A Surprising Tool to Use While Painting with Pastels

Choptank River Lighthouse 12x12 pastel available $155.00

 Ohhhh how beautiful the sunsets reflecting across the water are here in Maryland. My son and I had just finished dinner at a (new-to-us) restaurant in Cambridge which is about 20 minutes from us.  We wanted to try somewhere different and chose this great place right on the water.  When we were finished, we decided to do a little sight seeing and just drove with no real destination in mind - we'd just take a left or a right when we got to stop signs just to see what might be down that road.  What a treat we found at the end of one of those roads.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Wow! the red roof of the lighthouse was almost blinding with the glow of the setting sun. I parked the car and stood at the edge of the water in sheer bliss.  The colors of the boats and lighthouse just danced on the water.  We were hoping to get a tour inside, but unfortunately they were closed for the night.  I see another trip in the near future.

This painting took a tighter drawing than the quick sketch I'm used to, but it's well worth the extra time so you don't run into perspective issues half way through the painting process.  I tend to work back ground to fore ground for what ever reason - I start to paint what's furthest from view and make my way to what's closest to view saving the focal point for last. Here, I began with the sky, then the far trees, the boats, and then the foreground water - saving the lighthouse and the reflections for last.

The foreground water had a dappled texture that I just couldn't seem to recreate with a pastel so I looked around my supplies to see if there was anything I had that would be useful...... and voila! A simple kneaded eraser was just the ticket!

Just a bit of pouncing here and there brought happy results.  These erasers are not only a favorite tool of mine for drawings, but also with pastel painting.  They can lightly lift colors off the paper, they are great to blend, and they can clean up tight areas because you can mold and shape the eraser into what ever shape you need.  Then a little stretch and squeeze and it cleans itself right up.  One eraser will last me for many months before I decide it's time for a new one. 


I'm joining in on a painting challenge..... to create 30 paintings in 30 days for the month of September.  This list was posted on one of my Facebook painting groups page, but I thought if my artist friends that work in other mediums wanted to give it a try they'd appreciate having the list to work from.  This begins tomorrow, September 1st, so today I'll be cutting papers to get ready. I'm thinking of working in a 6x6 inch size.  Wish me luck, and if you'd like to try any of these challenges, I'd love for you to post your results here on the blog.  Have a safe and happy holiday!

Can You Reuse Pastelmat ?

Lime Light 5x7 Pastel available $45.00

I was reading lots of chatter about Alain Picard's painterly apple on You Tube and I had to see what all the talk was about.  His video is a paint along - where you paint along with his instruction.  I have to say... you've got to be quick!

I searched my art supply area and found a 5x7 piece of used pastelmat.  I didn't like the painting that was on it, so I decided to brush it all off and see what would happen.  After taking a stiff brush to brush all the loose pastel off , I sprayed it with water and wiped with paper towels - over and over until nothing more would come off onto the paper towel. 

Now I have to say that I was a bit worried because I no longer could feel any tooth to the surface, although I have heard others having no issue. Maybe I used too much pressure when scrubbing with the brush -   It was smooth with barely noticeable texture, but I figured it would work out great for what I was using it for, and I was pretty sure Alain wouldn't mind my frugalness. I was able to paint on the smooth surface, but I couldn't use much pressure and had to keep the layers to a bare minimum.  What a great video and the way he makes you force yourself create a painterly look is an invaluable lesson to learn no matter what medium you prefer as a painter.

I've enjoyed seeing all the different renderings of Alain's apple on Instagram and Face Book and so I now add mine to the list.  Give it a try -

Oh.... and just a side note..... I titled this painting Lime Light because the ray of color behind the apple is actually a lime color, but for some reason the camera keeps showing it as a yellow. Yes - I need to practice my photography skills - or lack of skills.

Put Something you Love into Your Stillife

The Hymnal 9x11 pastel     available $125.00

It was the perfect day...... Zach and I had just visited the zoo in Salisbury to take photos for a class project he has, although I don't need a reason to go to the zoo. I LOVE the zoo! Well afterward we went out to lunch and while heading home we were about to pass an antique bookstore - and it was OPEN! I've passed this store many times over the years, but it was always closed much to my dismay, but today I was going to finally get to go in! What a treat..... I said ohhhh Zach.....we just have to check this place out. He shook his lowered head trying to prepare himself because he's well seasoned in my love of books and just how long I can spend in a book store.

I reassured him that I would not be TOO long because I had a mission, and was only going to scan for a certain type of book to use in future paintings.  I described to him what I had pictured in my mind and then we entered the store.  WOW! It took my breath away! Wall to wall - piles among piles- of beautiful books! I had hit the motherload!  I don't know exactly how long we searched, but there it was..... a tattered 1911 hymnal.  What a great find!  I set up a couple of still lifes and took some photos for this and future paintings.  Below are the progress photos.

Here are the pastels that I used..... some nupastels, rembrandt, Terry Ludwig, and Sennelier.  A fun fact.... my brother bought me my set of Rembrandts about 30 some years ago if I had to guess.  At the time, I only painted in acrylic.  All that time they sat waiting to be used and I am so very thankful for them.

I decided to use a failed painting - I brushed off the old painting ( you can still see the ghost image behind the charcoal) and I sketched out the new work.

Adding in the darks first

Laying in the darkest areas of the lit areas

Added some purples and greens to the apple on the left

Added reds and golds to the apple on the right

Time to focus on the hymnal and added the highlights

Memories of Fire Island Here in Caroline County

Fire Island 5x7 Pastel available $45.00

Memories, memories, memories........painting this scene today had me thinking back to my days of being a Girl Scout leader and spending lots and lots of time at our Girl Scout camp.  We had the privilege to hold our meetings at the camp so we had access to all the benefits of the camp had to offer.  And what a posh campground it was/is.

We had the most unbelievable, most fantastic ranger that took care of the property - he went above and beyond building zip lines, obstacle courses, art easels for outdoor painting and a ferry that you could ride to cross the lake to Fire Island.  In the center of this island was a firepit complete with benches for smores and singing. 

I hadn't been to the camp for a while, so Zach and I went for a visit.  We hiked from one end to the other taking in the beautiful scenery and talking about all our memories.  And with 13 years of leading a troop I have lots and lots of memories. 

I have just a couple progress photos.......I get into my zone and forget to stop to take a picture.

quick sketch

added in the first layer of color and started filling in the background trees - saving the foreground trees for last.

Underpainting with Watercolor

Thursday Evening 5x7 pastel available $45.00

Watercolor paintings are so beautiful and luminous. They have a transparency about them that just draws you in, but they can be a tricky medium to work with.  When you've trained yourself to paint dark to light in acrylic, oil and pastels, the opposite is the rule when painting in watercolors.  I've wanted to try a watercolor underpainting for quite a while, so when I happened to be walking the aisles in our local Walmart, I spotted this watercolor set and thought no better time than the present to give it a try.  Now truth be told, I'm a bit afraid of watercolor.  In my mind, watercolor is the hardest medium to master - I may be wrong, but back in high school, our art class was given and assignment to do a watercolor painting, and mine came out so awful - and I felt that I just couldn't grasp the concept, so picking up a set of these paints is a giant step for me.  Now I know this particular set is not going to produce artist grade results, but I'm only using it for an underpainting so we'll see how it goes. 

My new watercolor set

Originally, I was going to add a little water feature, but not long after I started laying in the pastels decided against it.  Wow my easel is really needs a scrub down!

Adding in the darks

Next came adding in some pinks and purples and a bit of cream to the clouds and greens to the grasses.  I also added in some wildflowers that grow all along the roadside here.

 After standing back and taking another look, I thought I really over did it with the flowers, so I blended some out ( an advantage with working in pastels) .  


Last night, my son and I took a drive to photograph the sunset at the various rivers around our house and I was a bit frustrated that I could not capture the brilliant colors that were in the clouds with the camera.  Zach said the only way to capture the true colors in the sky would be the paint plein air.  What a great idea!  What if I did a series of the same scene every day for a week......or a month?  Just to capture the ever changing sky? I love the idea! So I've begun cutting some 5x7 sheets of UArt to get ready for this new challenge.

A Painterly Lesson

Hydrangeas in a White Pitcher 9x12 pastel available $125.00

There's been a lot of buzz in the pastel art world about the new video that Alain Picard shared on You Tube demonstrating the "painterly" technique. He features an apple and invites the viewers to paint along with him.  While I did watch the video all the way through, I didn't have an apple at the time so I chose this little pitcher with hydrangeas I cut off one of my shrubs.

The concept to the painterly technique is to loose edges. Or in other words let your painting fall outside of the lines.  In the painting above you can see the lost edges surrounding the pitcher on the left side and also the handle and again within the leaves and even in the shadows. 

This was a technique that I really enjoyed and felt I grew as an artist just trying to NOT stay in the lines.  I look forward to trying more subjects in this style, and yes, I've now filled the house with apples so I plan to follow along the video with apple in hand. Stay tuned for the results.

Instagram for Inspiration

Two Pears on Branch 9x12 pastel available $125.00

I love looking at other artists artwork, and Instagram is the perfect place to see what others are doing and be inspired. I came across a painting of pears still on the tree on Instagram - unfortunately I do not remember which artist painted it, but I was excited to try this new subject.

Out pear tree this year was loaded with pears - so I went out to get some photos when the sun was shining the brightest on the fruit. Then began my sketch.

I added the dark area first - leaving room for leaves and such that were to come later.

Added in some more color...........

and more color for the background leaves.  It was at this point that I felt it just got too busy- I was loosing the main focus of the pears-so I brushed off the background ( one of my favorite bonuses of using pastels and UArt paper) and put the dark back in with just a minimal hint of other colors.

And voila! The stars of the show were back.  Now I get to go enjoy eating them.  What's your favorite benefit of painting with pastels? And where do you like to search for inspiration?

Join a New Pastel Group

Sunlight and Shadows 9x12 pastel available $125.00

I recently joined a Facebook group call Cafe Monet which is a group for pastelists to share their recent works, ask questions and connect with like-minded artists.  One of the wonderful things about this group is the monthly challenge.  A painting challenge is given at the 1st of every month and 2 winners are chosen at the end of the month.  One winner from the beginners category and one from the advanced category. The winners receive a gift of some type of pastels and will have their painting featured as the heading for the group for the following month.

This months challenge was to paint shadows.  I love finding interesting shadows and the shadows in the painting above was challenging to recreate.  I set the mason jar on my kitchen counter after filling with water and started to add some flowers, but when I saw the shadow created with just the babys breath from the sun coming in the kitchen window, I knew I had my subject.  I painted another shadow painting that I'll share soon.

If you are a pastel painter..... I highly recommend you join this group.  You will learn so much and feel so good about your work with all the positive feedback that is given. 

New paintings have been added into my Etsy store, so if you are in need of some new artwork for your walls, I invite you to check it out here   
https://www.etsy.com/shop/WendyJohnstonFineArt?ref=seller-platform-mcnav

You Choose What to Leave in and What to Leave Out

Cottage by the Bay  Pastel  9x12 available $115.00

It was a beautiful day for a walk and taking reference photos, so I grabbed my trusty walking buddy (my son Zach) and we headed to Blackwater Nature Preserve outside of Cambridge, Maryland.  My friend, Lorri, had recently posted photos that she took at this location and she had tons of beautiful photos of the water fowl found at the preserve.  I was excited!  I couldn't wait to get there and take my own beautiful waterfowl photos.  We walked......and walked.....and walked.....drove some....and walked some more..... the birds were no where to be found.  Oh was I disappointed. All in all I think we found 3 ducks and 3 blue herons, so not a total loss for the day, but I did get a few "non-bird" containing reference photos. 

This is the first painting for my Blackwater Refuge series.  I've included the original photo - I chose to leave out the boathouse in this painting, but plan on doing another of just the boathouse.  It's a lesson to be learned by all artists, that just because something is in the photo doesn't mean it has to be included in the painting.  This is where you put your creativity to the test.

Complimentary colors was my main objective while painting this. I used red and green in the tallest trees, and violet among the grasses since violet is a compliment of yellow. 

I chickened out of attending our pleinair paintout this week since the location was on the water and the temperature was 50 degrees - I HATE TO BE COLD! So I decided to do my own pleinair study this morning - I'm just waiting for the temps to rise a little bit more.  Check back soon to see what ended up on the easel.

Last Day of Capturing the Illusion of Light Pastel Class

Morning Glow 9x12 inches Pastel available $125.00

It's always a sad day when a class comes to an end.  You get used to seeing your classmates and you seem to begin to grasp the lessons being taught when BAM! its the end! I will miss my fellow classmates and I hope to see some of them in future classes, but for the fun of it, after our final class,  I had each student pose in front of their easel with their final paintings.  What a great bunch of artists! And for an extra special treat that day, our incredible instructor Katie Cassidy threw us a pizza party at her house complete with a tour of her studio.  I should have taken pictures of her studio and amazing works in progress, but I was too caught up in the moment - I didn't even get a picture of all of us with Katie!  But I will definitely remember to do that with the next class which starts on Wednesday. I'm so excited! We will be studying color harmony in that class.


Here's the Illusion of Light class along with their final paintings ( some of them were just being started) A couple of students had already cleaned up and I didn't get their pictures. (Sorry)

Katie giving a critique

And my final piece.....

I woke up that morning and rolled over to the sun shining in on my little arrangement and I jumped up to get my camera, and knew this was the next subject for the next painting.  I bought this little hammered metal pitcher at a flea market in Delaware this past fall for $3.00.  I just love it! Just last weekend I put the poppies (silk flowers) and dried baby's breath into it.

The paper that I used had a failed painting of a barn I was working on in plein air - it was just horrible!  So I took a stiff paint brush and brushed and scrubbed the old painting off which left a bright red tinted underpainting to begin this painting on.  That is one of the percs of using pastels..... if you don't like it..... just brush it off and begin something new on top.  No need to waste paper. I didn't take a picture of the failed barn because it was JUST THAT BAD, and I was too embarrassed to share it.

Benefits of Taking Art Classes

Winter Whispers pastel 20x16 available $355.00

I am finally breaking out of a long hiatus from my painting.  For the last few month's I had even considered giving up painting all together - painting can be a lonely hobby and also expensive, and I was struggling to find the inspiration and will to keep going with it. But the longer I stared at an empty easel the more lost and empty I felt.  I was given an opportunity to take a class at the Art Academy in Easton, Md. this month and I'm beginning to feel renewed again.  So this week I thought I'd share works being completed in class along with my notes that I've been taking along the way. 



First and foremost, I would like to thank my class instructor and mentor Katie Cassidy.  She is a wonderful instructor and shares her painting knowledge so fully.  If you ever have the desire to take a class in pastel painting, I highly recommend you sign up with Katie.  The classes are fun and just getting the chance to view the art work that she creates is well worth it! Thank you Katie for helping to relight that spark in me.


Katie passed out a hand-out during the last class that I thought I'd share with you. 

Questions when working from photos for your paintings:

Did you start with preliminary studies?
Are there any lines or edges that divide the painting in half or equal units?
Does the painting have a primary center of interest?
Is the center of interest in a sweet spot?  (not dead center)
Is the center of interest a strong focal point?
Are there any lines that lead the eye out of your painting?
Are there strong value contrasts in your painting?
Are the shapes in your painting interesting?
Are there any two intervals the same?
Why did you decide to do this scene? What in this scene moves you?


Can you answer the questions from this hand-out when looking at my posted painting?