Ray Hassard pastel workshop, Day 2 Part 2

Still Life on Black 9x12 pastel, copyright 2012

When I concluded that the previous painting was finished, mostly because the paper wouldn't allow me to do any more, Ray came over for a look.  After discussing the paper and techniques for a bit, he noted that I seemed to emphasize deep shadows and dramatic lighting.  I also like to use the side of the pastels to block in large areas of color rather than making careful, precise marks, which he said made my painting very expressive.  That comment in particular has me walking on air.

Then he told me, "I'm going to give you a piece of black paper.  There's about an hour left, lets see what you can do."  Talk about pressure!  But then I realized that really, the pressure was all in my head - after all, it was just a workshop and I only had an hour so if it turned out terribly, no big deal.

To my surprise, it didn't turn out terrible at all.  In fact, I'm quite pleased with it.  Working on black requires a different mind set since typically with pastels you start with the darks and the go lighter, adding the lightest bit last.  With black, your darkest bits are already there so you need to start more in the mid range.   Actually, the biggest problem I had was that the green avocados in a green bowl were rather dull.  Ray pointed out, again, that I needed to place more red around the painting to give it balance and that I needed to make the background more interesting, both of which were true and improved the painting significantly.

So what did I get from this workshop?  I already knew about the underpainting technique and the various papers and pastels.  But I had never tried them before, and reading about these things on the internet is never as good as seeing them and trying them myself.  In the end though, I think it was mostly about getting feedback to reinforce my strengths and point out areas where I need to work.  Keep it loose, keep it simple, keep it dramatic.  Don't ignore the background.  Watch that the colors are well balanced throughout.  Use more red!

I think what I got out of more than anything else is the confidence to see where my strengths are, and especially to see where I need to improve.  I've already framed and hung this painting up in my studio as a reminder both.

Thank you Ray!

Ray Hassard pastel workshop, Day 2 Part 1

Still Life with Gravy Boat 12x9 pastel, copyright 2012

Day 2 of the workshop was all about a technique I knew about but had not yet tried: underpainting.  The idea is to paint first, then lay the pastels over top of the painting - the underpainting then influences the pastel painting.  This is especially useful on white and light colored papers when it can otherwise be difficult to get good, saturated darks and brights.  Again, Ray did a demonstration in the morning, then let us loose to try it ourselves.  I chose another paper that I had not used before called UArt.  It holds up well to liquids without warping and can even be scrubbed off with a sponge, and comes only in white and off white.  

This was a fun technique to play with.   First the still life was sketched with charcoal, then pastels applied in whatever color you want.  The apple was painted orange and the green bowl a bright yellow, for example.  Then the pastel is set into the paper with a brush dipped in rubbing alcohol.  Turpentine and mineral spirits can also be used.  The pastel can not be removed from the paper after this, except with a wash of the same solution, and it can not be blended.  Water works too, but the pastel can be removed and blended a bit.  Drips, washes, splatters and weird colors all can make for a very interesting, even abstracted underpainting.  

After that, it's up to the artist how much is covered.  Some cover it entirely and some incorporate it into their final painting, including leaving drips and splatters visible.  I mostly covered it, except in the green bowl where the yellow made a nice highlight.  But while working on the background and the red cloth I discovered that the paper became clogged with pastel and reached a point where I could add no more, which was rather frustrating as I wasn't quite done yet.  More washes with alcohol and water didn't help much.

Ray admitted that he usually doesn't use this technique much, except to change the tint of lighter colored paper and to set really dark darks.  I think that's probably what I will end up doing as well.  While it was fun to play, it doesn't suit my methodology that well.

Tomorrow I'll post the second painting from Day 2, and my thoughts on the workshop.

Ray Hassard pastel workshop, Day 1

Still Life with Mangos 12x9 pastel, copyright 2012

This weekend's workshop with Ray Hassard at the lovely Baker Hunt Art and Cultural Center in Covington, Kentucky marks the first time I have had any formal instruction in pastel techniques.  It was designed to be a beginning class and while I wouldn't consider myself a beginner, in a way the lack of training puts me in that category.  The whole idea was to play with new techniques, new papers and new pastels.

First of all I have to say that Ray was an excellent teacher.  He was patient and helpful and encouraged me to do more, which is what I needed.  He started out with detailed discussions about the medium, then moved on to a demonstration all the while answering students' questions and enthralling us with stories of his extensive travels overseas.  He was familiar with the methods of other artists, often pausing to point them out in the many instructional books he had brought along.

In the afternoon it was time for the students to have a go at various still lifes he had set up around the room.  I chose a paper I had never used before, La Carte by Sennilier, and was told not to get it even a little bit wet or the water based texture of the paper would simply come off, taking the pastel with it.  While most of the time I used my own pastels, I did dive into his big box of miscellaneous sticks.  This painting is the result of the day's work.

I've decided that I don't really care for the La Carte paper, it's a bit too rough in texture for my tastes.  But I do like the very soft pastels and went back often to a very dark purple from Great American Art Works, a Cincinnati based company.  But what I really got out of the day was Ray pushing me to spread the colors around, especially the red, so that one item (believe it or not, it's a bowl) did not become isolated or pop forward too much.  And he really had me work to keep the background more interesting, always a challenge for me.  Some aspects of it, such as the background and jar, came out well and others like the red bowl and mangos, not so much.  But it was fun the see what works and what doesn't.

Day 2 tomorrow...

River rocks

River Rocks 12x9 pastel, copyright 2010

I almost gave up on this one.  At about the half way point I realized the rocks just looked like blobs, there was too much purple and yellow, and it really wasn't amounting to much.  But I kept on it, hoping it was simply, as I've heard one artist put it, at the "awkward teenager stage".  It's pretty common for artwork to look awkward in the middle and for the artist to wonder, "Is this really going to work?"  It's a matter of seeing the potential there and pushing through the doubts.  A highlight here, blend a little there, tone it down a little here and pretty soon it was back on track.

I enjoy these still lifes with deep shadows and strong contrasts.  They make for dramatic images, even with simple everyday objects.  It's been awhile since I've done one of these as I seemed to have been focusing on landscapes lately.   But a recent purchase of a lamp got me back into it.  It's just a basic light, but it has a clamp and a flexible arm which means I can place and point it just about anywhere.  It's great for getting those dramatic shadows.  I might have to start poking around the house looking for more ideas for a still life.