With fond memories of her time here, we include her thoughtfully prepared notes on pastel materials for your continued benefit.
Understanding Pastels
Pure pigment:
Good pastels are alive, and do not have binding agents.
Dangers:
Gloves, Artguard Barrier Cream, Mask Techniques of Masters
Techniques of Masters
- Look at photos and copies of Master paintings.
- Learn to see balance, unity, variety/interest and contrast.
- See how Masters use limited tonal values
- and how they simplify values by squinting
- Learn what’s dynamic and what’s static. (The more you look at an area the more you will want to work on it.)
- Notice contrast of scale, angles and shapes.
- Learn to frequently get back from your work
- LEARN TO SQUINT CONSTANTLY.
- Only studying art history will not make you a good painter!
- Only copy masters to learn medium and color.Key components in Master Techniques
- Choices
- In how artist moves the eye
- Create excitement, moving eye through with line.
- Cadence, in which eye moves through painting quickly, than slowly; the more changes, the more the eye engages.
Learn
- Value relationships: creates form; creates difference of space. Reality is created by value. i.e., distance looses yellow, creates space. Create coolness by adding blue.
- Keep subject in focus, everything else must relate to it, BUT KEEP SUBJECT IN ITS PLACE. (Focus on something and notice blur surrounding it.)
- Composition: unity, variety, contrast, and balance.
- Explain something, is it complicated? Simplify it.
- Ask question, do I need it? Does it help out the painting?
- Choices: We are always confronted with choices: emotional, design, theme, story, likeness, character.
- Your Own Style: You can only convey what you feel. If painting could talk, what would it say? Explain motive. No one will care if I don’t care!
- What Clicks!
- Personal brush stroke/mark. Different angles. Your mark is your signature and opinion.
- Have the courage to make a decision.
- Trust yourself. The painting will tell you what it needs.
- Making something look real does not make it worthy of being seen.
- Learn what you have to say: “How do I feel about it?” “What is mine?” The more I feel about it, the better it becomes. Paint with love.
- Corot:” It is better to do a poor version of self, than to copy someone else.”
- Others have already cut the trail. You will never get out of it what they put into it. Every decision made already. Finite/end. Its like getting the answers to the test.
- AUTHENTICITY TRUMPS EVERYTHING!
- Do not try to control your entire world in a painting, loosen up!
- Put down your own pure idea; quickly, capture how light falls across things,
- Hierarchy; you do not need to clarify everything!
- Color, traditionally, intense color is closer and the less intense move into distance. (example: Distance looses yellow, creates space; create coolness by adding blue.)
- Group values/color, keep it simple.
- Clarify your “effect of light”; light is light and shadow is shadow.
- That is, group lights and group darks. Squint!
- Luminosity is created by the way value and color comes back to the eye.
Required:
Carlson’s Guide to Landscape Painting by John Carlson (available from Amazon)
Read Chapters 3, 4 and 5.
Visit Link in Amazon
Supply List
- Bring three photos to first class that you would be interested in painting. Look for pictures with contrast. Photos with both dark shade and sunlight.
- Note Book!
- Pastel Paper:
There are many types available. I prefer sanded papers like Uart #400 or #500 and Premier. I also prefer lighter colors. They may be ordered from Dakota Arts Supply in Seattle Washington www.dakotaartstores.com. These papers are popular and handle water well:- LaCarte is good for soft pastels only (hard pastels dent).
- Some people like Canson paper but it does not handle many layers.
- Artist tape or drafting tape
- Workable matte fixative spray
- Pastel ground: Liquitex Clear Gesso for pastels or sanded paper.
- Glassine, Wax paper or Freezer paper for transporting art work
- Gloves or Artguard Barrier Cream
Any pastels you have will be a good place to begin.
Hard Pastels
Nu pastels (Set of 96 colors is good!) This product is now made outside of the USA and the quantity has diminished. This is a great set for teaching and learning color. I’m also using some similar colored pastels by Rembrandt (Listed below.)
- 2 239 Warm Gray
- 2 279 Cold Medium Gray
- 1 209 Dark Gray
- 1 245 Light Turquoise
- 1 228 Hookers Green (Upright sunshine)*
- 1 278 Dark Green (Flat plane shade)*
- 2 298 Bottle Green (Darkest Green, Upright shade)**
- 1 208 Sap Green (Flat Plane Sunshine)*
- 1 258 Viridian Green*
- 1 408 Fern Green*
- 1 248 Olive Green*
- 1 308 Palm Green*
- 1 408 Fern Green*
- 1 204 Sandalwood*
- 1 353 Cordovan
- 1 286 Madder Pink
- 1 266 Scarlet
- 2 366 Shell **1 212 Orange
- 1 207 Chrome Yellow
- 1 247 Light Naples Yellow*
- 1 267 Corn Yellow
- 1 217 Lemon Yellow
- 1 257 Cad Yellow Deep
- 1 243 Light Ochre
- 2 211 White*
- 2 277 Ivory*
- 1 233 Raw Siena
- 1 345 Harbor Blue **
- 2 244 Dark Purple (darkest dark) **
- 2 235 Light Sky blue*
- 2 265 Ultramarine Blue *
- 1 275 Deep Blue
** needed colors
* Great Colors
OR!
Hard pastels, better
Rembrant
- Ultramarine Light 505.5, 505.8 and 505.10
- Ultramarine Deep 506.5, 506.7, 506.9
- Madder Lake deep 506.7, 331.9
- Perm red 372.10
- Violet 536.9
- Purple 548.3
- Orange 235.5
- light Orange 236.7, 236.3
- Cinnabar Green Deep 627.5, 627.7
- Phthalo green 675.3
- Perm green light 618.3, 618.5
- Perm green deep 619.3
- Light yellow 205.3
- Deep Yellow 202.3
Some super ‘Soft Pastels’ are great.
Soft Pastels: Schminke, Unison, Girault, Sennelier, Terry Ludwig
- Natural colors (as found in nature)
- Vibrant colors i.e. Hot Pink, Turquoise or whatever you like.
- White and Off White
Required:
Carlson’s Guide to Landscape Painting by John Carlson (available from Amazon, Cheap). Carlson is considered the “bible” of landscape painting by most contemporary landscape painters. Read Chapters 3, 4 and 5
