My Painting Experiences

• This is the third pastel paper that I am testing out of a sample package of twelve sample-size papers. Each is approximately 9x12 inches. There is an assortment of colors, types and shades of paper.

• My hope is to take each paper and produce a piece of artwork using it and then provide feedback on each paper. 

• Art Spectrum Colorfix Suede (light blue). Remember those old velvet paintings done on suede, well, this paper is like working on a very short-textured velvet. Soft. Smears and blends really easily, but the colors seem to sink into the paper and disappear when blended. It does make for some nice, soft edges. It is okay as a paper goes, but I do not see myself using it again.
• Paper Qualities.
  • The paper is very light blue with a suede-like, soft texture.
  • I did not use a light watercolor wash or any undercolor. I just sketched in the basic compositional sketch.
  • The surface is very smooth and soft. There is not much there for the pastel to grab onto, but it does seem to get the job done. I suppose it would be good for those who like to blend. I did use one of the blending stumps, a paper towel and finally my fingers. Fingers worked best for blending. I do not really like to use them, but in this case I just could not find anything else that worked as well.
  • Fill qualities: So-so. It is suede after all.
  • Blending: I tried a cotton rag (t-shirt material) and a tortillon blending stick. When blending with the rag, I would use short strokes in areas that I wanted to soften the pastel. The blending stick would great and I used it quite a bit.However, the best tool I found were my fingertips!!
  • Fixative: Did not use.

• This paper gets a 3 of a scale of 1 to 5. It is just not something the fits my needs. Too soft. I would like to try it in different colors. Blue is not a color that I normally would choose for a background color. This paper might work nice for a portrait. I may try it again, but I hope to use a different base color.

"Winter Stillness"

pastel on paper, 7.5 x 11 inches

 

• This is the second pastel paper that I am testing out of a sample package of twelve sample-size papers. Each is approximately 9x12 inches. There is an assortment of colors, types and shades of paper.

• My hope is to take each paper and produce a piece of artwork using it and then provide feedback on each paper. What I hope to gain from this exercise is more experience on different surfaces using pastels. One should "rock the boat" now and then and try new things. For me, this is a way to learn and experience new methods - Maybe even gain some useable knowledge.

• Art Spectrum Colorfix Supertooth. This paper surprised me. After my experience with the Colored Colorfix paper, I did not have great expectations for this paper.  The surface quality is much coarser than the first colorfix paper that I tried. I has a lot more surface area to grab the pigment of the pastel.
• Paper Qualities.
  • The paper is creamy white tone. 
  • I did use a light watercolor wash for an undertone. It helps me with blocking in shapes gives me a bit of guidance in the design. Also, since the paper is light in color less pastel is needed to fill in the different values when an underwash is used.
  • The surface is fairly textured a bit like sandpaper. The surface appears to have tiny little bubbles that popped providing a rough textured surface (more surface area so that there is more for the pastel to grab onto.)
  • Fill qualities: Compared to the first paper that I used, I actually liked this one. I would even consider purchasing it. I could layer, blend and have fun working the pastel. I did not make much pastel dust with this paper as compared to the first one.
  • Blending: I tried a cotton rag (t-shirt material) and a tortillon blending stick. When blending with the rag, I would use short strokes in areas that I wanted to soften the pastel. The blending stick would great and I used it quite a bit.
  • Fixative: Did not use.

• This paper gets a thumbs up. I did use a light watercolor wash and I found the paper to take the watercolor nicely. The surface is a little weird looking, but it did the job.

 

After I complete the comparison of papers, I will put together a chart of sorts with the name of the actual paper used, the pros, the cons, the cost, colors available and the type of pastels that seem to work best (pencils, hard or soft)...of course, this is just my humble opinion.

 

Two papers tested and ten more to go...also a handmade surface to be included.

• This is the first pastel paper that I am testing out of a sample package of twelve sample-size papers. Each is approximately 9x12 inches. There is an assortment of colors, types and shades of paper.

• My hope is to take each paper and produce a piece of artwork using it. What I hope to gain from this exercise is more experience on different surfaces using pastels. One should "rock the boat" now and then and try new things. For me, this is a way to learn and experience new methods - Maybe even gain some useable knowledge.

• Art Spectrum Colored. Initially, I thought that I would love this dark gray pre-toned paper. Wrong. I started two different paintings on this paper, and I eventually wiped each one of them off after struggling with each one of my trials. They say the third time is a charm. That seems to be the case with this paper.
• Paper Qualities.
  • The paper is colored with a very dark gray tone. If one compared this paper to a gray scale finder, the value would be around a no.2 with one being black and ten being white.
  • The surface is fairly smooth like a very fine sandpaper. However, if a pastel is dragged across the paper on its side, there are dimples that pop out and do not fill with pigment. This quality annoyed me.
  • Fill qualities: I had difficulties with this one. I like to layer the pastels typically starting with a hard pastel and then using a softer version. The paper seemed to fill quickly and after a couple of layers, the pastel would just make a lot of dust and not seem to want to stick very well.
  • Blending: I tried a paper towel and a blending stick. The paper towel did blend the pastel, but a lot of it just came off. A blending stick worked well, especially for getting the pastel into those little dimples.
  • Fixative: This is something that I typically do not use. However, after struggling with trying to get something onto the paper, I sprayed a workable fixative onto it. The pastel just seemed to sink into the dark paper and disappear.

• I believe this paper probably works fine for someone who likes fine lines and a lot of detail work. Just not me. Maybe I need to work more with it. In the end, the paper and I did not click - maybe a different colored paper would work better for me.

 

This is another pastel painting on Wallis paper of my favorite river, the Rum. It runs along my back yard and it is fun to watch as it changes from day-to-day and season-to-season.

The Rum River is designated as a Wild and Scenic River. This means that the integrity of the river is preserved by preventing uncontrolled development. With the slow meandering waters that flow along my backyard, I have paddled up the river in my canoe and it is like another land with the beautiful and scenery and wonderful wildlife. Turtles, eagles, hawks, fish, birds, deer and even dragonflies. The river is 148 miles long, starting at Lake Mille Lacs and emptying into the Mississippi River. The name of the Rum also has quite a history. Apparently, the Sioux referred to Lake Mille Lacs as Spirit Lake. The Europeans mistranslated "Spirit" to "Rum".

The waters of Minnesota are a treasure and they need to be protected from pollution, contamination and uncontrolled development. They can be enjoyed and they should be preserved for our children and their children for years to come.

This pastel painting in my latest attempt at this media. With each one, I do learn something new. This pastel is a studio piece done from a reference field oil painting, two black and white studies and a reference photo that I took. The color notes from the reference oil painting study proved invaluable. Photos do not capture what my eye sees in the field at all.