the look I wanted then I added detail. You don't need to add the detail unless you want to just be sure that you look at the photo to see that the seams follow the curves and dips that are in the folds of the leather, they are not straight. 

The soles of the boots were a light gray and black.

Look at the photo to see how the shadows from the boots fall on the ground, the toes are curved up and the shape of the shadow is important to create the illusion of that curve.

This is the finished painting though I usually live with it for a while before making a final decision on whether it is done or not,but at this point I needed to stop fiddling and will look at it over the course of the next couple of weeks to see if anything jumps out at me, basically mine is done.

You can continue to work on this project if you still need to finish up, if you have finished, you will need to find something of your own you want to paint and I will be around to help if needed.

Keep painting and I will see you in class.

Fall 2018 Pastel Class

Fall Pastel Class Project: Dancing Boots Week 1

For this project I am working on sanded foam core presentation board that was gray to start and I covered it with Golden's Ground for Pastel to make the sanded surface. You can use pastel paper, the sanded surface is just my choice, just know you may have to spray your project at various times with workable fixative if your paper won't take any more layers of chalk.

The first thing I did was to transfer my design onto the surface of my board. To do that I used a pattern I made from the drawing I did using the Poster 8 program (see Lerri's Links in the sidebar). I used a white chalk to go over the lines on the back of my pattern, it was more of a broad, scribbling with the side of the chalk rather than following the lines so I could make sure when I was transferring the design I would find chalk. I used the end of the handle of a brush to trace the pattern onto my board.

When I got my design on, I started with the cactus, looking at my reference photo often to see where the lights and shadows were and to note the scalloped edges of the ribs of the cactus.

I used grayer and bluer greens along with my indigo blue in the dark shadows. You may need to add a touch of sienna or orange to your green to gray the color if your green is too brilliant. Use your darkest green and blue in the shadows.

This is just the under painting and will probably change a bit as the painting progresses.

Next I did the under painting for the boots. I had a very light blue for highlights, a cerulean blue for the mid-tone blues and a medium dark lavender blue for the mid shadows and I used my indigo blue (dark blue) for the darker shadows. The interior of the boots are 2 or my lightest tans, if you don't have tan, use sienna, a little light blue and white.

If you don't have a lot of blues, use as close to the overall blue as you can and use white to lighten and a darker blue or purple for the shadows. This is not an exact science. 

Look at the reference photo to see where all the folds and wrinkles are, what I usually do is apply out the different colors where I see the color changes and once I have the colors where I want them, I blend the colors together with my fingers. Remember to follow the shape of the area you are blending. You may have to go back in and add more dark or light colors until you are satisfied with your painting.

This is where I left off on Wed. and will pick up from here. If you can, try to get your painting to this stage before the next class, I will be finishing under painting the boots, putting in the background and maybe finishing the project, I'm not sure, pastels work up fast.

Keep painting and I will see you in class.

Summer 2018 Pastel Class

Pastel Project: Marsh Madness Week 3

This week I finished up my project by adding detail, checking my values... just all the little things so I can give a preliminary thumbs-up and call it done. I usually live with a finished project for a while before making the final "Yeah, its done." after I have lived with it for a couple of weeks, but for class purposes, I consider this done. You will also have to decide if you are finished and just how much detail you want to put in. Have your reference photo in front of you so you can decide what is important to you and what you want to leave out: A little or a lot, that is up to you and it depends on your own tastes. 

To these tree trunks I added texture using my indigo as well as a lavender blue. Light tends to bounce around in the atmosphere especially around water or any other reflective surface, so on the parts of the trunks that were over the water is where I added the lavender. 

I also covered parts of the trunks with clumps of leaves and some dead twigs and pulled up some grasses around the base using a medium light blue/green.

I brought in the branch from the top with a dark brown and indigo and I added more defined leaves though they are just marks.

The fine lines are a challenge but if you have a harder pastel it may work better for you. I was using the dark brown for larger twigs but switched to my indigo for smaller ones because it is a harder pastel. A light touch when drawing the twigs also helps.

In the bushes on the right I added the smaller twigs in a similar fashion to the bigger trees and I also added some twigs at the top that are gold and a bit of orange. This is there in the photo and I like the complimentary colors to help break up all the green. I did use touches of the orange in other places around the painting so it wasn't a "unique" color.

In the right corner I added more reflections from the bushes and reeds growing out of the water. Use different colors of green from light to the dark and pull some up over the bottoms of the bushes, this will set them down in the water.

I also added dead branches, some orange leaves and reflections of the branches in the corner.

The dark reflections on the left have weeds, reeds and branches poking out. The grasses and duck weed (the stuff that floats on the top of ponds) I did with the medium blue/green I mentioned before. Against the dark of the reflections it looks very light but I was using that same color in the sun lit areas of the water and it almost disappears.
There are reflections of branches we don't see because they are above the water but not something we painted. Remember to ripple the marks you make to suggest reflections so it looks like water movement.

Bottom line is you will finish this painting the way you need to finish yours, it doesn't need to look like mine. I like color so my paintings tend to be a bit on the vivid side, others like a more subtle color so you will need to learn how to gray your colors, it is all a part of the process of learning so keep painting and I will see you in class.

Summer 2018 Pastel Class

Pastel Project: Marsh Madness Week 2

This week I was working more on the foreground area and starting on details. Because it is the foreground there is not only more detail but also more and purer colors, meaning less grayed colors. You can see how many more colors I was using below, refer to these for suggestions on what colors you can use on your project.

I have marked the ones I used the first week and the ones I used in the last session, it included not only more and brighter greens but also browns for the trees and blues and purples to use in the shadows.

The first thing I did was to reflect the light down into the water. I used the same light yellow and soft gold that I used the previous week down in the water. Remember: When you are painting water your strokes need to be parallel to the top and bottom of your paper, if you add reflections, you can pull straight down as well as across, this will keep your water looking flat. If your strokes are at an angle, your water will look like it is running down hill.

After I got the light in the water, I added some light holes back into the tree reflection, brightened the reflection of the tops of the background tree line and added more dark colors and some blues under the trees.

When I thought the greens were dark enough - for now - behind the tree trunks, I added in the two lighter trunks with the light tan from this week as well as the dark brown. I didn't draw them on with one continuous chalk mark but with a series of smaller marks that followed the shape of the trunks, this will start the idea of bark on the trees, giving them a rougher texture and I did lightly blend with my color shaper.

Look close and you can see my chalk marks in the trunks of the trees, I will be doing more next time.

Also notice the suggestion of leaves in the trees behind the trunks. This I just made marks that suggested leaves of various colors - medium light greens to cool blue greens because a lot of these leaves are in shadows - I did not blend these shapes so they will stay well defined.

Up in the sky I used a medium blue-green and made the suggestion of leaf shapes. I had the reference photo - the actual scene, not something I did - to see how the leaves grew and hung from the branches. This breaks up the sky (a large negative space) making it more interesting.

Finally, I added the more dominant trunks of the small trees/bushes on the right that are coming out of the water with a dark brown. I will save the other smaller branches until after I've gotten more of the water done so I don't smudge that dark into the light water.

I also used the same blue/green I used previously to suggest the reflections that are under those bushes by pulling straight down and the reflections of the trunks as well. 

At the tops of these bushes are a lot of bare twigs, I used the light raw sienna color from this week's colors to make the twigs. I also added some brighter highlights to the top leaves. I will need more but that will be next time.

Try to get your own paintings up to this point if you can so we can start working on finishing this up. Until then, keep painting and I will see you in class.

Summer 2018 Week 1

Pastel Project: Marsh Madness Week 1

On the first day of class I did a demo for the new students on one technique to start a pastel with a watercolor under painting, then adding the ground for pastel over it to make a sanded paper. Please understand this is only one way to start and is by no means the perfect way to start a pastel, it is just one way and you do not need to do this at all.

I was working on mat board but this can be done on any surface that would take watercolor. I decided to do a tonal (shades of gray) watercolor sketch, mixing blue and burnt sienna rather than using black, under painting for this project but this could also have color or could have been charcoal with either a water or alcohol washes to set it before adding the ground for pastel.

When it was dry I applied the ground for pastel using water to help spread the ground as I applied it to the surface. The ground dries relatively clear so you can see your sketch through it. When you are using watercolor, chalk or charcoal with a water or alcohol wash, do not keep  going over and over an area with the ground and wet brush because you can smear the sketch. If you are using ink or acrylic it won't hurt the sketch. If you want to do an oil sketch, put the ground for pastel on first with the oil over it because if the oil is on first the ground won't stick because of the oil.

Here are the pastels I have used so far in this painting so you can see the range of the colors. The second from the left is the soft orange I have used in the sky* and background trees to gray them. Do the best you can to mix to these colors as you paint, doesn't have to be perfect, just close.

Using this sketch I did the first week, I use it as a guide. If I see something I missed - which I did - I can make the changes with the pastels as I go. That sketch is not set in stone and as an artist, I have a license to change the things I need to change.

The first area I painted was the sky. Because the sky in the photo was a bit dull, I chose to brighten it by making it a soft yellow and orange mix. If you do not have a soft yellow or orange, you will have to mix some combination of yellow, orange and/or burnt sienna and white to get a reasonable facsimile. Doesn't need to be perfect and if you want to go with a blue or gray sky, that is okay as well.

After I put the sky in I added the background trees. The lower tree line is more on the lime green side so it will have more yellow, the big tree behind them is more on the blue/green side. What they both have is a bit of the soft orange I used in the sky* this slightly grays the color and because they are in the background they will be softer and grayer in color, with less detail. 

Note the treeline above where the water will be, it goes from a very dark near the water to light lime at the top and it is softly blended to to bottom. I used the next to light green above with a bit of the orange, the green 2 shades down and the next to the darkest green then blended the colors together.

Next I added the reflection from the big tree in the back and the front treeline as well as some lighter lines in the water that could be debris or the tops of paths just under the water, I'm not sure at this point bit I put them in. I also finished - for now - some minor detail in the back ground trees.

Because the background trees are too far away to see much, if any, detail, all I wanted to do was to "suggest" detail which is mostly highlights. Please study the way different trees grow before adding the detail. Look at the photo, the branches end in rounded clumps: big ones small ones, some connect some by themselves. Down in that dark area by the water, there are some over hanging branches which I used the third lightest green (5th from the left) which is shadow color for the lighter trees but the perfect color for the highlights on the big background tree. These are mere suggestions, you will not see individual leaves.

When I started on the water, I used the darkest green I have. If you do not have a really dark green you may have to mix your darkest green with your darkest blue with a bit of purple and even a bit of your darkest brown. If all else fails, you may have to use black but hold off until you run out of options because black kills color quickly.

Whenever you are painting water you want to keep your strokes parallel to the top and bottom of your paper so the water looks flat. You can make curves and angles using a series of flat strokes which is how I made the waterline and the light areas (the tan color).

Reflections are handled a bit different because there is movement in most water so when I was adding the reflections from the big tree (dark green) and the lighter treeline (lighter green) I pulled the chalk straight down. I blended these areas the same way either with straight across lines or straight down.

The light green in the water is mostly the reflection of the sunlit tops of the the trees next to the water, it is an upside down version of what is above it but instead of using the lightest green I used the middle green color. Reflections are always just a bit darker than what they reflect.

Finally, I got some of the foreground trees and bushes under painted on the left side as well as some of the dark reflections in the water.

You will notice that I have painted around the two lighter tree trunks, this just saves me some time when I start to work on them, the dark tree trunks and branches don't matter because any mixing of color won't really show in the dark.

At the base of the tree and in the water I used my darkest green. Right around the very base of the trunks I also added some of my dark indigo blue to make it appear even darker. 

Up into the tree branches I used my next darkest green and then my middle greens, just making shapes and going over some of the background trees. I DID NOT create individual leaves at this time. IF I do create individual leaves I will do it when I am finishing up my painting, right now I am looking for my masses of color and shapes, not detail.

When I had all my colors down I blended my colors together, remembering what I was blending and where I was blending: Water - straight across or straight down; Trees - rounded or scumbling  strokes to suggest clumps and texture in the leaves.

This is where we left off, do your best to get your painting as close to this as you can.

Keep painting and I will see you in class.

Spring 2018 Pastel Class

Spring Pastel Class - The Plus Side: Acrylic Demo

Since my class is listed as "Pastel Plus" one of my non-pastel students asked me to do an acrylic demo based on a book she got on painting the landscape. The book was written by the man I learned to paint acrylics many years ago on PBS: Jerry Yarnell. He is still on PBS and Create TV after all these many years and he is still a good fundamental type of teacher, the link to his website is in the sidebar under Lerri's Links.

One of the things I think that that my students realized that even though it was an entirely different medium using paint and brushes instead of chalk and fingers, many things still remained the same: Things like composition, color mixing and working from back to front/dark to light all transfer between many of the different mediums with maybe the exception of watercolor (it likes to be different) at least working from dark to light, it is opposite in watercolor.

This is a fun thing for me to do and also to give a shout out to Jerry. He doesn't try to finish a painting in 30 minutes but takes several weeks to go step by step, I try to remember this when I am teaching so I don't lose my students along the way.

I will maybe finish the painting next class so you can see how it all comes together. Just keep painting and I will see you in class.

From Jerry Yarnell's book on Landscape Painting.

/Updated /

"Peace be Still" orig by Jerry Yarnell. My demo version.

Spring 2018 Pastel Class

Pastel Class Demo

Since we/I finished the Magnolia last week, this week I did a demo, more like a warm-up, for the demo I will be doing at the Torrance Artists' Guild on Tuesday. I needed to see if I could get it done in the time allowed plus I was able to find the colors I needed so I didn't have to look for them during the demo.

Another thing I think it is important for beginning and intermediate students to see is how other artists work. When I am teaching I am not going at my normal speed and I break up what I am doing into smaller chunks for students to digest but for me, it breaks my train of thought. When you paint, you can get into a groove and your brain is working several steps ahead of where you are so you see where you are going, that is how you build up speed no matter what you are painting or what medium you are working in. It was fun to just run with this and to see if I could bee the clock. I did with time to spare.

See you in class.

Spring 2018 Pastel Class

Spring 2018 Pastel Project: Magnolia Week 3

This is the final class for the Magnolia where I did detail and added final highlights.

In the lightest parts of the petals I added white this time, lightly blending into the darker colors. along edges I used a corner of the white and left it alone. I really didn't do too much blending at this stage to keep the white looking clean.

The center I used light orange, a very light yellow and a deep crimson for the stamens a light green and a dark green for the center cone.

I like to add "bug bites" to my plant paintings, for this painting I used a gold for the dying part and a sienna for the dead part of the bug bite.

On the branches I used a light gold color for the final highlights on the branches and the sunny part of the buds. I lightly smudges the branch behind to throw it out of focus.

On the upper parts of the branches I didn't use as much of the light gold and I lightly smudged the edges of everything to give an out of focus look to the area. The soft look will direct the viewer to the flower.

By lightly smudging selected ares of the branch while leaving other areas around the flower crisp, it gives a 3D effect to the painting.












This is how I finished up the magnolia in class. Because not everyone is where I am, I am not going to start any other class projects this semester but I will be working on things in class and helping you with your projects so keep painting and I will see you in class.

Spring 2018 Pastel Class

Spring Pastel Project: Magnolia Week 2

This week I started detailing my flower and stems.

I used a light warm grey for the sunlit parts of the stems and my indigo for the shadows. As with may types of plants, the new growth on this tree is reddish so I used a red/brown for the base color, a pinkish color for highlights, added the indigo for shadows and a light orange for the bands. (See next image for close up)

I also added some soft yellow/green for the moss that is growing on the branches.

The buds have a light mustard yellow/green, ocher, sienna and indigo in the shadows and I blended it lightly with my color shaper.

Note the curved strokes I used on the stems to give them shape. Follow the shape of the thing you are painting to help create the form.

I lightly blended with the color shaper so I didn't lose all the strokes.

On the flower I started adding my highlights and shadows. Fro the highlights I was using a cream color and a soft, very light lavender, I have not used white yet, that comes last.

The shadows were tricky because I didn't want to get them too dark or the petals lose their translucence but they need to be dark enough to create form. I ended up using a medium dark lavender with touches of indigo and if needed more of the light lavender to keep it lighter.

The center of the flower is a light yellow/green and a dark green blended and the stamens around the center are yellow, and pink. Watch the direction that they grow, they are not coming straight out but curve out from the center.

This is where I left off for the day, I will probably finish up this project next week but if you are not this far, don't panic you can take as long as you need, I will be starting another painting that will be more for demonstration than a project because everyone is at different points of this project. You can bring something you want to work on and I will help you when needed.

Keep painting and I will see you in class.

Spring 2018 Pastel Class

Spring 2018 Pastel Project: Magnolia Week 1

Pastel works up fast for me and I often forget to take photos of the steps before moving on as in this case, I forgot to take a photo of the background before I started working on the fun stuff.

I think we are all guilty of that at times because the background seems so blah compared to the subject that drew you into painting it in the first place but in reality, that blah background played a very important part in choosing the subject to begin with. This flower would not have caught my attention when I took the photo if there had been a bunch of leaves and other flowers fighting for my attention, I know because I have a magnolia in my front yard and rarely see a flower I want to break out my 300mm lens for, This is a different variety of magnolia from the one I have and it loses all of its leaves so in the spring it just has the flowers and I loved the way it was reaching out to me and with an out of focus background even a 2 dimensional image seems to have a third dimension to it.

Bottom line, the background is important. However, by itself the background wouldn't be too interesting, what makes it interesting is how the flower and the branches break up the background into interesting, irregular shapes. These soft out of focus backgrounds work great in all kinds of subject matter and often time are a better choice than what you might have in a photo you are working on.

I am working on black poster board that I have treated with Golden's Ground for Pastel to make it into sanded paper, you can work on any color paper sanded or not, I just like to work on a sanded surface because it has more tooth and I don't have to spray it.

To create that soft background I used all kinds of colors from browns and blues to green, red, yellow and orange. I usually put down all my colors first then I start blending with my fingers to soften the colors together. I will probably have to come back in near the end to fill in gaps between branches and the background, but this is where I started. BTW, I could have waited until I had the branches and flower in but I didn't want the colors to drop down over my white flower.

I next found a warm grey to base in the lighter parts of my branches and indigo for the shadows. There are golds, greens and a red/brown for the new growth and buds.

The important thing to remember is to follow the shape of the thing you are painting so rather than doing a branch in one smooth stroke, I did a series of small rounded strokes over the top and sides of the branch, it gives it a rougher look. I have not blended this yet.

I under painted the petals of the flower with a medium light lavender and a darker lavender where I have shadows. I have not put in the center yet that will come later.

While it seems strange to start with blues and purples when you are painting a white flower, you do need to have someplace to go with your values, white on white is just white.
At the end of class one of my students was unclear on the purpose of starting the white flower with these darker colors so rather than trying to explain it again because words can fail, I just showed her with just some quick strokes how the highlighting on this lavender color is going to make the flower pop.

I also want to point out that I applied the pastel to the curves of the petals and I did blend them as well again following the curves of the petals.

Try to get your own paintings up to this level if you can and I will continue working on mine defining and detailing the flower and branches.

Keep painting and I will see you in class.

Winter 2018 Pastel Class

Pastel: Sky, Water, Rocks

I decided to do the project I am doing in the other classes with the sky, water and rocks because it is simple but sometimes those simple lessons teach you the most.

First, I sketched in my design with a black chalk. This is different from how I usually start a painting but I will get to that in a moment. I am working on a piece of mat board that I have treated with ground for pastel to give it a sanded surface.

Once I had the design on I looked for my darkest shadows and used the black chalk to fill them in, then lightly went over the middle values with a light layer of the black, basically skimming the surface of the paper so it wasn't too dark.

Next I took a brush and some alcohol and went over all the black chalk to set the design. This is a basic alcohol wash. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of this part of the painting.

Once the alcohol was dry, then I started adding my color, working from the sky down.

Notice that the sky is lighter than the water though the top is darker than the bottom of the sky and I did use a bit of a burnt orange along the horizon.

The water included not only blues of various values but also lavenders and greens. The foam is under painted with a light purple.

The under painting for the rocks included a dark brown, a middle brown, a gold orange, a light gold and a sienna keeping the lighter colors at the top of the big rocks and in the dry areas of the shore.

I will finish this in our next class. Keep painting.