Paul deMarrais is an exceptional pastel artist and colorist, and he shares his technique with our readers. He gives frequent workshops in his beautiful home of Tennessee, and enjoys painting in plein air as well.
Paul is also an artist's entrepreneur. He makes his own pastels and sells them in beautiful sets to artists everywhere. If you click on the image above, you can read more about Paul's pastels, how he makes them, and how you can get a set of your own.
For today, Paul shares with us his technique for painting in pastels, so you can enjoy learning how he creates the beautiful pastel images of the countryside he enjoys so much.
Step 1- with vine charcoal, I map out my composition. This is a critical step for me as I can immediately sense the potential success of the project. I keep this drawing loose to accommodate changes in the horizon line. I prefer not to make my rough in too finished but this stage remains a very important point in my painting process.
Step 2- I begin to apply some pastel, sticking to a very few colors that approximate the general coloration of my subject. Keep in mind that the pastel is only the delivery method in this technique. You don’t need very much with the heavily pigmented pastels I use.
Step 3- liquefy the pastel with acrylic matte medium. I use a three inch square piece of one inch thick foam and dip into the matte medium. I try to follow the form here and there. Some of these strokes could show through and add a subtle textural interest. What is wonderful is in just a minute or two my design comes to life. I’m creating a good foundation to build on with these initial transparent washes.
Step 4- Add more pastel and liquefy to further develop the glazes. I’ve added a few strokes of green pastel and some purple on the shadows.
Step 5- I continue to refine and add some orange pastel to the tree trunks. Remember that the values will darken when you liquefy.
Step 6- adding opaque passages brings out a nice contrast of textures and edges. I mixed up some homemade acrylics with dry pigment and matte medium and applied it to the brightest areas of the painting with a rounded palette knife. The opaque areas add some pop to the painting but some of the softness and subtleties are lost.
Step 7 Finishing Up- I soften the look of the painting with glazing. I add some light coral pastel to the path and a very light yellow and some green glazes to the background. Glazing is so easy with this method. I simply dip my foam into matte medium and water based urethane. I go back and forth adding more opaque touches and then coming back with glazing to soften. I am seeking a balance of soft and hard that will seem like outdoor sunlight. I glaze a very light yellow over most of the painting. This effect is like bathing the painting in sunlight. It really improves things and I feel more hopeful about my finishing touches.
I've never had much luck with tube acrylics myself. They seem thick and unmanageable or watery or like gummy plastic. Working time never seems adequate and I found it difficult to achieve the transparent effects that interested me. Pastels, on the other hand, are my true love in painting. My desire was to see if I could develop a method that would use my vast pastel experience to create paintings that would end up as acrylic. I think this method has a great deal of potential on many levels.
Materials
Acrylic matte medium- this bonding agent is critical to this method. Use it to liquefy pastel and create transparent workable color. Keep it thin as AMM is rather plastic in nature. It dries fast but not too fast. You can work into wet medium for a good while before it begins to dry and lift. You don't want it lifting so that is a good barometer for when you need to let it dry completely. A hair dryer can speed up the drying process.
Canvas- I use a prepared stretched canvas. I prefer a "deep' canvas that is double thickness as I can paint around the edges and avoid needing a frame. Look for canvas that has a bit of 'tooth'.
Soft Pastels- to be effective, you need a premium type pastel with lots of pigment content. I use my own hand made pastels but other premium brands would be satisfactory as well. Hard, cheap pastels have much less pigment in them and won't get you strong color when you liquefy. Pastel is merely the device you are using to apply color in this method. Good pastels have lots of pure pigment and when liquefied create rich transparent washes. These glazes can be built up in thin layers to create wonderful effects. Remember that liquefying will darken the value of the colors. You'll be choosing pastels several notches lighter in value than you might ordinarily choose.
Other applicators- I like to use squares of one inch thick foam to apply matte medium to pastel. Using a blunt tool like this forces you to be loose and vigorous. I also like various other shapes of sponges that I find in craft stores. Each artist will develop their own preferences. I am not a big fan of brushes so I wanted to develop other ways that were more akin to hands on feel I get with pastel. For detail work, I like to use 'Style Stix' { made by Loew Cornell} and other similar foam tipped tools. I've made some of my own tools as well. Be creative and have fun. You can certainly use brushes if you wish. I have a variety of palette knives that come in handy as well.
Water based Urethane- this is a new product that I have been told will replace oil based finishes in the future and has shown to be very stable. It's pricey and hard to find but wonderful for transparent glazes. I use it sparingly in the same manner as acrylic matte medium. It's a bit easier to work with than the matte medium and easier to obtain very subtle effects.
Acrylic Paints- I use traditional acrylics only for opaque effects where I want a build up and richer color. I like the craft store brands like Delta Ceramcoat. These are more liquid and dry to a nice satin finish. Being a pastel manufacturer, I have access to lots of dry pigments so I often make my own acrylic using dry pigment and matte medium. This is very pure and powerful color, more rich than traditional manufacturers brands. I can make a thick paste this way and apply it with an impasto that contrasts nicely with transparent washes of color.
Basic Procedure
I use a stretched canvas with a bit of tooth. If the canvas is smooth I will apply a sanded surface on it with acrylic matte medium and fine aluminum oxide grit. Many canvases have enough tooth so you can skip this step altogether. After roughing in my composition with vine charcoal, I apply pastel to the canvas. I keep in mind how much color I think I will need to liquefy. A few good side strokes of quality soft pastel is usually sufficient for a large area. I keep in mind that the value of the color will be darker when I apply the matte medium and liquefy.
Using a three inch square piece of one inch foam, I dip into some matte medium and begin to liquefy the pastel. I use broad strokes to develop my design very quickly. I try to work with the form as well as with random strokes. Transparent washes immediately begin to define my image. While the medium is wet, I can add in more strokes of pastel and continue to refine my design. When I notice "lifting' of color, I know I need to let my initial wash dry. I will repeat this process over and over building glazes of color that will appear transparent and soft. Sometimes I will switch to smaller sponges to allow for more work on smaller areas of my painting. I can also draw into the wet medium with 'Style Stix' { Loew-Cornell} which have a hard rounded rubber head. These drawing tools make very nice lines of varying widths. Be creative and develop your own preferred tools! These initial layers are about developing a sense of mood through transparent glazes. When I have developed these glazes, I am ready for some opaque touches.
Adding Opaque Details
Much of this technique produces soft transparent color. To make this effect really sing, I'll add some opaque touches of brighter acrylic using 'Style Stix', palette knives and other tools. The texture produced will create a nice contrast with the smooth soft effects of the washes. The beauty of this method is in the contrasts you can easily create......soft edges and hard, smooth and textured, dull and bright, transparent and opaque. I let one of each partner dominate but provide relief with its contrasting opposite. This is a solid time proven practice used by painters over the centuries. It is more akin to how our wondrous human eye works than the hard edge eye of the camera lens. Our vision is a soft vision.
Finishing Up
Finishing is always a challenge. When do you know to stop? This is a question all artists are concerned with. In this method, I look again towards contrasts. Do I have adequate contrasts to make the painting really 'pop'? This method produces wonderful neutral color, soft edges, color unity, and transparency. Do I have a bit of brightness, a hard edge here and there to catch the eye? Do I have enough detail to bring out the lovely broad areas? After checking for contrasts, I look at my composition. Does my eye move through the painting easily or is my painting 'broken up' with bits of isolated areas? Can I improve the unity in my painting by adding more glazing? If my composition involves deep space, I can check to see if that illusion is working well. Do I have aerial perspective? Are distant areas bluer and duller? I can also look for small drawing problems that might be distracting and stand back and look at my painting. When I have done a thorough review and feel good about my painting, I can call it quits.
Why Use this Method?
Like all new methods, there should be a feeling of improvement over other traditional methods. This pastel to acrylic method has a number of advantages. It is lightning fast compared to oils as there is little drying time to slow you down. You can just keep layering and layering. I like the fact that your painting develops very rapidly as well. You can see immediate results and to me this is inspiring. This method makes glazing a snap. Glazing in oil and acrylic can be quite a tricky affair. This method reinforces good painting practices. You develop a good foundation, avoid fussy details that often snag painters, get good color unity almost automatically. Best of all you can easily develop exciting contrasts in your paintings. To me, creating a painting with this method is loose and fun. Painting should be fun!
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Thank you Paul!
Visit Paul deMarrais on his website by clicking HERE
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