Video Lessons Through YouTube
Edit: If you are new to my pastel page here, if you look in the side bar you will find my Lerri's Links that have a few of my favorite links there is also more projects with written descriptions and images if you need more things to keep you busy. The links for YouTube and the video picture page are at the bottom of this post, also included is an email address to contact me.
Also, looks like You Tube has redesigned the way the page looks and that band of videos at the top only revels 12 posts even if there are more. If you look at above the thumbnails you will see "Home Videos etc..." and if you click on the Videos you will see all of my posts.
Thank you for stopping by. Stay Safe. - L
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We are all painfully aware of the circumstances we all find ourselves in during this unprecedented time in our history. I know how hard it is to stay home and not get together with family and friends but it is what we need to do to keep ourselves, our families, friends, neighbors and people in general, safe, the problem is we need something to do while we are sheltering at home so we don't pull our hair out.
Many of my students contacted me asking, sometimes desperately, when we were to have classes again, my answer is: I don't know. Maybe there will be summer classes, it really depends on this virus and if we can turn the corner, the City of Torrance will let me know.
Videos were something I was thinking of doing though this is not quite the way I had planned to do them. I just wanted to do some basic techniques or studies, nothing real elaborate so I could figure out how to do them, then Covid19 reared its ugly head and my plans changed.
I have been working on lessons for all 3 mediums of my classes (watercolor, acrylic and pastel) and to say there has been a steep learning curve would be an understatement but it has kept me busy and kept my mind focused on something besides a World in a panic. I hope that you find them interesting or, at least distracting, even if they are a bit "rough" right now, I am finding my way and doing it all myself, I have no one else to blame. Like I said, it has been a steep learning curve learning the aspects of doing a video but I think I am figuring it out now so the next ones will get easier.
Since there will be a videos I won't be posting a written blog until classes start up again but there is a pause and rewind button if you need them.
So for now, stay home, stay safe, call your neighbors and friends and keep painting, I hope to see you in class again real soon.
You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwdVD-1V3-xKZup98pqtpZw?feature=guide
Reference photos for videos - https://photos.app.goo.gl/hixy9rKsfzgmSzNL7
New Email - Lerrisartstudio@gmail.com
(Old one still works but its getting a lot of "junk")
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Saturday, February 8, 2020
Winter 2020 Pastel Class
Project: Desert Refuge Week 4
This was the last week that I will work on my project unless I can find something I've missed, I think I am done. Don't worry if you are still working on yours we still have time or if you are finished with your project feel free to start something of your own.
In the water I added some ripples into the reflection area mostly using a light blue pastel and making small "dots and dashes" to suggest ripples.
In the darker areas of the reflections I used a slightly darker blue than I used above, as these ripples may be in shadow and will be a bit darker. I also used my indigo at the base of the reeds and along the shore to create shadows and a separation between the reeds or dry ground and the reflections.
Along the levee I added the suggestion of rocks and weeds as well as shadows from the trees, use the photo to guide you.
The last thing I did was at the suggestion of Di, to add a bit of the purple haze at the base of the mountain and I also strengthen
the color at the tops of my trees.
This is the finished piece, I will live with this for a few days before calling it done but for now this is a good stopping place so I don't overwork it.
Keep painting and I will see you in class.
This was the last week that I will work on my project unless I can find something I've missed, I think I am done. Don't worry if you are still working on yours we still have time or if you are finished with your project feel free to start something of your own.
the color at the tops of my trees.
This is the finished piece, I will live with this for a few days before calling it done but for now this is a good stopping place so I don't overwork it.
Keep painting and I will see you in class.
Saturday, February 1, 2020
Winter 2020 Pastel Class
Project: Desert Refuge Week 3
Last week we got started on this project with a watercolor under painting before adding the mountain and the distant desert. We started the trees which is where I picked up in our last class.
I like to bring up all sections of my panting at the same time, so once I had the trees based in, I moved on to the levee and the water.
The levee was a combination of 3 colors: a medium umber type color, a lighter tan and a very light tan. I mostly blended with the chalk so it had some texture with very little blending with finger or stub. I was very aware of the angle of the dirt that forms the levee so all of my strokes are at a slight angle.
The water also has 3 different colors: a medium ultramarine blue, a light turquoise and a soft gray blue near the levee. I applied the different blues in vertical strokes and lightly blended first with the colors then lightly with my finger.
Next I added the reeds in the water and started the reflections. The reeds are a medium dark green.
To the reeds I also added some of the gold color I used in the background reeds and a burnt sienna color for the tops. Yes, in the photo the tops are a yellowish color but it was very hard to distinguish between the background reed and the top of the foreground reeds so I used my artistic license.
I worked a bit more on the reflections, getting the shapes better, adding color. The key thing to remember when doing reflections is to add your color straight down the smear lightly across. The water is moving so there won't be a sharp reflection.
I also worked some more on the trees adding shadows, trunks and branches. The trunks were done in an indigo blue type color.
Same on the other side. I also used the indigo as a shadow color where the dirt meets the water.
The top of the levee where the path is was a light blue gray.
This is where I left off. I will probably finish this up next class. I still have some things to do but I don't think it will take me all class.
If you are finished with your project bring in something else to get started on or if you are still working on this project take as long as you need to finish up.
Until then, keep painting and I will see you in class.
I like to bring up all sections of my panting at the same time, so once I had the trees based in, I moved on to the levee and the water.
The levee was a combination of 3 colors: a medium umber type color, a lighter tan and a very light tan. I mostly blended with the chalk so it had some texture with very little blending with finger or stub. I was very aware of the angle of the dirt that forms the levee so all of my strokes are at a slight angle.
The water also has 3 different colors: a medium ultramarine blue, a light turquoise and a soft gray blue near the levee. I applied the different blues in vertical strokes and lightly blended first with the colors then lightly with my finger.
I worked a bit more on the reflections, getting the shapes better, adding color. The key thing to remember when doing reflections is to add your color straight down the smear lightly across. The water is moving so there won't be a sharp reflection.
The top of the levee where the path is was a light blue gray.
If you are finished with your project bring in something else to get started on or if you are still working on this project take as long as you need to finish up.
Until then, keep painting and I will see you in class.
Saturday, January 25, 2020
Winter 2020 Pastel Class
Desert Refuge Weeks 1 and 2
Because I was down with an intestinal bug last week I will have to combine the 2 week of this project together.
In our first week, I showed how I make my sanded paper using Golden's Absorbent Ground on 1/4" form core poster board with mounted Bristol paper.
This ground is similar to their Ground for Pastel but it is a bit finer and is use to turn un-absorbent surfaces like canvases or paper that will fall apart like the Bristol paper into a surface that you can use watercolor on. I am using it so I can use use my watercolor or an alcohol wash on the Bristol paper. Like the Pastel Ground, it has an acrylic base so it seals the paper so it won't fall apart or warp when liquids are applied.
The first week after I gave the demo on how to mount the paper to the board, I talked about sketching and drawing. In pastel it is really hard to get away from either of those but they still can be a bit daunting for some but both are very important if you want to improve your painting skills.
Sketching allows you to figure out how you are going to paint your subject. It doesn't need to be anything more than a few lines or shapes on a sketch pad but it allows you to play with the elements to see how best to approach your subject. Whether you are working from a photo or working plein air, the sketch lets you get down on paper a plan, a visualization of what you want to accomplish with you painting.
Do you want it to be vertical? Or does horizontal work better? How but some to the misc. stuff that is scattered around do you really want to paint all that? Sketching lets you play with your design without having to make a commitment to it. It is also a great place to see how your light and dark values work. Don't underestimate the power of the sketch.
After talking about sketching and drawing, my prepared board was dry enough to get started, unfortunately, I had left my watercolor at home BUT, all was not lost, I decided that I wanted to tone my paper with an overall color of a yellow ocher and that I could do with my pastel and a little alcohol.
First I went over all of my paper with a light yellow ocher soft pastel. I want the final painting to have an overall warm, morning desert look to it and having a warm under color over all of my paper should help reach that look. Next I took a bristle brush I have in my equipment and some
rubbing alcohol you get at the drug store, and went over the entire paper. This will set the color so it won't lift off when I do apply the watercolor.
It takes a few minutes for the alcohol to dry before I could add my sketch which will be the guide for my painting. I use a light lavender pastel because it will blend in with the watercolor and the pastels that will follow.
This was the end to week one.
Week 2. I had my watercolors this time so I wanted to under paint the elements I have sketched out the previous week. Keep in mind that at no point right now am if committed to what I have sketched on my paper, it can and probably will change as the painting develops.
The first thing I did was under paint the mountain. I left the sky for now, and will get back to it when I start with the pastel (forgot to take a photo leaving the sky yellow).
Next I added some yellow ocher to the distant plains at the base of the mountain,then added color to the trees. I don't care that it is runny, if any of it shows it will be texture and color in the end.
I based in the trees with a green that had a bit of sienna in it and the reflections I added a bit of ultramarine blue. I wanted to keep things on the pale side because I want the finished painting to be more "high key" in the lighter end of the value scale.
Once the watercolor under painting was dry I started with the sky using a medium light blue at the top a light blue in the middle and a light lavender at the bottom of the sky and also I added some white to all of it before I blended.
Working down my page, I started on the mountain next with soft, warm tans and oranges, trying to keep it light. Softening edges and colors by blending.
The plains at the bottom of the mountain I used the same ocher. Remember when painting the mountain or anything that has a shape and textures, to follow the shapes and angles of what you see, they are not walls.
Colors here get a bit hard to describe because you never have the right one anyway, but I see gray greens not vibrant greens. This is not only the desert but also this image was taken in winter so nothing is really a vibrant color. There are a lot of sienna and orange in the trees and some of the bushy short trees along the edge of the path are almost a pink/lavender color. I blended very little in the trees leaving the chalk marks.
Once I got the basic colors in for the trees, I started adding more color and suggesting shadows in the trees. That is really only a medium gray green I used for the shadows and may lighten it a bit later.
I got the weeds around the trees based in with an orange rust color and that is where I left off for the class. I will continue from there when we meet again.
Keep painting and I will see you in class.
Because I was down with an intestinal bug last week I will have to combine the 2 week of this project together.
In our first week, I showed how I make my sanded paper using Golden's Absorbent Ground on 1/4" form core poster board with mounted Bristol paper.
This ground is similar to their Ground for Pastel but it is a bit finer and is use to turn un-absorbent surfaces like canvases or paper that will fall apart like the Bristol paper into a surface that you can use watercolor on. I am using it so I can use use my watercolor or an alcohol wash on the Bristol paper. Like the Pastel Ground, it has an acrylic base so it seals the paper so it won't fall apart or warp when liquids are applied.
The first week after I gave the demo on how to mount the paper to the board, I talked about sketching and drawing. In pastel it is really hard to get away from either of those but they still can be a bit daunting for some but both are very important if you want to improve your painting skills.
Sketching allows you to figure out how you are going to paint your subject. It doesn't need to be anything more than a few lines or shapes on a sketch pad but it allows you to play with the elements to see how best to approach your subject. Whether you are working from a photo or working plein air, the sketch lets you get down on paper a plan, a visualization of what you want to accomplish with you painting.
Do you want it to be vertical? Or does horizontal work better? How but some to the misc. stuff that is scattered around do you really want to paint all that? Sketching lets you play with your design without having to make a commitment to it. It is also a great place to see how your light and dark values work. Don't underestimate the power of the sketch.
After talking about sketching and drawing, my prepared board was dry enough to get started, unfortunately, I had left my watercolor at home BUT, all was not lost, I decided that I wanted to tone my paper with an overall color of a yellow ocher and that I could do with my pastel and a little alcohol.
First I went over all of my paper with a light yellow ocher soft pastel. I want the final painting to have an overall warm, morning desert look to it and having a warm under color over all of my paper should help reach that look. Next I took a bristle brush I have in my equipment and some
rubbing alcohol you get at the drug store, and went over the entire paper. This will set the color so it won't lift off when I do apply the watercolor.
It takes a few minutes for the alcohol to dry before I could add my sketch which will be the guide for my painting. I use a light lavender pastel because it will blend in with the watercolor and the pastels that will follow.
Week 2. I had my watercolors this time so I wanted to under paint the elements I have sketched out the previous week. Keep in mind that at no point right now am if committed to what I have sketched on my paper, it can and probably will change as the painting develops.
Next I added some yellow ocher to the distant plains at the base of the mountain,then added color to the trees. I don't care that it is runny, if any of it shows it will be texture and color in the end.
I based in the trees with a green that had a bit of sienna in it and the reflections I added a bit of ultramarine blue. I wanted to keep things on the pale side because I want the finished painting to be more "high key" in the lighter end of the value scale.
Once the watercolor under painting was dry I started with the sky using a medium light blue at the top a light blue in the middle and a light lavender at the bottom of the sky and also I added some white to all of it before I blended.
The plains at the bottom of the mountain I used the same ocher. Remember when painting the mountain or anything that has a shape and textures, to follow the shapes and angles of what you see, they are not walls.
Colors here get a bit hard to describe because you never have the right one anyway, but I see gray greens not vibrant greens. This is not only the desert but also this image was taken in winter so nothing is really a vibrant color. There are a lot of sienna and orange in the trees and some of the bushy short trees along the edge of the path are almost a pink/lavender color. I blended very little in the trees leaving the chalk marks.
I got the weeds around the trees based in with an orange rust color and that is where I left off for the class. I will continue from there when we meet again.
Keep painting and I will see you in class.
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