The next step in the process

 Following on Monday's post I would like to pick up where I left off. On Monday the first step was finding something that catches your eye and then creating thumbnails to emphasise that thing. Today I am going to talk about getting things laid down on your pastel paper.
Once the thumbnails are satisfactory I get a piece of sanded paper and lay down the outlines with vine charcoal. I have a lot of paper that has already been used so it needs to be wiped clean. If I am working with new paper the process is slightly different. Once the paper is fairly clean I lay down the outline which can be seen in the top photo. This is quick and just a reference for laying down my value scale. When laying down a value scale I use a dark purple but you could also use a dark warm color to get a warm effect for your shadows if you choose. From the photo below it is hard to tell what is happening but I'm simply pressing down harder in the darker value areas and using the slightest pressure in the lighter value areas. This should also be a quick process that gets masses filled in.
After I have my values set in I use turpentine or mineral spirits to push the pigment around. This step is to push the pigment around to fill in the background. It is the equivalent to using a wash in watercolor or oils. You are setting a map for the later layers to be derived from. During this step you have to be careful to not load up your brush with to much of the solvent or you will brighten your values up dramatically. As you can see in the bottom photo the solvent got away from me on the right side of the painting. The tree mass on that side had its pigment washed away with to much solvent. At this stage it is about responding to the pigment on the paper and it takes time to get used to. Once this step is done it will be a while before the solvent dries. Depending on the sun and wind it could take only a few minutes up to a half hour. It is during this drying period that I work on the next step of the process.