Pastel was calling my name on Friday. I got out some "new" paper instead of wiping something off. I found a pack of UArt paper in 400 grit. I haven't used this sanded paper in a long time and not very many times. It is a rough paper and gobbles up the pastels. It is not good for blending with your fingers either. I don't blend much. I used some pipe insulation to blend the background to keep from using more pastel as my piece was a sketch. An under painting would help but wasn't a good idea time wise (waiting for paper to dry).
This heavy grit does not lend itself to detail. The writing and the bird on the books was a challenge that I didn't care to take on for just a sketch. I'm not going to develop it more. I will wipe it off and blend with alcohol or water for an under painting and use the paper again. I didn't want to spend too much time on a sketch.
I left the board showing around the sketch in my photo to keep it looking sketch-like. I started this on Friday and added just a little detail yesterday. To design a painting, an addition of reading glasses and a glass of wine or cup of coffee might be nice.
For Scavenger Hunt from Life 65
https://creativespark.art/threads/scavenger-hunt-from-life-65-16-24-april-2023.5377/
Number 6, books and magazines. A variety of a bird book, a novel, Reader's Digest and the wedding books of our daughter and granddaughter. Reader's digest used to be like a pocketbook size but is about 9 x 12 inches now like a magazine. The novel is by Clive Cussler. he was a friend of a friend and we read many of his action books.
Yesterday was an almost perfect spring day. We vacuumed and wiped down the porch and put the rug down. We arranged the furniture getting it ready for us to enjoy our mornings again. It is cloudy, breezy and a cool 61º this morning, so no porch sitting.
I received notice of new art by my cousin, David Graham. He paints in oils and creates beautiful southwest paintings. Have a look if you haven't for a while.
https://www.davidgrahamart.com/
No baseball today -- thunderstorms predicted. They played a double header yesterday in anticipation of the bad weather. The Longhorns lost all three games to the Oklahoma Sooners. It was the first time the Sooners swept the series since 1998 and the first time ever at the Disch. Dang.....
The Austin Pastel is having the meeting today in Austin. Live and in person and on zoom. There is a demo by Jeannette Cuevas. It will be nice to get together again. I'm not going but so happy they are being social again. That is so good for artists. You can check the website for info: https://austinpastelsociety.org
8 comments:
Nice sketch of the books! Gotta see it before you wipe it off. lol
Your cousin, David does really nice southwest paintings. Is he also in Texas? I should have checked while I was on his site.
Joan, thanks. I always take good photos of the sketches before I wipe them off. Really bothers Joe!
David is in Montana. We saw him a few times when we went to see his grandmother when we went to Canada and other northern spots. He is a very nice person and a real cowboy.
That's a lovely sketch Jo and I really appreciated your explanation of the process. I tried pastels a long time ago and couldn't get on with their dusty nature and the lack of a 'point' so decided they weren't for me. A while ago I tried Pastel pencils and was amazed at how different they were. I envy your ability to produce a sketch like this on what amounts to sand paper. Nice work!!
Jo great perspective with the books stacked on each other. Sometimes it is nice to just relax knowing that when one is finished they can wipe something down and reuse it for another piece of work. Just finished watching a you tube video of Linda Brown making a textured watercolor painting using gesso. I often use gesso and paint over bad paintings (which there is a great many Ha! Ha!) As for your cousin David's art - gorgeous paintings. He certainly captures the Southwest so well. Take care and have a great day. Hope it warms up a bit so you can get some porch sitting time. Hugs!
John, Ha, I do love pastels as no waiting for paint to dry and I can walk off and come back any time to finish or dabble. My preferred surface is Pastelbord. It is sanded but not gritty. No grid either like some of the not sanded paper. Thanks for checking in.
Debbie, I like "no pressure" as well. Once in a while I get a keeper, but not often when I'm just sketching. Gesso is a good fixer and you can tone it when you want to. David is amazing. We do need to enjoy the porch. It will be 100º before we know it!
Well done.
www.rsrue.blogspot.com
I have some pastel paper that is extremely rough. It could be the U-art, but I would have to go look. It was something that was offered cheap as a trial run.
Speaking of Montana, Jesse is going to spend the summer in Red Lodge, Montana doing some sort of ceramic residency. I think we will have to go see her. Then she is moving to West Virginia to go to Grad school in August. I may have to call and fill you in on the latest.
R's Rue, thank you.
bag blog, sounds like a great summer in Montana. That is such a neat place to go and cool off. It does get hot, too, but the mountains are nice and cool. We stayed in Big Timber that one time, not far. We will talk soon.
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