I think this is the first pastel painting that I am actually pretty happy with. There are certainly some things I could do better; but I am fairly satisfied. The image is from the photo reference library at wetcanvas.com.

I started this one a little different from my previous efforts: I did the initial drawing with black pastel and laid in the values, then went over the black & white rendering with an alcohol wash. This did a good job of keeping me focused on laying in the correct values and forced me lose an edge or two.

I work with a talented photographer who snapped this pic a few months ago.  I’m not sure I did it justice, but I did enjoy mucking with all those blues.

I’m fairly pleased with how easily these colors blend, but I have a long way to go figuring out what works best in each situation.

This piece is only 6×6 inches, and even with the harder pastels, it was still tricky to get a nice sharp edge on sanded paper.  More work to do there, too.

One last note: this painting was done from life (a departure from my earlier pastels which were done from photographs).  I built a shadow box this weekend from black foam core, and lit the setup with a small clip-on lamp and a daylight bulb.

I hate this one.  Hate it.  Just… hate it.  But this blog is about my progress as an artist – not a showcase of only my best stuff. I know that, at some point, I will get better and I’ll start making stuff I actually like.

I’m a bit depressed about the intensity of the colors in my paintings. I really want to get some nice lively grays, but I am really struggling. I’m beginning to see why some pastel manufacturers sell nearly a thousand different colors. This might get expensive if I don’t get it figured out soon.  Either that, or I may have to find a new medium.

In the meantime, I’m going to go make some color swatches. Yuck.

I’m still trying to get a handle on these soft pastels.  The tooth of the Mi-Tientes paper fills up fast, but a bit of SpectraFix fixative opens things up a bit.  Unfortunately, the pump spray bottle has a tendency to splatter a bit.

This is my first painting on Ingres paper.  I was skeptical when I started, because it is similar in texture to Sennelier that was basically junk.  To my surprise, it took multiple layers of pastel fairly well and and even held up to an alcohol wash.

I’m still struggling with reds, but of all the problems I see with this painting (including a fairly fundamental flaw in perspective), the apples are the least of my concerns.

What I learned is, I have a lot to learn.

Specifically, I need to figure out how to get darker darks and lighter lights from my pastels.

While on vacation in Maine, I noticed a proliferation of pastel paintings.  I was inspired to buy a small set and give them a try. These things are amazing.  Dry media, that blends like and looks like oil paint.  They can even be erased with a plain old plastic eraser!  It took a few tries to find a decent paper to use with these, though.  I landed on something that resembles fine-grade sandpaper.

Anywho… This painting was really just to try out the pastels and see what they can do.  I wasn’t too concerned with getting the proportions just right or about making a realistic image.  Also note that the image above is a bit more red than the actual painting due to the fact that I shot the pic with my phone under the dining room lights.