Hour Flower Pastel Sketch

Don't you just love pastels and lots of color?  I'm still not in a great painting zone but the pastels called to be used for a sketch.  The Scavenger Hunt called for a flower.  We have a hanging geranium on the porch that is blooming very nicely.  Not sure how, I usually let them die.  So I brought in a couple of blooms that were almost past their prime.

 Scavenger Hunt 682 https://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/topic/scavenger-hunt-682-june-11-june-19/

Number 1, flower - geranium 8 x 10 on recycled MiTeintes paper (it was a hollyhock in the papers last life), pastels in a bit less than an hour.

The little pitcher is one that was my mother's.  It burned in the fire and is not very white but cute for the flowers.  It also doesn't shine like porcelain should because the glaze is gone.  Very good memories attached to it so a happy sketch.

Canson MiTeintes paper is one of the least expensive pastel paper for practicing.  It comes in many colors and is double sided.  It probably wasn't meant to be double sided but the "front" has a grid on it and the back is smoother.  It doesn't hold many layers.  For practice and sketching it is great.  I have even wet the paper for an under painting.  The paper did wrinkle but flattened out after it was dry and more pastel was added.

Many artists prefer to use the paper for portraits.  You make more purposeful strokes when you aren't able to layer on the pastel thickly.  I like using this paper.

Under the Weather Tree

I've been under the weather for a few days.  Ill, not hungover.  Although I felt a bit hungover.  I had a really bad sore throat.  Yesterday, I finally broke down and called the doctor.  I had a teleconference.  I had to go get my throat swabbed to check for strep and COVID.  I was pretty sure I had neither as I've had my vaccine and I didn't see any white in my throat.  We had to wait outside (by the dumpsters) for the nurse to come out.  Took forever...and ever.  Gene listened to a podcast and slept.  I sketched.  It seems the throat was mainly allergy problems.  I am much better today.  Crazy.

It is very pretty past the dumpster. I found a couple of things there that fit the Hunt.  I sketched quickly as we were told they would be "right out".  I could have taken much more time as it turned out.

For Scavenger Hunt 676  https://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/topic/scavenger-hunt-676-april-24-may-2/

Number 1, tree - in front of us.  I liked the crooked tree.  The sparse hedge hasn't recovered from the freeze and snow I guess.  And there was a nice reflection in the window.  Then to the right was Number 2, metal - the fence and Number 3, underneath - a bit of the big pond with some waterlilies.  Those don't show well in my tiny sketch (the two pages are 5 x 8 inches).  I've sketched the pond in the back of the clinic and didn't realize it came all the way around the side of the large building.

 

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The awards and prizes were announced for the Austin Pastel Spring Online Show.  You can see the results here and review the paintings again.  https://www.austinpastelsociety-exhibitions.org
The winners are at the top of the pages for Established and Emerging artists. 

 

Congratulations to the winners.  Some of my favorites were included with the winners.  I like Jan Weaver's Hollyhocks a lot, not surprised are you?   And Enid's landscape is beautiful.  My People's Choice pick was Texas Baroque by Nancy Lilly. I do like bluebonnets and cacti.  I also like her rich color choices like in her Honorable Mention for Serene Traveler.   I was happy to see Alan Ehrlich get the Peoples Choice Award.

In the Emerging Artists, I really like Unexpected Beauty by Kathy Lux.

I hope you enjoyed the show and will check in with the Austin Pastel Society once in a while.  You could even join the group!

 

Another online show you might enjoy is the Northwest Watercolor Society.  They had 422 entries, juried down to 70 or so.  There are some amazing watercolors there.  You can read about it in this American Watercolor post and follow their link to the paintings or just click on the second link

https://americanwatercolor.net/no-ticket-required/

 https://www.nwws.org/Exhibitions/Waterworks-Members-Exhibition

Cosmos in Watercolor

I must be a glutton for punishment to do another watercolor the following day.  Two strikes against me on this.  My watercolor ignorance and trying to paint Cosmos.  They are such a delicate flower and it just doesn't come through in painting for me.  I tried in pastels years ago.

I don't seem to have a larger photo of this on hand.  It is pastel about 8 x 10 inches.

Today I painted for the Southwest January Challenge on wetcanvas from my photo.  I think the photo is from Angel Fire, Taos or Red River in New Mexico.  I decided to try watercolor.  I couldn't decide what to do about the background and just played with it.  I tried blowing the stem grasses with a straw.  My flowers look more like hollyhocks than Cosmos.

This is 7 x 9 inches in a watercolor sketchbook.  

The photo I used.  These weren't very tall by a flowerpot.  I think of them as tall and blowing in the wind.

It was practice!  Always good.

Bud, Honey Crisp and Blue .. Pastel Sketch and Watercolor Sketch

 Yesterday I played in the dust for an hour or so.  I wiped off a piece of Colourfix sanded paper and sketched with a variety of pastels.

Number 1, drink bottle - Budweiser I bought to make bug spray and haven't
Number 2, apple - a big Honey Crisp
Number 3, blue - a blue bowl from the Empty Bowl projects, upside down

The paper shows through a lot, but I didn't want to spend the time to turn the sketch into a painting.  Some paper peeking through is OK, but it takes away from the glass bottle .

Today we went for our walk so I sketched across the pond, this time from the picnic table.  I used a Micron 02 in the travel sketchbook and added some watercolor back at the house.  The blue square item is a boat of some sort.  I made it too big for the rest of the sketch.  I had to put color, otherwise you wouldn't know it was there.  I added color mainly to show the reflection then forgot to put the reflection in.  Sigh...  Not up to scanning, resizing, etc.  Use your imagination for me today.

 

We are in heat advisory mode.  It is supposed to get to 106 F and feel like 112 degrees.  I'm so happy that we do not have to work in the heat.  I feel sorry for those that do.  Take care out there!

Old Number 7 and Pastel Sketch

The July monthly challenge on the Southwest and Western Forum on wetcanvas is well underway.  I needed to get something done before the month slips away.  One of the artists post several images of animals, cowboys, farms, cactus, etc.  I picked a cow to sketch, are you surprised?

The cow has a number 7 in her markings and on the tag on the ear.  Jenna posted the photos and says the two sevens are a coincidence.  It made me smile to see this.

Old Number 7, this is a full page in the coffee table sketchbook with a Micron 02.

Pastels caught my interest for Scavenger Hunt 641 also on wetcanvas.  I picked this red glass for a wine glass.  Tea cup was on the list, I found this coffee cup and saucer to substitute.  It made it through the fire and has damage to the finish and inside.  Bird was another item and I found this little quail that made it through the fire as well.

I worked on a new piece UArt 400 grade sanded paper, 9 x 12 inches.  Yesterday I spent over an hour on this and another hour or so this morning.  It is supposed to be a sketch -- quick, right?  I kept changing ellipses and lines and finally said enough is enough.  Not really a finished painting but done for a sketch.

You read that right, it is a new piece of paper but will surely be reused for other sketches.  We have a photo, right?

Magnifying with Pastels, Photos

This Scavenger Hunt is over today.  I didn't do my average number of items.

Scavenger Hunt 518
http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1436858

Number 5, magnifying glass - Gene's glass that fits in a little bag to prevent scratching.  This is on Canson paper and took about 15 minutes at most.  Small, about 5 x 8 inches.

I had the idea from the beginning of the Hunt, nine days ago, but had not bothered.

Here are a few photos from Veterans Day in downtown Bastrop, Texas.

They have a huge car show, well huge for Bastrop.  The cars are lined up on the curbs side by side for three blocks.  This old pickup added some fall color.  I wonder if that helped to garner a prize?

This military vehicle was at the beginning of the cars at Pine and Main.  I visited with the crew for a few minutes and thanked them for their service.

Gene did not walk in the parade this year.  He did stand for the Air Force song with fellow airmen.  I took two or three photos of him on his bike and cut off the US Flag in all of them.  Sigh.....

They had a fly over with a minute of silence at the end to honor the Veterans.  Only two old planes this year.    This post from 2014 has more info and photos of the celebration here in Bastrop.
https://jocastilloartblog.blogspot.com/2014/11/happy-veterans-day.html

The photos looks much the same.  Makes me smile.

It is always a happy/sad, proud day!  Thanks again to all the Veterans!

Pastel Sketch, etc.

For the new Scavenger Hunt 485:  http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1422032

I felt like getting my fingers dusty so wiped off that same old paper I use for the pastel sketches and went to work for about thirty minutes.

Pastel sketch on a piece of reused Colourfix paper. About 9 x 12 inches

Number 1, to do with Valentine's Day - the little owl again
Number 2, sweet - the candies
Number 3, red - a little glass

I really like pastels, here is a list of some of the reasons why I like pastels:

• Vibrant color
• Long lasting color
• Fast
• Draw and paint at the same time
• Durable
• Easy to work with
• Fast
• Can leave and come back at any time
• No brush clean up
• Do overs are OK
• Fast
• Fun
• Many different techniques available to use
• Different surfaces
• Did I say fast?  

I get bored when painting or sketching takes a long time.  That is probably why I like sketching in ink and painting with pastels.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda......

My studio has been so unused.  My iMac is in here or I might not have come in my studio for days.

Of course, I have tried many of the hints and ideas for getting myself back into painting.  One idea I read yesterday was to just go in your studio.  Hmmm, I have been doing that.   Another is to start something and spend just a few minutes at it.  The idea is to do a little every day until you just can't stop.

I am supposed to have everything ready to go as a way of just walking in with no plan.  My studio is a mess but I had an old sketch on a piece of Colourfix paper.  I wiped that off and just decided to do my sketch for today.  You can see the dark grayish undertone.  The green under the curtains is supposed to be outside through the sheers.  I spent about 30 minutes on it.  Maybe I shoulda, woulda, coulda have started on a clean piece of paper.  Hey, it's a start!

Scavenger Hunt 480  http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1419226
Number 8, corner of room - my studio
Number 9, door (in this case half of the door, it opens in the middle)

Sketching a Parallelogram

I sketched in the big book this morning with a Micron 05.  I am pleased with the parallelogram, an empty box open at both ends that I was breaking down to store.  I am OK with the round trivet, it does look mostly round.  The triangular clip is just sad.

I used a pencil to get the main shape of the box.  A bit of a cheat as I usually sketch freehand.  I did the clip freehand and should have used the pencil!  Ha.  At least I got in some sketching.

This sketch is for Scavenger Hunt 455. http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1407375

Gene framed some paintings for me the other day.  One was a gift for my niece in Tennessee.  I traded her a painting for a hand made egg basket.   She finally has her painting.  I posted about the trade with photos here on my blog:   http://goo.gl/BJdNcG

He also framed a buffalo sketch that my friend, T, wanted.  You can read about the pastel sketch here.
http://goo.gl/PPSm86

Buffalo framed to 10 x 8 inches in a barnwood frame.  Pastel Sketch.

Now he needs to frame a painting called Coyote Creek of a scene in New Mexico.  I will post about it soon.

We are trying to get our minds set on our trip so we can get ready to go....  We leave too many things to the last minute.  I sound like a broken record!  (Some of you may not know what that sounds like!)

Hunting in Pastels

Scavenger Hunt 444 http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1401520  is over today so I best get my sketches posted.  I sketched with my pastels.

Yesterday was a very lazy day.  We went to breakfast at the Texas Grill https://goo.gl/noS8GL .  It is an old diner/cafeteria restaurant.  They have a cafeteria style lunch and regular breakfast.  They are open from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The grill was open 24 hours a day until about a year ago.  It is good standard fare.  For Easter lunch they were having turkey and dressing, fried catfish and chicken fried steak.  They have salads like peas and cheese, coleslaw, etc., sides of potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, okra, etc., and then desserts like cake and pie.  It all looks good and if you get one of everything looks like you would spend about $15 for lunch.  We have never had the lunch.

Later in the day, Gene rode his Terratrike and I did my puzzles and watched a bit of TV.  Then I realized the wind was not howling and the temperature was about 75.  I got out my trusty plein air easel, which is actually called En Plein Air Pro. http://www.enpleinairpro.com/advanced_series_pastel_easel.html I am finally used to it and can set it up in a few minutes.  It is a bit heavier than I would like, but very satisfactory.

I used the paper from the fruit bowl sketch of a few days ago.  I brushed it with a paint brush, wiped with a paper towel and then wet it with the paintbrush and wiped it a bit more.

When I saw the splotch in the upper right, I thought I had wiped off the tooth of the sanded paper.  No, it was just a stain of some sort.  You can see shadows from previous watercolor under painting and the red from the bowl.

I proceeded with the Hunt.

This is Number 7, nature scene - pastel on Colourfix pastel card, 9 x 12 inches
It took about 40 minutes from thinking about it to finish including setting up the easel and washing off the paper.  With a breeze the water dried on my paper while I washed the paint brush.  I have had it take a couple of hours to dry here when the humidity is up.  Then a hair dryer comes in handy.

You can't tell the paper was not pretty to start with, right?

Next I worked on Number 8, flower and Number 9, leaf
This was a piece of Mi Teintes paper, smooth side, no under painting.  About the same size paper.  I spent about 30 minutes on this one.  I used the pastels I had in my palette box from the easel so wasn't entirely pleased with the red, but it is only a sketch so not real important.

Mi Teintes paper  http://goo.gl/XrMUbG is very inexpensive and comes in many colors.  It is great for pastel practice.  It will hold up for regular pastel painting to frame if your practice comes out better than planned.  It can be used with a bit of water.  It will buckle a bit but better than you think.  I have done alcohol under paintings on it.  I have a post about it here http://jocastilloartblog.blogspot.com/2007/06/under-painting-and-durability-of.html

Gene made me a catcher for the pastel dust from something he took off of an appliance we did away with.  The plein air easel is magnetized at the bottom and the tray just sticks right on.  How handy is that??  I didn't have to put a newspaper or foil tray on there.  Photos with and without the tray.

My view of the geranium.

The tray also sits perfectly on my indoor easel along with a tray for holding the pastels I'm using.  This pastel tray has a screen in the bottom to catch the dust.

Indoor easel with and without the trays.

Fruit Pastel Sketch

Scavenger Hunt 444 time.  http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1401520
I sketched on a piece of Colourfix pastel card, 9 x 12 inches.  It is the one with the unicorn.  Magic turned it from a unicorn to a bowl of fruit.  Amazing.

Pastels are quick for sketching.  You can fill in the color in just a few minutes.  This is not a finished drawing, many things necessary for a finished painting.  Too bad I can't put these pastel sketches in the huge sketchbook.  http://jocastilloartblog.blogspot.com/2016/01/happy-new-year-sketches-for-hunt-434.html  It would fill up much quicker.

Number 2, fruit  I thought I would show you my messy well used paper.  It even had a watercolor or wet pastel under painting at one point.  Was it a windmill to start?  I don't remember now.  It has had about 5 different paintings/sketches on it.  Next time I will wipe it off and wet it again to help the background color.

And a cropped version.  You can focus a bit more on the fruit.

The Longhorns won their game last night against UT San Antonio.  Very bizarre!  Final score was 11 - 2.  The Longhorns posted 8 runs in the 6th inning with only 1 hit as I recall, and it was a blooper.  So many walks and a couple of hit by pitcher moments.  Our Longhorn offense has to show up sooner or later.  We start conference play on Thursday against TCU.  TCU is about #6 in the country at the moment.  The Longhorns are way down, about 100,  I imagine.  Hook 'em Horns!


 

Pastel Sketch Bowl & Cup

I was preparing to paint with my pastels.  Gene cut a board for me.   I looked through my reference photos to find a scene or two so I can decide which scene to paint.  I have Pastelbord in size 16 x 20 inches.  That is a very weird size and is so popular with artists. 

I haven't sold many paintings in that size.  I think they are too big to call a small painting and too small to call a large painting.  Think about putting one over a couch -- too small.  To put in a grouping on a small wall area like an entry -- too large.  I asked him cut one piece to 11 x 20 and that left a 5 x 7 and a 5 x 13 inch pieces.  We shall see what comes of those.

It has been good for me to post my sketches here and on the Scavenger Hunts.  It keeps me sketching almost every day.  When I am not excited about painting, I at least get out some art supplies and push on.   

I like sketching with ink and pastels for some of the same reasons.  It is immediate and I don't have to go over and over something.  Pastels are easier to correct, but when I sketch, I try to leave it as is without doing much to correct the sketch.  Sketching on the iPad is easy clean up, too, but takes more time for me.

Colored pencils require coloring and going over and over to achieve dark colors. Watercolors, oils and acrylics require "watching paint dry" and also more clean up.  If you sketch with oil paints for  fifteen minutes it may take thirty minutes to clean up.  Not my thing!

In the meantime this evening, I sketched with my pastels.  I just wiped off the sketch of pear, tomato and egg and then I had an under painting.

Before wiping off.

After wiping off.

Finished sketch after about an hour.

Scavenger Hunt 438  http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1397875

Number 13, cup
Number 14, bowl
Number 15, lolly - I did some hard candies, Life Savers, wrapped in cellophane.  Not a very successful sketch, too small is my excuse
Number 16, biscuits - used some small gluten free cookies, the British call what we call cookies, biscuits.

Pastel Sketching for 438

Sketching with pastels is fun.  Color makes sketches more finished looking with less work, right?

I sketched on Canson paper with a variety of pastel sticks.  This was quick, 15 or 20 minutes.

For Scavenger Hunt 438 http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1397875

Number 7, fruit - pear
Number 8, vegetable - Italian tomato (very large for the type), a veggie in my mind, some of you may call it a fruit.
Number 9, egg
Number 10, plate

Sketching Plein Air and Inside

Yesterday, I sketched in the big/huge sketchbook with a Micron 03.  I sketched at the dining table looking out the bay window.

Scavenger Hunt 435 http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1396150  
Number 10, 11 and 12, sketch with horizon line, two trees or more and something man made - the view out the window
 
This morning's digital sketch was started on my iMac.  I like trying to draw with just the mouse.  Not easy.  I use Sketchbook Pro on my computer.  It is a good program.  However I could not find the "color picker" which is used to match a color you used earlier and want to go back to.  You can use that color to add something or erase/straighten a line with the background color.  It was very frustrating trying to do the multi colored design.  I messed with it for about an hour and then abandoned the iMac and went to the iPad.  If I had thought, I could have used the palette they have as default and saved all the fuss.

I thought, "Why not keep on with the same program?"  Practice helps, right?  I got into the third color and then realized there was no color picker on my iPad either.  Rats!  I carried on with just filling in a new color when I changed and then air brushing over the lines.  I must have spent another 40 minutes or so on the end of the rug I had started.  Pbfttt.... I finally gave up.  Next complicated thing will be done with the app,  Brushes, which I am used to!  I did learn something, didn't I?  When I went to put the number on the sketch, I saw the real problem ... Number 13.

Number 13, texture, pattern - end of the rug (needed to do the middle design over)

Today was supposed to be about 60 degrees.  After we had lunch, I stepped out on the porch and in the protected area it was 77 degrees!  I decided to do a plein air sketch on the porch.  I got out my easel and the box of pastels that goes on the easel.  I spent about 40 minutes on this sketch.  More successful. 

I'll use this for Number 14, unique - view unique to my porch.  This is much farther away, I used my zoom.  :)

By the way, this paper is the paper I used for the bowls day before yesterday.  I just wiped it off.  I usually don't do that as Mi Tientes paper is very inexpensive.  By wiping it off, though, I had an under painting of blue.  The bowls and dark lines covered well.  I meant to take a photo, but once I decided to paint/sketch I just forgot anything else.  This is a good way to practice without worrying about the paper or making a masterpiece.

I enjoyed my afternoon.  Gene was riding his trike.  Good for both of us.

Sketches Ink and Pastel

I did some sketches the last couple of days.  I sketched with the Micron 03 in the huge sketchbook and then got out my pastels for sketching today.  That felt good.  I only spent about 40 minutes on the sketch on Mi Tientes paper so it is not detailed or of finished quality.  When I first finished I wasn't sure what items I had sketched, so good luck to you.  It is growing on me so I can see the items a bit better.  Ha.  It is a sketch after all!

I am not fond of using light colored paper with pastels.  You have too much surface to cover.  I left the paper for the inside and outside of the bowls.  Good practice to get me in a painting mood.

For Scavenger Hunt 435 http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1396150
Number 3, stack of something - books on the coffee table
Number 4, row of something - kleenex, small painting, coasters and a pottery bottle

Number 5, three of a kind - bowls
Number 6,7,8 - three different shaped objects together - pottery bird, little pot and jack
Number 9, rock

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Did you know Tony Bennett is a plein air artist?  Interesting article/video.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/29/nyregion/tony-bennett-finds-his-heart-in-central-park.html?_r=2

Pastel Sketch - Apples

I sketched for Scavenger Hunt 399  http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1375890  on Canson paper with my pastels.  It looks like my daily pastel practice will be "almost" daily as I didn't do one yesterday.  Anytime I do practice, it is a good thing.    I spent about 30 minutes on this apple.  I used the same apple for the whole and the slices as the challenge on the Hunt was to sketch a piece of fruit whole and cut or opened.

Number 2, fruit - challenge to sketch it whole and cut or open.    I choose an apple.  We had pears and nectarines, too.  Apples is what I paint when I don't know what to paint.  I like the color and the challenge of making them look like individuals.

I have a lot to do today.  I am donating a painting to the Bastrop Fine Arts Guild for their fundraiser.  It will be a raffle item and I am making the tickets, too.  I make a card with for the back that doubles as a certificate of authenticity and has info for the winner.  I will post about that when done.  It is due to be at the Guild Gallery tomorrow.

It is Longhorn baseball day and they are in Nebraska today, so will listen to the game on the internet.  They lost their games on Friday and Saturday.  Maybe rooting for them long distance will help!  Hook 'em Horns.

I am also still working on taxes in between other things.

My "horror-scope" may help today:

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Procrastination gets a bad reputation, but sometimes it’s the best answer to the problem. Today procrastination will help you manage life.

I am a bit confused on how procrastination can help.  We shall see!

Gene puts a quote in his journal every day.  Recently there was one that said, "Most people put off until tomorrow what they should have done yesterday." --Edgar Watson Howe

That is more like me.  Ha!

Turning on the Light - Pastel Class December 9

I will be teaching a pastel class December 9.

Twilight Pines, Pastel on Pastelbord, 16 x 20 inches

Turning on the Light:  Learn about using values and contrast to give a painting life.  Colorful light is the first thing you see in a painting.

Suggested materials to bring:

Small still life objects, a photograph or an unfinished painting.
Pastel paper or Pastelbord at least 11 x 14 inches in size
Soft pastels (not oil pastels)
Floor Easel or table easel - It is much easier to work upright to keep your pastel painting clean and fresh
Board, cardboard or foam core to put your paper on to work on the easel
Tape or clips to hold the paper on the board
Viva paper towels and/or an old soft towel, hand wipes
Apron or comfy old clothes
Paper or sketchbook for notes and drawing

If you are a beginner and do not have pastels but want to give them a try.  Call Jo and she will bring some pastels and paper for you.
512 581-1106 Jo cell phone

These techniques will work in all media, but we will be working with soft pastels in class.

$20 for the class.

Limited space, sign up soon. 
Class and registration at the:

Bastrop Fine Arts Gallery
815 Main St
Bastrop, Texas
www.bastropfineartsguild.com

Call 512 321-8055

**** ***** ***** ****

Monthly pastel classes with Enid Wood and Jo Castillo alternating as teachers.  

• January, watercolor under paintings with Enid Wood
• February, how to edit pastel paintings, they are more durable than you think, with Jo Castillo
• March, pastel underpainting fixed with Gamsol with Enid Wood
• April, landscape paintings from photos with Jo Castillo
• May,  pan pastel under painting with Enid Wood

See Enid's work at www.enidwood.com  
Jo's work here :) and www.jocastilloart.com

Here is a review of the last class I taught in October
http://jocastilloartblog.blogspot.com/2014/10/pastel-values-class-review.html

Pastel Class October 14 Bastrop, Texas

Enid Wood http://enidwood.com  has been teaching a pastel class at the Bastrop Fine Arts Gallery on the second Tuesday during the school season.  This year I will be doing some of the classes.  October 14 will be my turn.

PASTEL CLASS
Tuesday, October 14
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon

5 Values in a Still Life:  Learn about using values to give a still life painting a real, Trompe-l'œil (three dimensional) look.  This technique applies to still life but can work with landscape and floral work as well. 

Suggested materials to bring:

• Small still life objects, fruit, vase, glass, box or use what Jo brings.  Simple items to learn technique, not to make a finished painting. 
• Pastel paper or Pastelbord at least 11 x 14 inches in size
• Soft pastels (not oil pastels)
• Floor Easel or table easel - It is much easier to work upright to keep your pastel painting clean and fresh
• Board, cardboard or foam core to put your paper on to work on the easel
• Tape
• Viva paper towels and old soft towel, hand wipes
• Apron or comfy old clothes
• Paper or sketchbook for notes and drawing

If you are a beginner and do not have pastels but want to give them a try.  Call Jo and she will bring some pastels and paper for you.
512 629-9264 Jo Studio Phone

Techniques will work in all media, but we will be working with soft pastels in class.

$20 for the class.

Limited space, sign up soon. 

Class and registration at the:

Bastrop Fine Arts Gallery
815 Main St
Bastrop, Texas

Call 512 321-8055

BEWARE!  Pastels can be addictive!

Pastel Classes Start Tuesday, September 9, Bastrop Fine Arts Gallery

A reminder that pastel classes are beginning again at the Bastrop Fine Arts Gallery, September 9, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon, with Enid Wood.  This class is about blending.  Beginners or advanced students can benefit from time with Enid.  $20.00, bring your own supplies and reference photos.  More information and to sign up:

http://bastropfineartsguild.com/news-and-events/classes-and-workshops/

815 Main Street, Bastrop, TX  78602
512 321-8055

You can see more on Enid's page as well as many more paintings
http://www.enidwood.com/classes/

Enid Wood, copyright belongs to artist.

Last season, Enid stressed color.  I took several of the classes and it really reinforced principals and allowed me to express my ideas with guidance to push my painting to complete my plan.  It was good for me.  It is not often that you can work with such an experienced artist for such a low fee.


In October, I will teach the class.  It will be on Five Values in Still Life Painting.  This idea helps in painting in general.  I hope to see you in class.  We will paint from life.  Use my set up or bring your own items for the still life along with your supplies.  I recommend working in at least 11 x 14 inches or larger and use a foam core base or other support on an easel.  Much easier to paint upright and get movement in your work.  It also keeps your painting clean.

Almost Tea Time

Jo Castillo

Pastel 16 x 20

Blue Practice Pastels

Guess that title can be taken many ways.  In my last class with Enid Wood enidwood.com we were working on pastel paintings using the color BLUE.

Blue can be a bit tricky as there are sooooo many variations in color and temperature.  For shadows and to push something back in your painting, you usually use a cool blue.  Warm blues for sunny skies.  It really depends on the color around it and each painting.

The complement is orange.  Orange mixed into blue dulls the blue toward gray.  Put blue and orange beside eachother and the colors vibrate.

Here are a few blues that you can compare. Which look cool?  The feel will change depending on what they are next to.  On the white they look darker, on the black they look lighter and on the orange very intense.

 

This is my blue practice painting.  I did it on a rust/orange Colourfix sanded paper (9 x 12) and you can see the color peeking through to add texture and interest to the blue.

I put "color" in my search box on the left and pulled up these posts about color, value and painting.  A good review!
http://jocastilloartblog.blogspot.com/search?q=color

You can put Instruction or other key words and find more posts in the "how to" genre.

Tomorrow will be our GREEN lesson.  I'll show you my practice after class.  It is so good for me to get together with other artists.  You should try it sometime.