Here is the final piece of artwork. It's pastel, 12" X 14", $35 (plus $10 shipping).
But you ask? How did you begin? What did you do next? How did you know when you were done?
Years ago when I taught, I used to do step-by-step instructions once in a while, but not all the time, reason being, students need to think for themselves and make mistakes, it's a great way to learn. I never had step-by-step instruction in pastel, not the way I'm about to show you, so enjoy! All my professor said was, "This is a soft pastel, this is a hard pastel, this does this and that does that. Experiment." Wow...big of him to give such detail! But that encouraged me to really SHARE my knowledge once I had some under my belt. And as any of my former students would tell you, I shared everything I knew to help them. There were times I took over their work, and other times (like on portraits) smeared out the whole mouth or eye they just drew, and they fumed for a bit, but I always followed through with helping them. Then I'd say, "Experiment." I personally feel that is a far better way to teach. And as for teaching supplies, I also will pat myself on the back with teaching, as my college professor told me to go out and "buy a new box of pastels". So after class I went to the art supply store and bought a brand new box of pastels. (I never worked in them, as I "challenged Drawing I in college, and I went right into Drawing II...yes, pastels were considered drawing...how stupid is that?) I then went home and "experimented" as the teacher told me to, and I didn't want it to look like I had a brand new box, I wanted to "fit in" with the rest of the students!
Next day, went back to class, and the teacher said, "I told you to get a box of new pastels!" I told him, "I did." He said, "You got a box of Grumbacher, I said new, spelled N...U". (He wanted me to get a box of NU pastels, not "NEW".) Would have been NICE IF HE TOLD ME EXACTLY WHAT HE WANTED ME TO GET!!! DUH!
But that taught me a lesson to clarify for my future students, I never wanted people to purchase the wrong thing. That lesson carried on to serve me well years later when I had my own art supply store. I never let customers purchase more than what they needed, taught them ways to save (art can be as expensive as GOLF), and let them know what each supply did and showed them which surfaces did what by having it done already on different surfaces as examples. I did all the different mediums on drawing paper, watercolor paper, canvas, etc...and it showed the customer at a glance what effect they would get, like how oil paint would soil a piece of paper, or how watercolor didn't work so well on gessoed canvas...it's a learning process. Due to my diligence on being an honest person, it rewarded me with more sales! Yes, I'm retired now. Store is no longer. Sorry. BUT...I am here now on this blog to help others...and I hope you gather a lot by my snippets of information.
Here we go!
Decide which colors you wish you use. I usually do this on a littler piece of pastel paper as to not making the mistake on your actual working piece of Canson paper. Pastel colors vary SO much, you need to "test" them before you apply.
Keep adding in color, don't be afraid, you can always erase it, just don't apply real hard, graze the surface of the paper.
Blend with your fingers. Ladies, keep your nails short! Yes, I like longer nails, but when I'm working in pastels, just a slight indentation can be made with a nail and ruin your work...it's not worth it!
I have paper towels (folded in fours), to wipe my fingers off a little while working. Please note how I have full sets of pastels and also on top of the photo, small pieces of pastels. I prefer to work with smaller pieces (most artists do, but of course, they debate on it all the time, like who cares?), and I keep the smaller pieces separated by color as best I can. When I used to teach little kids, I had a class called "Pastels for Half-Pints", and the only thing the parents had to purchase for the kids was a cheap box of pastels...not even $10. First thing I had the kids do was drop the box on the floor so the pieces would break, and I had them snap some of them in smaller pieces as well. When the parents came in, they would get all "bent out of shape" when they saw the state of the kid's pastels. I used to have to explain to the parents WHY I had the kids do that. Every week, the parents hadn't a clue what I'd have the kids do but they always enjoyed seeing how much the kids loved it. So much so, I had to create a class called, "Pastels for Half-Pints and Parents too". It was precious time the parents got to spend with their kids...and true to form, the kids were always better. ALWAYS. Parents wouldn't listen...and they'd ask, "But why?" And there sat the kids, working, free as a bird, loving the journey of the process instead of trying to tear it down piece by piece. The parents drove me crazy but seeing how they were amazed at how QUIET the kids were, it was all worth it. In this day and age of kids are rushed here and rushed there, hurry up, let's go...this allowed the children to chill...and the parents (in about the sixth week of eight) finally learned what the kids knew at the beginning, just ENJOY!
The beginning of blending.
Felt it was too dark, wanted to create a foggy look, so I added white on top and blended.
On the left side, I felt it was too light, so I applied a layer of dark again. There's a greater chance of NOT getting the effect you want than getting it right away. Be patient, pastels is very forgiving. No need for a color to dry, you can go right over what you have or erase with a "Kneaded" eraser or a piece of chamois cloth. (Oh, another quick story here. Parents NEVER listen.) I said CHAMOIS cloth, not those cheap ones you get at the flea market that are like felt...they will SMEAR, not erase. Spend $10 or whatever it costs and go to the automotive section of large department store and get a real chamois cloth, and cut it into small 4" squares. Had I known, I would have bought them, cut them up and sell them at a ridiculous price and made a ton of money! Probably should have, but no, honest me, wouldn't do it!
Add in some distance trees...think blobs of color, no real detail...you wouldn't see a lot of detail on a tree that far away.
Put a tree on the left side and don't be afraid, smear some white chalk right through the tree. That is what gives you the foggy look. Also, note it's not a "Lollipop" tree, leave room where the air can flow through the trees, and give the edge an irregular shape.
Add in some darks to the tree for depth.
Begin to put some grass on the right hand side. I want it to look like the light is hitting it, so it won't be green, it will have a yellowish look, green can come later. Smudge at the bottom of the strokes. Don't make the strokes like a picket fence either, vary them, grass MOVES from side to side, and is different heights. Let your pastel dance on the paper. Practice on another sheet first. Also remember as you come forward in the painting, the colors will be more vivid and the thickness of your stroke will show more. This is called "Aerial perspective".
Here's a close up of the grass, note it's not all one color!
Add some green grassy color to the left side of the painting. It most likely won't be the perfect green, just put something down. You can add more greens later.
Smudge, smudge, smudge.
For those of you who can remember a famous PBS pastel artist named V. Earlene Harrison, she once told me, "It's okay to get your fingers dirty". May she rest in peace, she shared her knowledge. She once did a portrait of me! Some day I will post that. (She did it while she was teaching as a guest artist at my art supply store.)
Blend that green in!
Right about now, I can hear the adults in my head saying, "It looks like crap". Patience...patience, Rome wasn't built in a day. Meanwhile, the kids kept applying color and smearing away!
It's getting there. This is the point where most people stop. It looks like a kid did it. And now what happens when people give up too soon? They miss out. KEEP WORKING IT!
Added in the posts. Just be brave...add them in! All you're going for is placement at this stage of the painting. Same with the barbed wire...just placement, detail comes later!
Now, here's another lesson on aerial perspective. As objects are farther away from you, they become smaller, and less detailed. Also, not the fence doesn't stand PERFECT. You want a perfect fence? That makes for a BORING painting! A weathered fence that's leaning and swaying makes for a much more interesting painting.
Make the fence posts thicker.
Add lighter colors on the side where the sun is, it will make the posts appear rounded.
(Please note the painting looks lighter due to the flash on my camera phone.)
Add more uncut grass around the base of the posts.
Now for detail. I've decided to add some darkness to the post. For this, I used a dark purple pastel pencil, not black. Black is too stark. When you add the purple on, it gives a gentler looking shadow.
Sign it. Done!
Finished painting.
Now to title it.
"Follow the fence home"
Some people have a green thumb.
I have green fingers....haha!
Time to go wash my hands.
I hope you enjoyed the journey, and the final destination. That's what life is all about, the journey, not the final destination. So I'll follow the fence home but enjoy the view on the way.
The end.
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