The Artist - UK (2019-12)

32 artistDecember 2019 http://www.painters-online.co.uk

GETTING STARTED WITH PASTELS: 1st of 3

DEMONSTRATION Hay Bales, Roseberry Topping

t STAGE FOUR

Giving more attention to the drawing and

tones I used two warm mid-range orange/

greys for the i eld and bales and two mid-

green/greys for the middle-distant i elds.

I decided not to blend any of the pastels for

this work in order to keep a crisp, fresh feeling

p REFERENCE
PHOTO
The quality of the photograph
isn’t great, which isn’t always
a bad thing. In this case, I
was not overwhelmed by
too much detail and the
inaccuracies of tone and colour
allowed me to rely more on
memory and instinct, which is
important when working from
photographs

p STAGE ONE

Using the pink Conté pencil I drew out the composition using a

simple outline which had just enough information to be able to

work from

t STAGE TWO

I began to block in the major shapes and masses using a dark-

and mid-toned blue/violet, a mid-pink, a warm blue/grey and a

mid-olive green. I was careful not to overload the tooth of the

board and also not to be too accurate at this early stage

u STAGE THREE
I continued blocking-in using the same colours plus a lighter
blue/violet, a lighter blue/grey and a warm light pink/grey for
the sky. For larger, l atter areas like the sky I used the side of the
pastel stick, varying the direction to add interest. For the house
roof, I selected a mid-orange

Tip

Bear in mind when blending dark

areas of pastel that it is easy to produce

a dirty ef ect. This does not generally

apply to lighter areas, where more

successful results are achievable.

I advocate keeping blending to

a minimum in order to keep

paintings clean and crisp until

experience with the medium is gained

MATERIALS

l Support: Ampersand Pastelbord grey textured board

l Pastels: Unison, landscape set of 72 pastels

l Conté pastel pencil for drawing out, in pink