I recently asked Tennessee pastel artist, Paula Ann Ford, if she would like to do a demo for my blog. I was amazed at how thorough she was and what a great tutorial this is. I hope that you enjoy the process as much as I did.
Soft Pastel Demo by Paula Ann Ford
Once a photo reference is chosen, there are lots of decisions to make before the starting the painting. What size should the painting be? Should it be square, rectangle, landscape, portrait…? What surface should I use, a sanded or non-sanded surface? What color should the surface be? Should it be toned a certain color? Should I use a surface that is already toned, such as Canson, which comes in lots of colors? So many choices!
For today’s demo, I’ve decided to use Canson Mi-Teintes paper, on the smooth side, in a medium earth color. I’ve hinged the 9”x 12” piece to foamboard to give it stability, using a low-tack tape which can be easily removed when needed.
Photo 1 – Here is the initial sketch. The hinging tape can also be seen for information purposes. Note, the tape is not touching any part of the paper which will be painted on. That’s important to me. I don’t want anything in the way of my paper. That is also the reason I hinge the paper to a larger piece of foamboard, to avoid the nails and points on my easel.
Photo 2 – this is my main focal point area so I’m laying my darkest darks first and then just a bit of highlights and water to compare values. I like working with all values at first. That sets the tone for the rest of the painting.
Photo 3 – the blue of the water goes in. It also helps my eye make sure all the values of the painting will be correct.
Photo 4 – I’ve decided not only to use dark purples in the bottoms of the bushes and shadows, but also black! Yes, I love using black, but there will always be other colors laid down on top. The willows on the left are also laid in with some warm browns, but not too much color because I don’t want the viewers’ eyes to stay there. The shoreline is very quickly put in, just to establish shape and will be worked on later in the painting. Notice the two shorelines are different colors? Honestly, I’m not sure why I did that, but they will change later.
Photo 5 – There is a little hill back in the upper left that starts to be shown with a bit of lavender, but it’s not light enough and will be changed. The willows on the far right are based in also, making sure they aren’t as dark and prominent as the main willows. Again, I don’t want the viewers’ eyes to rest around the perimeter of the painting.
Photo 6 – The upper background is put in with a purple gray so it looks much more in the distance. I’ve also put more willows up in the upper left, which later in the painting get taken out because I just don’t like them. I’m also starting to refine the main willows putting lots more color and darks in them. They are really starting to pop now. I like working on the whole painting at once and not just portions of it. It really lets me see that the values are correct.
Photo 7 – Here’s an interesting part… the reflections in the water. I’ve taken the colors of the willows and pulled straight down in the water with them.
Photo 8 – The blue in the water gets put in to the left of the reflections and then dragged through the reflections horizontally, with a very light touch. Note: Not all strokes will be the same pressure. Sometimes strokes are put in with a heavy hand, other times with a very, very light touch. Always remember to vary your strokes.
Photo 9 – Working more on the background with a lighter value of purple gray to give a variety of value to the background. Keeping it simple in the distance is the key. I’ve also put some darks into the distant willows on the upper left (but remember, I’ll be taking them out).
Photo 10 – My mind has told me “use pink” in the farthest main willow bush, so I did and really love the way it looks!! I love oranges and pinks together. But now I have to remember to put that pink somewhere else in the painting to harmonize. Later I’ll put a bit of it in the other main willows. For now the pink can go lightly in the willows on the left bank and in the water as reflections. Also, in the back upper left, the shadows of the bank get darkened. I’ve also added some very light blues in the distant water and aqua blue and purple in the foreground water to darken and add interest.
Photo 11 – I’m starting to put some lights in the smallest willow to the right and also a little more of that color into the water below for reflections.
Photo 12 – the distant willows up on the bank are gone…finally!! I’ve done the same process in that area as I did earlier for the distant right; by putting a purple gray down first, then a lighter purple gray on top of that, and also with a medium grayish brown I’ve put some tree trunks in. They look pretty distant, don’t you think? I’ve also changed the shore lines by adding some dark greens.
Photo 13 – This is a very important step…walk back away from the painting to get a better view! I’ve been doing that all along, but didn’t mention it until now. From start to finish, every few strokes, back up and view the painting. You can see things that need to be fixed much easier than if you were standing close to your painting. Wow, that looks so much better from farther away!
Photo 14 – I’m close to being done so my signature goes in with a Prismacolor Ebony jet back, extra smooth graphite pencil. I don’t ever wait until a painting is done completely to sign it.
Photo 15 – A bit closer shot. I’m realizing the water looks boring and needs some movement.
Photo 16 – Random ripples with a medium gray go in to give the water more interest. At this point, the painting is about 95% done, so it will sit on the easel for a day or two so I can see if anything jumps out at me that needs to be fixed and/or added.
Ok, a few days has passed and I have found several things in this painting that need changing.
- There needs to be river rocks, as in the reference photo, to give the painting more interest.
- The water needs a bit more color, especially in the near foreground where it is shallow on the left.
- The background bank seems to follow the contour of the willows on the left, so it needs to be changed.
- Some variations need to be put in the shadows of the willows.
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Very nice blog, thank you for the instruction.