forpastelsisthatI don’tgetonwith
texturedortintedpapers,”hesays.“If
a paperhasa texture,thattextureis
inherentineverything,soevenwhen
youwanttodepictsmooth,youhave
texture.I muchprefercreatingthe
illusionoftexturewhereit’sneeded.”
Histechniquehasevolvedover
time,withmuchexperimentationto
discoverwhatworksbest.“Alotof
usstartoutwithbudgetmaterials
becauseoftheexpense,”hesays,“but
thenyourealizeyou’relimited.The
artmarketisconstantlychanging
withnewproductsbecomingavail-
ableallthetime.A newpaper,a new
pastelora newpaintcanallhavean
effectonone’spractice.”
ThefirstworksBrammeldstarted
exhibiting(his“gritty”urban,
industrialscenes)wererelatively
large,featuringcharcoalorpastel,
andheavilyfixedbetweenlayerswith
expressivemark-making.Hewould
gooutonhismountainbike,armedwitha cameraanda smallsketch-
book.He’dexploreuntilhefound
somethinginteresting,andthentake
hundredsofphotosfromunusual
viewpoints.Backinthestudio,he’d
editandcroptheimages,printing
themoutanddevelopingthemfur-
therthroughsketchesandstudies.
Heusesthesametechniquesnow
forhisnaturallandscapes.“I’mcon-
stantlyscanningtheenvironmentfor
imagesthatinterestme,again,coming
awaywithmaybehundredsofimages,
whichI thenfile,”Brammeldsays.AVOIDINGSTASIS
TheoneconstantinBrammeld’swork
isexperimentation.Tobegina pastel
painting,theartistsometimeswill
beginwitha charcoalunderdrawing.
Ontheotherhand,sometimeshe’ll
laydownbroadareasofcolor.Which
tactichechoosesdependsonthe
subjectorhismood.RIGHT
Grey Day, Late
Autumn (33x231/3)
BELOW
Winter Skyline
(graphite, 231/3x33)34 Pastel Journal JUNE 2019