Demos and Videos

Welcome to my demos and videos.  Scroll down for demos and more instruction information.

Video of how to paint waves:

How to paint saguaro cactus:

How to prepare my canvas/board for painting:

Painting landscape:

Painting pears in oils:

When I painted this I was using Windsor Newton Water Miscable oils.  Now I found M. Graham oils made with walnut oil instead of linseed oil.  Very allergy free for me!

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Goin' Red

Pastel, 10 x 8 inches

Pastel Demo, Little Red Apples

I just liked the Little Green Apples pastel painting so much that I decided to do another painting of the redder little apples. I will do a demo as I go along. I hope you enjoy seeing how I work.

I'm using Art Spectrum pastel card that comes in 9 x 12 sheets so the surface is a little different from the Kitty Wallis used in the "Little Green Apples.. this surface can't take quite as much abuse as the Wallis, but is very good and has a consistent surface. I started with the white and decided it was just too white so scrubbed on a little pastel and smeared it with a brush and alcohol again. Nothing special, it won't show except where the top layer of pastel is thin and will add a little interest in the background, maybe.

I then sketched in the placement of the apples with a yellow pastel pencil, you may be able to see that. I then formed the apples with some green pastel to vibrate through the red. I use a mixture of soft pastels.

Next I added the base colors and start the shadows. I like to work all over the painting. Artists that do fine detail, realistic paintings tend to start in the upper corner and work down to keep from touching what they have done or keep the pastel dust from falling on a part already finished. To prevent the pastel from falling on my painting, I work with the easel upright and tilted slightly toward me. Gene made me a little tray that hangs on the easel to catch the pastel dust. You can make a tray with newspaper or aluminum foil. I also like to work standing up. I can step back easier and don't get too focused in one spot. I keep a piece of vinyl down to cover the floor and stand on some foam pads to save the old legs! I'm doing this painting in New Mexico in our summer rental. At home I have a rubber mat to stand on like is used in a machine shop or under heavy loads on a truck.

I began to develop the apples, working from the back to the front. I use a variety of greens and reds so that the apples are not copies of one another. I began to work on the cloth as well so that I get some of the reds, greens and a little yellow into the background. I began to add a little purple in the shadows.

I continued to develop the apples and cloth. Adding some variety of colors. The highlights on the red are a very pale green to make it pop and look shiny. I also used a darker green for the reflections. I scumbled some yellow and green onto the red cloth to soften it and make the apples stand out more. To scumble with the pastels I drag, very lightly, a different color over the color on the painting. I blend this with a hard pastel in a similar color rather than using my fingers too much. When you blend pastels you push them flat and they loose some of their brilliance. I do blend in the shadows and in skies sometimes or to make something look soft. Untouched pastels reflect more light off the pigment crystals or odd shapes and give more life to a painting.

Here is a close up of the apples to show the detail.

Here is the set up. I did not brighten the photo to show that the color is closer to the apples in my painting, but you get the idea. I also left the leaves out of the painting as they had wilted by the time I got to them. Working from life rather than a photo allows you to see color in the shadows. A photo washes out the highlights as well. I work from life whenever I can. Sketching or painting. I enjoy plein air. Maybe the next demo can be a landscape. ______________________________________________________

Here are some quick links to instruction on this blog, too.  Some are from some time back, so you may not have seen them if you are new to my blog.

Not on my blog:  A plein air "how to" is on Art Instruction Blog here http://www.artinstructionblog.com/plein-air-painting-with-pastels-city-of-rocks#more-388  I did this quite a while back but my technique hasn't changed much.

Pros and Cons of Painting with Soft Pastels

Color Notes - how color is affected by the color next to it.

Color Notes for Still Life Paintings - how color helps with depth and more

Work in Progress Demo - Cholla Cactus

Teaching Classes - preparing for a class ( I do give classes at the gallery, individual or two students)

          Class Review - pastel class review

Framing Against Glass .. or not - I still do this and think it is the best solution, especially for Pastelbord.

A Happy Medium, Color and Value - how color and value can affect your painting.

More on Value - how color affects value.

Turning on the Light - especially in still life painting.  Review of one of my pastel classes/demos.

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There are more instruction and info posts  scattered around my blog.  There are many posts about sketching and the pens and equipment I use.  Like this one.

Sketching with Pens - the pens I use.  ( I have added Prismacolor fine art markers and like them, but they are like Sharpies and tend to bleed in sketchbooks with thin paper.  They are better on illustration board or heavier paper.  More for illustration.)

Have fun!