Innholdsfortegnelse for January/February 2021 i The Pastel Journal

Some of the most important breakthrough moments for artists occur with pastel or brush in hand. You might remember a time when you tried a new underpainting approach or perhaps used a familiar technique but on a new surface, and the results were surprisingly effective—and worth repeating. Other times, however, creative discoveries happen outside of the studio and may not involve the mastery of an essential skill or a new technique. In fact, very often, the biggest breakthroughs have more to do with mindfulness than materials. “A work of art can only come from the interior of man.”—EDVARD MUNCH In this issue, which turns the spotlight on landscape painting, you’ll read Frederick Somers’ story of a breakthrough moment that occurred while he was walking in the woods. There, he made…

A Pastelist’s New Year Resolutions Here’s how to set creative goals that produce an artistic road map for a year of creative growth and inspired painting. artistsnetwork.com/go/pastel-resolutions 13 Tips for Better Pastel Paintings Award-winning artist Tony Allain shares 13 pastel tips and techniques for creating stronger paintings with more confidence. artistsnetwork.com/go/better-pastel How to Paint Snow in Pastel Liz Haywood-Sullivan describes how to paint snow using the right color values in this pastel demonstration of a winter landscape. artistsnetwork.com/go/pastel-snow…

It was the bucket-list trip of a lifetime. When a friend invited me to join her small group on a trip to the Provence region in France during the lavender bloom, I jumped at the chance. There was a catch, however— it wasn’t a painting trip. Only two of us in our group of five were artists, and our wish lists were quite varied. I was the only one, for example, who dreamed of painting in the lavender fields. It turns out I need not have worried. I actually managed to squeeze lots of painting time into my non-art-specific adventure. In fact, traveling like this was a surprisingly productive way to experience the region. I returned home full of inspiration, and with a portfolio full of paintings. I painted 40…

You might not think that escaping a country in crisis would be an auspicious experience, but for Dalibor Dejanović, leaving behind his war-torn homeland of Yugoslavia marked a new beginning. “I lived in a small town on the front line from 1991 to 1995,” he says. “Living without power or running water and with scarce food made me grow up quickly. We had to flee to safety. Losing all our possessions and becoming refugees was a hard but transforming experience. Oddly, I felt free, like everything was possible. We were at the bottom, so the only way was up.” He spent a year in a refugee camp and then, arriving in Canada in 1996 at the age of 17, he began to focus on making art. “I found that I…

Stage 1: Reference Photo and Thumbnail Sketch I photographed this beautiful scene while on a garden tour at La Foce, a breathtaking estate in the Val d’Orcia area of Tuscany, where I stay during my painting holidays in Italy. I made a quick thumbnail sketch to make sure this scene would translate into a worthy painting subject. Stage 2: Inital Drawing I drew and placed all of the major shapes. Stage 3: Trying on Color I love this stage because it’s when I find out if I have enough interest to continue pursuing the subject. In this case I got drawn into the lovely color scheme—a triad of purples, oranges and greens. Stage 4: Development I started working on the background greens, which needed to be soft and grayed, and…

No artist has handled pastel more adroitly than did Maurice Quentin de La Tour (1704–88). His portraits, perceptive in characterization and brilliant in technique, represent a virtual who’s who of the French Enlightenment. La Tour’s facility was hard earned. He was known to ceaselessly rework his pastels, sometimes spending years on a portrait, yet his most engaging works are often the more spontaneous preparatory drawings. His Self-Portrait in the Art Institute of Chicago was drawn with this freshness of spirit. “King Louis XV and Queen Marie Leszczyńska sat for him, as did philosophers Voltaire and Rousseau.” La Tour was born in Saint-Quentin, France, and as a teenager moved to Paris, where he was apprenticed to an obscure artist. Following the example of Rosalba Carriera (1673–1757), he began making portraits in…

I always want to bring art supplies with me on a trip, so I put together a small kit that fits into my backpack. I don’t use a tripod or easel. Instead I attach my paper to a piece of foam core and hold it in my lap or lay it flat when working. I like to use the Heilman single sketchbox with an array of pastels. I also bring an assortment of my favorite sanded pastel papers—UART, Pastel Premier and Pastelmat. It’s important to bring paper that‘s familiar to you. Unless you have a lot of time to experiment, it’s safer to work on paper you know. I cut full sheets of paper into smaller sizes—mostly 5x7 and some 8x10. Sometimes I’ll tone a few sheets of paper beforehand…

SURFACE Dejanovic favors the suede-like surface of Clairfontaine’s Pastelmat. In particular, he enjoys its softness and its ability to handle a wet underpainting. He finds many other pastel papers too abrasive. He also uses Canson Mi-Teintes nonsanded paper, saying that it “teaches” him to restrict his layers and paint with a light hand. Because Dejanovic frames his work with the margins showing, he carefully secures his paper to a backing board with masking tape before beginning a painting. Removing the tape reveals a clean margin. “Probably the most satisfying part of finishing a painting is removing the masking tape!” he says. PASTELS For initial sketches, Dejanovic uses Faber & Castell Polychromos pastel sticks because they don’t smear easily. He relies on Sennelier, Great American and Terry Ludwig pastels for his…

SURFACES: Gleim uses 400-grit UART paper dry-mounted to a ridged surface, such as Gator board or Rhino board. She also uses Ampersand Pastelbord. For larger works, she creates her own surfaces by applying Golden Pumice Gel to board. PASTELS: When drawing animals, Gleim begins with hard pastel, then moves on to medium-hard and eventually finishes with softs. She prefers the following brands: • Unison Colour: Gleim is an Associate Artist for this line, which offers the bright light values, rich warm tones and vivid blues that she uses frequently. • Girault: Gleim says these pastels are finely crafted to provide a unique consistency suitable for covering large areas as well as for finishing details. • Terry Ludwig: The square-shaped pastels especially appeal to Gleim for mark-making.…

CREATIVE CONVERSION A single piece of furniture can be used for more than one purpose. The top of a low cabinet, for example, can be used as a palette. I place a large, thick foam board on top of two chairs to create a temporary horizontal plane for painting and drawing. ON THE WALL Make good use of any available walls. You can install racks, cubbies and shelves to store completed projects or works-in-progress. My display of artwork goes all the way up to the ceiling. This way, I create a lot of storage without having shelves protruding into the space. Make use of pegboards or hang a wire across a wall and use clothespins to display work or hold paintings that are drying. CLEAR THE CLOSET By squeezing your…

Step 1: I’m most happy when I take a brush of ink to my paper, letting the drips and expressive quality of the fluid stroke take over. I also love the darkness of the ink as well as the subtle shades of gray that inevitably come out. Step 2: Once dry, I begin painting with pastels. I start mostly with the darks. Step 3: As I continue to work the other values, I lay in strokes of color, paint negatively and build up shapes. My strokes are gestural and quick in order to create a sense of direction and movement within and around the scene.…

WHEN NOT AT AN EASEL, artist Lisa Gleim is a woman seemingly in constant motion. In addition to being a wife and mother of an active family, she’s continually traveling to places that inspire her work. Since childhood, she has been drawing, pursuing education and exploring a variety of interests. Along the way, she has found a venue for her two great passions: animals and pastels. As an artist, Gleim has refined her natural strength in composition through her narrative works. Her paintings capture motion, largely through the depiction of water, which heightens the engagement and emotional response of her viewers. Her work has become widely recognized and, equally important to the artist, it allows her to share the detail and nuances of the vast, ever-changing world of nature through…