A still life Pastel painting, enjoying the colors.

It was long ago when I did my last still life Pastel painting.

Normally I do Pastel portraits that capture all my attention but I had this particular desire and joy to paint a simple still life set up for the first time in years… I almost forgot how liberating and relaxing the still life could be. And much more so after many years of mastering the Pastel medium!

After visiting the Schmincke factory in Germany, in March 2018, I was asked to try two new sets of Pastels released by them… It was a pleasure to test these pastels on a free personal work!

I also made a post on the process a couple of months later (May 2018) that has been recently published on their website. Here is the direct link. I thought it would be a good idea to share it also here in my blog…

Only a year and a half have passed since I made this post and in some way, it seems to me that it is something so far, far away in time… Even so, I wanted to share it since I love the textures, the colors, and the freshness of it. Also because it is so different than my usual work!! Even though it is very difficult to be rational regarding art or painting I´ll try to narrate how I did this painting.

1. Firstable, I took my time preparing a still life composition, using an old ceramic pot, some branches of dry eucalyptus, and an old gourd. I also used a nice linen fabric as drapery and set everything up over a corner table.

2. I knew it would take me several hours to work on this still life, so I had to set up constant lighting that could also bring me some interesting shadows, volume, and atmosphere to my composition.

3. I took a large size of light ochre paper for Pastel (about 29×43 inches – 74x 110 cm) and clip it over my old wooden board.

4. I started to sketch the composition very quickly, with a Pastel pencil.4. No details at this point. Just placing the subjects approximately. Almost immediately after, I started to mark the light from the background using a very bright Schmincke Pastels.

I did not smash the strokes, no time for that. Just a fast observation placing the lights, (more or less). I notice both cold and warm lights.  With no time to lose, I marked again the subjects with free lines using a dark grey pastel and placed the base for the pot with warm tones. This time, using the pastels as a large-sized brush.

5. The pastels are beautifully made and it is a pity to break them… Regardless, it is necessary to use them with no fear and make them work for you. Adapt them to your needs. I am not afraid to break a piece of a pastel stick when I need it… The pieces are no longer than an inch (2,5 cm) and I use it as a large brush…creating very fast large lines or spots where I need them.

In a short time, I can use several pastel sticks… I break them one by one, like if I was “loading my brushes”…. I already have a few main colors that I´ll need through all the process of this painting, and I keep them on my side separate from the others.

6. The painting is growing very quickly… I have been working on it about 3-4h in the morning and 2-3 h in the afternoon.

I think I should have stopped building the form much earlier and live the painting more as a suggestion but I will try to do this on my next still life.

As you can see in the close-up photos, the Schmincke Pastels offer wonderful brilliant colors that actually grab into the paper. I can also find on some of them a special creamy texture with almost no dust.

This allows me to use very bright tones when I need them. Something that is not easy with other brands…

 

Note: This is not a paid post. This is not publicity. The 2 sets I used in this work are;

A- Licht und schatten (shadow and light)  77 755 (15 finest extra –soft, hand –made artists pastels)

B- Bestseller (Bright shades) 77 757 (15 finest extra-soft, hand-made artists pastels)