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pastelpaintingonahorseauctionnearApplebyinYorkshire.Theconceptinthiscasewasa
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supportIworkedonwasanacidfreeartframingboard.
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ls=1&mt=8)
Ipreparedthesupportbyprimingitwithathinlayerofpastelpaste.Iusevarioustypesof
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IwaselectedvicepresidentofthePastelSocietyearlierthisyearandIamkeentoshow
peoplethatitcanbeanexcitinganddynamicmedium.Thepaintingisalargeformatandthe
pastel,alwaysstartingwithsoftfirstandthenharderlater,beforefinallyvaryingfromhardto
soft.
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Byusingarigidboard,Iamabletotapandshaketheboardtoremovesurpluspasteldustat
eachstage.Iusefixativeinbetweenstagesbutneverattheend,becausethefinished
surfacecanloseitsvibrancy.
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1.MyinspirationforthispaintingcamefromasetofphotographsthatItookofahorsesale
15&utm_campaign=Shortcourseshomepage)
nearApplebyinYorkshire.Iwantedtousetheseasthebasisfortheartworkbutdevelopthe
compositionasIprogress.
2.Theideaoflookingdownonatheatreofactivitywasforemostinmymind.Workingwith
myphotographsofthesceneasreference,Ibeganbymappingoutthesceneontothe
preparedsupportfromasquaredupdrawing.
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3.Withthesketchinplace,Iwillpaintonaleanlayerofacrylicwithahouseholdbrush.
Watercolour,gouacheorinkscanalsobeusedasabaseforthisstage.
4.Hereyoucanseetheresultsofblockingincolour.Ihavelosttheoriginaldrawingnow
andcanreacttothegeneralareasofcolourandtoneinsubsequentlayersofpastelmarks.
(http://bit.ly/1rrgKdJ)
5.HereIamapplyingareasofhighlightsinsoftUnisonorSennelierpastelstobegin
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buildingatexturedsurfacetothepaint.
6.Iamworkingonallareasofthepaintinghere,overexaggeratingthedrawingand
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layeringprocess.Mycompositionremainsclosetotheoriginalreferencephotoatthisstage
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7.Atthispoint,Ipausetoevaluateeachofthecoloursandmakesubtlechanges.Bypicking
Like
outelementswithanalogous(similar)orcomplementary(opposite)colours,Icancreate
areasofharmonyorinterest.
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8.Usingacolourinmorethanoneareaofapaintinghelpscreaterelationshipsbetween
differentareasandcreateharmony.HereIhaveworkedovertheentirepaintingwithblack
pasteltoaddcontinuitytotheshadows.
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9.Icontinuetoaddextrahighlightsanddetailstothepeopleandhorses,includingtouches
ofgreentothefleshinordertotonedowntheredfaces.
10.DaytwoofthepaintingandItendtostartbyredrawingtheoutlinesandgettingtoknow
thecompositionafresh.Imadeseveralalterationsduringthisstage,includingaddingahat
totheforegroundfigure.
11.IpickedupthisPlanesoftheHeadmannequinheadintheUSAwhenIwasteaching
outthere.Itwasexpensivebutinvaluableforfiguredrawing,asyoucanuseittojudgethe
relativetonalvaluesofaheadwhenlitfromdifferentangles.
12.Thehatisaddedandthefaceadjusted.Addingmorelinearmarkshelpsmetogetto
knowthesubjectanddevelopitgradually.Removingthehoodfromthejacketoftheother
mainforegroundfiguremeansbreakinguptheareabehindhim,too.
13.Afterfinishingwiththefirstlayersofsoftpastel,Ispraythewholepaintingwithfixative
andswitchtotheharder,morepreciseContepastelstobeginpickingoutdetails.
14.TheharderContepastelsarealsousefulforhatching,especiallycontrastingcoloursthat
helptoneutralisebrighterareas:inthisinstance,Ihatchedgreenintothered,earthy
colours.
15.Steppingbacktoassess,thepicturefeltlackingintoneandcontrast.Someareas
neededbreakingup,inordertomakethedifferentpartsofthepaintingappearmore
dynamic.
16.Itookthedecisiontosimplifysomeoftheshapesandreducethelevelsoftextureby
usingalargewetbrushtocompressthepastel.
17.Byscrubbingthebrushoverthepastelinthisway,ithelpstosoftentexturesandfine
details,leavingyouwithflatterareasofmoreunifiedtone.Surplusloosepastelislikelyto
comeoffonthebrushsobecarefultocleanitasyougo.
18.Inthisstage,youcanseemyprogressafterwettingthevariousareasofthepainting.I
washappywiththeresultsbuttheoverallpaintingnowfeltgenerallyquitecoolincolour
someareas,includingtheshirt,needwarmingupforabetterbalance.
19.HereIambringingtexturebackintowettedareasbyusingsoftpastelinaheavy,almost
impastoway.Thesemarkswillbevisibleinthefinalpainting,sothattheyopticallymixand
varytheapparentdepthwarmercoloursappeartocomeforwardandcoolercolours
appeartorecede.
20.Assessingprogressagain,someofthemarksfeeltoolinearandthehatchingistoo
obviousoncertainareas,suchastherighthandofthemanwearingtheflatcap.Themanin
blackinthemiddleofthepicturelacksdepth,too.
21.Ivecontinuedtodevelopthedefinitionofsmallerareassuchasthehandsofthemenin
theforegroundandthefiguresatthebackoftheroom.Throughoutthisstage,Iamre
evaluatingtheedgesandshapes,tryingnottomakeanyoneareamoreprominentthan
another.
22.Moreimpastostylemarksareaddedtothehandshere,allowingformoreopticalmixing.
AsIaddthedetail,Iamtryingtokeepthisinbalancewiththelevelofdetailintherestofthe
painting.
23.Sharpedgescanbesoftenedatthisstagebyechoingcoloursinadjacentareas.HereI
amtryingtolosetheedgesontheshirtcollarbybringingthefleshtonesintothewhiteofthe
shirt.
24.Timeforthefinishingtouches.Theambiguousshoulderofthecentralcharacterismore
clearlydefinednowandthecolouroftheladyinredbehindthemanwiththeflatcapis
heightenedtosuggestgreaterdepth.
ClickheretowatchavideotutorialofRogerDellarinaction,ashecreatesasmall,figurative
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