Examples of yesterdays post

 Yesterday I posted my process for creating a value scale under painting. The one yesterday didn't turn out as well as I would like so here is another example. This is of a still life that I completed today. The under painting is done with a dark purple hard pastel and then pushed around with turpentine. The values created with this under painting are very close to the final values in the painting. The most noticeable exception being the background. Since the primary objects are the primary colors I subdued the background and cloth with grayed secondary colors. In the under painting the background has dark and light stripes but as I was working I realized the vertical stripes needed to have less contrast because it drew attention up and away from the primary objects. With the under painting the amount of solvent used was more conservative than the one from yesterday. Also if you look back from a few days I did the color studies for this. The color studies looked good but the background had to  be changed as mentioned above. This is a small 6x9 painting and there will be a larger one following. This painting gave me a good grip on the changes that need to occur for the larger one to be a success. Practice and studying the process, if all goes well, will lead to better understanding of the subject and better paintings.

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.

Oil break

 Today I had planned on doing the next step in my process but I went to oil class and decided to post this up instead. We spent the first hour and a half talking about composition so we only had the last hour and a half to paint. I got to work quicker than I would have liked. I only did one quick sketch and decided to go for it. About half way through the painting I decided the front vase wasn't any good and almost threw the painting in the trash. Then I decided to give the palette knife a go. The palette knife is fairly alien to me compared to a brush and I liked it. I don't want to fall to heavy on the palette knife in the future but this painting turned out alright. The bottom photo shows that the values worked out and that always makes me feel confident in the painting.

A journey through the process

 Today I wanted to record my process for others to see and for myself to remember where I've been in the future. For this exercise I am starting out with a photo I took while driving to my parents house. These scenes are what I constantly try and capture. They are peculiar little places where you can see through the visual and physical barriers that separate natures rooms(or in the case of fields, man made). There are tree layers that are separated by two fields. The way one tree layer can be seen through catches my eye, and I want to recreate that sense of a veiled scene behind it. In landscape architecture classes we used to call it framing the scene, when you create an area with trees or man made objects that narrow the eyes onto something of beauty. A place as simple as a field with tall grasses or wildflowers if the case may be, is something that resonates with me. I remember walking through fields of tall grass when I was child and I remember running my hands through the top. Seeing the green-golden grass dance in the wind and a flat plain turn into a rolling ocean when the wind picks up is beautiful. That is what attracts me to scenes like this one. If I am painting in plein air I will set up and start the process in the field. For this painting I was just passing through so I went about and the process is replicated here at home.

The first thing I do is a thumnail of the scene which is the top left corner. In this thumbnail I try and get things to be in the correct place for the most part and the light coming from the right angle. Once I have a thumbnail that is fairly representitive of the scene, I take away the original photo from my sight. This does a few things. It helps me work quickly, because I dont have any details of the scene in front of me. It make me idealize the shapes instead of over working them. Also the values can move towards what the design calls for. In the second thumbnail(top right) I begin moving shapes around to say what originally drawed my attention to the scene in the first place. In this case seeing through the layers to the back field. In this sketch I keep the light direction and mood the same. Looking at the thumbnail I may go ahead and start laying down the lines if everything looks good or re-work the sketch. At this point I thought the drawing needed a lead in. The drawing makes sense to me but if you didn't know what to look for the back field wouldn't pop out to you. With that in mind I begin thinking of ways to bring the viewer into the field. Looking at the shapes I realized that if the light source was moved  there would be shadows cast down on the front field and a nice s curve would go directly where I want the attention. Also with the sun being in that direction and the shadows cast out like that it reads as it being dusk or dawn. Sometimes in the late afternoon before the sun begins to sink down a golden light will cast across the landscape. That got me thinking about color but that is a process that will be covered in a future segment. At this point I go over the thumbnail and it does a good job of leading into the scene and it brings the viewer right to where I'm painting about. At this point I put the sketch book down and get out the pastel paper. Tomorrow I will post the next step.

Organizing my pastel carrier

 This past week I got a new pastel box. This morning was spent arranging it. From left to right overall and in each compartment I arrange by color and temperature. Then top to bottom I arrange by value. As you can see from the black and white photo below the values are not completely correct but they are getting there. Currently I'm low on dark yellows and light purple and browns. For a good while I set in front of it mesmerized by the colors. The old pastel box I was using had trays that were stacked  on each other. The color were split up into each category but you couldn't see them side by side like this when painting. Anyway I'm looking forward to using this new layout and can't wait to get back out in the field painting.