I alwayshavea camera
attheready,asI never
knowwhenI’mgoingto
encountersomethingthat
capturesmyimagination.
I lovephotography,so
incorporatingit intomy
artisa naturalfit.
Myphotography
practicehasevolvedfrom
beinganendproductto
onethatinformsmypaint-
ings.Originally,I aimed
toframeanyphotointhe
cameraandpridedmyself
ondoingthiswitha high
levelofskill—something
honedfromthedaysof
35 mmfilmandlimited
shots.NowI’mlesscon-
cernedaboutthephoto
astheendproductand
moreconcernedwith
makingsurethatI capture
alloftheinformationthat
I thinkI mightneedtoaid
mypaintingpractice.
Aftercollectingthe
photographicmaterial,
I reviewthephotosand
selectthosethathave
thegreatestpotentialfor
a painting.Thisinvolves
lookingatcropping,light-
ingandcomposition.
OnceI’veselectedthe
finalimage,I transferit
toa Pastelmatsupport
asa pencillinedrawing;
I includeasmuchinforma-
tionasneededtoproduce
a photorealisticimage.
I thenapplya thinacrylic
washoverthedrawing
tosetit sothere’snorisk
oflosingit.I alsousethis
asanopportunityto
considermyapproach.
I alwaysdividethepaint-
ingimageintosmaller
pieces—minipaintings
thatwillkeepmyinter-
estandenergylevelhigh
whileworkingonthe
entirepainting.I also
considertonalvalues.the process Three’s a Crowd
I used numerous photo
references (right) while
painting Three’s a Crowd
(below; 19½x18).At this stage, I’m ready
to start applying layers
of soft pastel using both
sticks and pencils. I begin
at the top left and move
left to right, top to bot-
tom, completing the piece
as I go. If I need to go
back into an area, I’ll use
a mahl stick or a ruler that
I’ve adapted so that it’s
positioned above the
surface of my painting.
—Michael Freeman52 Pastel Journal JUNE 2019