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 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 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.
