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?
 
 

The Secret to Painting Greens

Morning Prayers 18x12 pastel available $185 with free shipping

I remember this day so perfectly.... my daughter and I met up with one of my former Girl Scouts to visit her college, see her dorm, have lunch and do a little sight-seeing.  During our sight seeing excursion we were taken to this little park located in the heart of the hustle and bustle of this city in Delaware. What an amazing landscape this little place had.  I took so many pictures that day, but I've only painted one of those scenes since then.  Today was the day to capture the ducks!  It was such an adorable sight - the ducks all lined up in a row, and at one point they were all facing away from us and we were all scrambling to get pictures of "the duck butts" laughing the whole time. 
So in the spirit of our local Waterfowl Festival which will be taking place soon.... I give you my rendition of "the duck butts".

I've been doing a little bit of experimenting with my pastels and color combinations, and have learned that to make greens stand out and have interest, there is a secret..... and that secret is orange! It was time to put the idea to the test.  I painted all the areas that had green with an under-painting of bright orange.  Most of it got covered up with the following layers of color, but you can still see it in some spots.