When unexpected things happen - "Shrike-thrush"
Have you ever encountered that point in a painting where you might either completely ruin it by the next few strokes, or, if you're very lucky, they will make and define the painting for you? Have you ever been unsure whether to stop right there, or to perhaps continue down that less trodden path? Art to me often seems to be to be a struggle between trying not to 'overwork' paintings, and yet still being open to taking 'risks' that might take your art further overall. Inevita
Pointillism with pastels - "Pacific Baza" WIP1-3
Tired of smudgy dull hues in your paintings from blending too many colours? Looking for a way to visually blend pure colours without losing their brilliance? Interested in trying pointillism but not sure where to start? I must confess, until yesterday I had never really tried 'pointillism' with my art. I was fond of the use of monotoned stippling technqiues with ink and a fine brush, but had never applied it to colour, and thus never discovered the beauty and satisfaction of
Using hard pastels vs soft pastels - "Grebe"
How do you use hard pastels in a pastel painting? What are they good for? What are their benefits over soft pastels? What brands are best? What features define the best brands of hard pastels? I've only recently started using hard pastels. When I first tried very soft pastels (Schmincke) I thought they would be all I would, or could ever need in terms of types of pastels - the pigment is so smooth and buttery and the textures you can create are so similar to painting rather t
Creating a recognisable portrait: a hundred different babies - "Caitlin" WIP5-8
Have you ever struggled to make your human portraits resemble whom they're supposed to? Do your portraits go through numerous renditions on the way to being finished? Perhaps moreso than with any other subject, the human face poses difficulties for the artist because the slightest change in proportion, shadow, highlight, colouration or form causes the portrait to become less-recognisable as the individual under scrutiny. Upon first glance a portrait may seem to resemble the i
How to paint layered complex backgrounds in pastel - "Dejected" WIP time lapse video
How do you tackle a pastel painting where the background is quite complicated and layered? Like a mess of foliage or branches? How do you retain your detailed initial sketch without making the background feel 'segmented' - as though you are just 'painting between the branches'? Too often when I look at acrylic paintings, they appear flat or two dimensional because the background has been added as an afterthought (painted in around the subject), or the artist has used an airbr
How to tell when your painting is finished? - "Shore" WIP1-3
Ever find you're not sure when to 'stop' with a painting? Do you find you tend to overwork your paintings, and that they're taking forever to finish? Do your paintings lack a focal point because everything is too detailed? I have a terrible habit of working on paintings for too long, overworking them, not knowing when to stop, and not knowing when they're finished. I usually assume that when the whole page or canvas is covered in minute detail and I can't fit any more detail
A different style - featuring pastel paintings by Jenny Grogan
Ever find yourself in a style rut? Can't work out how to improve your paintings? Maybe you should try a new medium or subject, or spend some time with another artist! Artists typically aim to improve the aesthetic quality of their paintings, their level of technical expertise, and the uniqueness of their style. Sometimes when you work on something for a long time, however, you can get into a 'style rut', where you can't see how to improve, or any longer make sensible judgemen
Choosing colours for blending skin tones with pastels - "Caitlin" WIP1-4
How do you create the appearance of human skin in portraits? Is it possible to use an opaque medium such as pastel to create the subtle hues and tones of skin? What colours do you use, and how do you select them? I must confess, this is only the second 'human portrait' I've ever attempted, and the first in pastel. My subject is my beautiful little niece Caitlin - her birthday is coming up, so I'm painting this portrait as a gift. The paper is ivory Mi-Teintes Tex A3, and the
Creating a sense of depth and distance with pastel landscapes - "Sunset" WIP4-6
How do you make objects or elements of a landscape appear 'far away'? Why do mountains appear blue from a distance? Why are they called the 'blue' mountains? One of the great challenges for the landscape artist (and I am very much beginning along this road) is to create a sense of depth in their paintings. The viewer should feel as though they are looking through a window at a scene, or better yet, that they are surrounded by the scene, rather than peering at a flat canvas or
Blending landscapes with pastel - "Sunset" WIP1-3
Looking for an easy way to paint landscapes? Wondering how to quickly create that expansive sense of depth over a large canvas/sheet? Perhaps you should try blending techniques with pastels! I'm pretty new to painting landscapes - most of my previous work has hinged on wildlife portraits, with minimal backgrounds. A couple of days ago I decided to test my theory that pastels are great for blending colours (better perhaps than any other medium), and hence should be good for bl
