PA - LESSON #3 - Farm House

[NHC50]

Dennis question. The brown that you first put down on the shadow side of the buildings. was it a dark or med brown?
Thanks Nina

[Dorothyofoz]

Dennis, I'm constantly having the same problem. Every time I rub the pastels with my finger I seem to be taking away colour instead of pushing it into the paper.


I can't seem to get the depth of colour you achieve with the farm house. I'm using the darkest I have but I can still see the paper through it.


What am I doing wrong? 

[dennis]

Sorry for the delay in answering - had computer problems. Had to spend time removing malware and spyware, etc., that had slipped passed my supposed to be very excellent anti-virus program.

Nina, I really can't remember which brown I used as I am used to painting by instinct with pastels (and oils). The safest way is to use the lightest colour first, and if not dark enough, then use the darker one. I actually applied the colour with a very light pressure (light stroking action) remembering that when smudged it will appear darker.


Dorothy, if you look carefully you will see that I often use several layers of pastel to achieve the result I am aiming for. Sometimes I fix the colours in between them - not always.


I personally like to block in the basic colours and then press them into the paper to form a solid base for the subsequent layers. (fat over the lean)

[C.Bodine]

Wow! You guys are really doing great on the pastel classes!   

[jillh]

I so enjoyed painting the farm house.

Details

[dennis]

Excellent, Jill. Well done 
Just don't forget the highlight on the tree trunk. It has to have sun on  it in order to be able to cast that shadow    Lovely foreground.

[jillh]

Thank You Dennis.  I will fix that right now.

[MaryAnne Long]

Jill h

Another beauty!!  Your pinkish colors are reminiscent of bricks.  My eyes are being drawn too easily to the two bright windows on the second floor.  Maybe tone down the brightness just a bit.

Otherwise, it's just beautiful.

aloha

mea

[jillh]

Thank you Mea.  I see what you mean.... I'll do that.

[Bev S.]

Finally finished my free hand rendition of the farm house!! I took so many liberties with the ref. photo, that I'll be surprised if anyone recognises it!!

Details

My very first adventure into the world of pastels tells me that I don't think pastels and I get along very well,  and I should  just go back to the pencil classes where I belong. There is nothing about this painting that appeals to me. But, it was kinda fun messing about with the chalks!

Thanks Dennis, you gave a tremendous class!!

[Lisa From Oto]

  Bev I like it.  You have done an awesome job.

The only thing, and I say this knowing the only pastel I have done is teaching in a classroom of 7yr to 13 yr old children  , I feel the back of the house is somehow lost to the eye but I am not sure how you would change it or even if it should be  ing again.  Feel free to ignore me completely 

[MaryAnne Long]

Nice try, Bev.  I see what Lisa means about the far side of the house looking like it's missing.

Otherwise, you were brave to try the pastels.

aloha

mea

[Steven]

  Nice work Jill your shading on the house is very nice, the roof and sunward side of the house just glow.  I must have glazed over in the lesson when the pond was mentioned, it rounds out that left side nicely.

Oh!  That pond!  Bev, when you said pond I thought you were pulling my leg    I like the colors you used on the house, it looks a lot more like stone with the yellow hues, and I knew you would not be able to resist landscaping the place with bushes!   Don't throw in the towel just yet on pastels, drawing with a noodle is just different than having the tight control as with a pencil, for me it makes me think harder before putting color to the paper.

[Alice L Lemke]

Details

I completely scrubbed off the background with my Silver Scrubber brushes and re-did the trees, too.  I still don't like it, but it's time to move on.  I wonder if it's the paper - 300 lb Aquarelle Arches (Canson) 9"x12" block.  The paper is very rough and soaks up water like a sponge, then rips if you try to do anything to it.  It's great if you just lay down the pigment and let it lay there undisturbed. Pastel looks like crayon drawing.  That's it, no more blocks!

I just came back from a trip to www.DeviantArt.com.  Wow, what a humbling experience.  I thought I could handle it, but no, I'm not ready for that yet. Those people are professional artists.

[CAROLYN from New Jersey]

    Wow... everyone's farm house is great!  You all did a wonderful Job!