Pastels and Watercolors (and a few other art media)

[terri]

A new face - this time, throwing all pretense of realism clearly out the window.

I started with this sketch, then combined a couple of ref images for background and palette:

A couple of closeups:

A lot of times I end up liking my closeup pics better than the whole painting.

The face in my sketch is really uneven. Ugh. But I wanted to pursue this sketch with the oil pastels, since at least I had a woman with a little attitude this time - and no hat! I was able to hide some of those mistakes with the hair.

This one was very freeing.

 

[waday]

That is amazing! Just gorgeous

 

[SquarePeg]

Love it - especially that last close up.

 

[SquarePeg]

Been attempting to capture the delicate quality of these blossoms but can’t seem to do it well. Suggestions?

Inspiration photo

1st try not loving the top flower and the branches are too thick

Shouldn’t have used black for the stamens

Hated this one so I re-wet the whole paper and started dropping in more color. I kind of like the unintended result but the flowers are not delicate at all.

 

[terri]

That is amazing! Just gorgeous

Thank you!

Love it - especially that last close up.

Hee hee, I know what you mean!

Thanks for the kind words, this one was fun.

 

[terri]

Been attempting to capture the delicate quality of these blossoms but can’t seem to do it well. Suggestions?

Inspiration photo
View attachment 193027

1st try not loving the top flower and the branches are too thick
View attachment 193028

Shouldn’t have used black for the stamens
View attachment 193029

Hated this one so I re-wet the whole paper and started dropping in more color. I kind of like the unintended result but the flowers are not delicate at all.
View attachment 193030

Each of these is good. For delicacy, I think the first one hits the mark. I don't think the stems are too big, maybe use a lighter shade so they don't overpower? But you did great with those flowers.

The others are good, too, just different. Maybe the outlines are heavier than the first one?

Instead of black, try a deep blue, like Prussian blue, for that contrast. Your thin lines are really good on each one.

I don't know anything about watercolor techniques, so Charlie or the others may have actual suggestions there. All I can say is whatever you did with the top one looks the most delicate to me.

 

[SquarePeg]

Thanks for the feedback. After watching a few videos this morning, I think what’s bothering me about the flowers the most is that they are too open compared to the look I was going for. I may have to set this one aside for a bit. I ended up with 6 versions and none that was what I was going for. Maybe will try a looser version at a later time.

 

[SquarePeg]

Of course this practice I did using the cheap grey super thin paper that came with the paints came out the best.

 

[limr]

@SquarePeg I agree, the first attempt was the most delicate - I think the bottom flower was a bit moreso than the top one. And that last one is the closest to the inspiration photo.

The thing that always impresses me the most about portraits, and especially that last one of yours, @terri , is the placement of different colors in different areas of the face that you wouldn't think would work, but then they totally work. I know it takes practice to learn what will look 'right' but for the moment, at my skill level, it's all quite mysterious how you do that

In the meantime, I've been taking a break from flowers and practicing with creating perspective with sketches and color using photos as a guide. I know I didn't get the same lines as in the photos, but I'm definitely getting better at sketching than I used to be. There are things I need to improve for my next attempts, but I'm also learning

 

[terri]

Of course this practice I did using the cheap grey super thin paper that came with the paints came out the best.

View attachment 193045

It looks like a Polaroid emulsion lift, artfully torn in all the right places. Fabulous!

 

[terri]

The thing that always impresses me the most about portraits, and especially that last one of yours, @terri , is the placement of different colors in different areas of the face that you wouldn't think would work, but then they totally work. I know it takes practice to learn what will look 'right' but for the moment, at my skill level, it's all quite mysterious how you do that

Well, thank you. I look at a LOT of art, and a lot of different art styles. It is a mystery to me, too, how real painters (oils) learn to mix their own flesh tones with crazy colors that should never work, but somehow do. Take a look at van Gogh's portraits and you'll see pretty fast that it's a whole different world. And very freeing, as I said before, to just splat stuff on there as opposed to endless blending and smoothing with more normal flesh tone colors, like I did with those other portraits.

Also, note that most of the surface of that face above is actually rather normal in tone, when you look at it. I went a little nuts with shadow colors, deep browns or blue, and I found a funky green I put in there, but mostly on the sides. The mouth, the nose, part of the cheeks, is all more "normal" in tone, with bold white for highlights. Shadows and outlining - that's all I did out of bounds. Study any of the Masters that you like, and you might have what I like to call a light bulb moment.

 

[terri]

In the meantime, I've been taking a break from flowers and practicing with creating perspective with sketches and color using photos as a guide. I know I didn't get the same lines as in the photos, but I'm definitely getting better at sketching than I used to be. There are things I need to improve for my next attempts, but I'm also learning

So, this is what I'm noticing. Your ref photos look like Polaroids - or rather, Fuju film maybe, shot from a classic Polaroid camera or similar? Because the lenses in some of those cameras were made to be slightly wide-angle, which will create distortion - not the best kind of plane to use for perspective sketch practice. You're saying you were going for the same lines as the photos, but both the car and the little shed carry that wide-angle distortion. Maybe a regular 50mm lens on your Pentax will flatten the planes better.

Reference photos can be tricky for this reason. Have you ever looked at using a simple grid technique? You lay a grid over a small version of your ref photo, then lay the same grid over your practice paper, and follow the lines easier that way. (Grids don't play - they will also help to show you quickly if you have a ref photo with perspective issues.)

 

[snowbear]

Been away a bit.
Terri - I love this, especially the way the eyes came out.
Sharon - I agree that the first one captures the transparency best - build up washes to get the depth.
Leonore - Nice to see you expanding your subjects. Try guidelines - make a point at the convergence and draw lines to that point - leading lines. Start with one (looking down a street), then move to two-point perspective (a corner).

 

[terri]

Thanks, Charlie!

 

[SquarePeg]

The thing that always impresses me the most about portraits, and especially that last one of yours, @terri , is the placement of different colors in different areas of the face that you wouldn't think would work, but then they totally work. I know it takes practice to learn what will look 'right' but for the moment, at my skill level, it's all quite mysterious how you do that

Well, thank you. I look at a LOT of art, and a lot of different art styles. It is a mystery to me, too, how real painters (oils) learn to mix their own flesh tones with crazy colors that should never work, but somehow do. Take a look at van Gogh's portraits and you'll see pretty fast that it's a whole different world. And very freeing, as I said before, to just splat stuff on there as opposed to endless blending and smoothing with more normal flesh tone colors, like I did with those other portraits.

Also, note that most of the surface of that face above is actually rather normal in tone, when you look at it. I went a little nuts with shadow colors, deep browns or blue, and I found a funky green I put in there, but mostly on the sides. The mouth, the nose, part of the cheeks, is all more "normal" in tone, with bold white for highlights. Shadows and outlining - that's all I did out of bounds. Study any of the Masters that you like, and you might have what I like to call a light bulb moment.

I love that pop art multi colored face look. There are some water color artists that are really amazing me with that on Instagram.

Been away a bit.
Terri - I love this, especially the way the eyes came out.
Sharon - I agree that the first one captures the transparency best - build up washes to get the depth.
Leonore - Nice to see you expanding your subjects. Try guidelines - make a point at the convergence and draw lines to that point - leading lines. Start with one (looking down a street), then move to two-point perspective (a corner).

This is my final version after many attempts. It’s not as airy as I wanted but I’m relatively happy with this. I have to move on lol. I expect I’ll be back at this one again when I have more skills.