How to create a nude in pastel

I really enjoy using pastel as a medium. It  is particularly well suited to achieving soft tonal gradations and the delicacy of skin tones.

This drawing is one of Lyn, a lady who models for lots of art classes and groups around the Cambridge area.
It was done on tinted Murano mount board using a range of different pastels. I use both Winsor and Newton and Senellier soft pastels , as well as charcoal ( willow sticks and charcoal pencils) and conte.

My initial tentative steps at placing the figure on the board are shown above. As can be seen, I didn't get it right first time, and changed the format to landscape. Frustrating, but there is no point in struggling on if the initial planning is wrong. This is done in charcoal. Here I am looking at rhythms through the figure, at basic proportions and angles. It is a very linear method and is only one way of approaching it. I will be considering alternative methods in future blogs.

As I am fairly happy with the basics, I now start blocking in the main masses paying a little attention to tone and colour. I say "little" because these are only the first tentative steps and I know that these will eventually be overlaid and modified. The darker areas are burnt sienna, the lighter tones naples yellow and yellow ochre. 

I now have to consider the background and begin blocking it in. I also make a start on the head. I am able to use soft pastels because very little fine detail is required on these larger areas. Sections like the head, hands and feet, I am careful not to overload and will dust them down before continuing on them. I use a combination of fingers, torchons and clothes to blend. How much blending one does is obviously a matter of personal preference or can be dictated by the subject matter. A wizened old man would suggest a bolder approach as opposed to the soft flesh of a baby.

The process continues. I pay more attention to light , shadows and reflected lights. I try to suggest the roundness of the forms and am also looking more closely at subtle colour variations within the flesh. I find myself adding cool blues and greens , overlaying them with softer pinks , sometimes blending them together , at other times leaving the colour underneath breaking through. This is a little like scumbling technique as used in oils. I am frequently asked what should my palette be? Everyone likes a formula it would seem. With pastels, I am a little at a loss for an answer. I have hundreds of pastels. The actual process is for me, to a large extent,  almost intuitive. I look closely and what I observe suggests a colour. Sometimes it seems a bizarre choice , but when blended works. Often, when I am doing a pastel demo to an art group, I start off using somewhat weird colours. It has a wonderful shock effect on the audience and certainly captures their attention. They clearly think I am mad! But the trick is to be able to pull the rabbit out of the hat and show
that by adding and overlaying, even this initial "disaster" can be turned into something pleasing.

When it comes to the head, I use a combination of conte crayons and pastel pencils then overlay in places with softer pastel.

The same approach is used when it comes to hands and feet.

Other areas are left softer and more diffused.

The finished drawing.


It was an attempt at a classical pose, both gentle and graceful. There was no desire to shock and reveal all. In many respects it is harder to capture the subtlety than present the viewer with a work where absolutely nothing is left to the imagination.

Perhaps that will be the subject of a future blog.

A charcoal and conte drawing of Paul

I continue to work on a series of drawings and paintings of people who are either homeless or have experienced homelessness.

Below are a series of images showing the development of a drawing of Paul.










This drawing, along with one of "Michael" in the same series, is now on display at the Cambridge Drawing Society's Annual Exhibition in the Guildhall, Cambridge.

Homelessness

Following on from the success of my drawing of "TonyHargreaves" which was voted " the most popular painting" at the Cambridge Drawing Society's Annual exhibition in the Spring, I am now working on an exciting and related project. The chalk drawing I did of Tony clearly touched many people who saw it.



My aim now is to produce a body of drawings and paintings of people who, like Tony, are either homeless or have experienced homelessness and to eventually stage an exhibition of this work . So far, I have visited and sketched in two centres in Cambridge-- Willow Walk and 451 ( Newmarket Road) . I have also written a short article for Flack magazine which is based in Cambridge and is aimed at the homeless, assisting and encouraging them to rebuild their lives. Kirsten Lavers, the Creative Director of the magazine, has been instrumental in introducing me to the centres.

Below are a few of the drawings I have done so far.








Sketching at 451. Michael, one of the residents was the model.


The finished drawing of "Michael" was done in charcoal,chalk and conte on a linen ground prepared with pastel primer.

Another successful portrait workshop

Last Sunday, I held another portrait day workshop. I am pleased to say it was a great success with students coming from all around Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire.
After an initial warm up session, people set to work in the medium of their own choice, from charcoal or pencil to watercolour, pastel and oils.




Our model, Flo, the daughter of a friend, was superb. For the whole day, she sat like a rock, barely batting an eyelid. What a relief from those models who constantly twitch, let their eyes or their head wander. Or even fall asleep!





On the day, my function was merely to advise and offer comment, as well as do the odd practical demonstration.

Prior to this, however, I had the pleasure of doing a pastel portrait of Flo.


This portait was done with a combination of hard and soft pastels as well as conte chalk, particularly useful in capturing the delicacy of her hair.

A child's portrait in pastel

Pastel is a particularly lovely medium for creating children's portraits. It has a delicacy and softness missing in many others.
For this particular portrait I worked on Murano paper with a combination of pastel pencils and soft pastels. My initial drawing was done with willow charcoal and then dusted down.


I work on top of this with pastel pencils, which allows a certain precision. I blend with a combination of cotton buds and torchons.


More detail is added in the hair and mouth , still using the pencils. I begin to work soft pastels into the face and use them for blocking in the dress.



I now consider the background. The aim is to keep it soft and somewhat vague, simply in order not to detract from child.



Portrait and background are worked up in more detail and tied together. Below is the finished drawing.

Sam Motherwell's Exhibition

In previous blogs I have spoken both of charcoal techniques and working “en plein air”.
In his new exhibition at the Barnabas Gallery in Cambridge, Sam Motherwell manages to combine the two. There are over 30 charcoal drawings done on the spot in Iceland, Scotland, Finland, India, Nambia, Spain , Egypt and Greece

Dr. Sam Motherwell

Done quickly, Sam’s drawings retain a freshness and spontaneity that can so easily be lost when using charcoal as a medium. He has a very individual style which reminds me of the work of Paul Hogarth. Like Sam, Hogarth worked almost exclusively in black and white, illustrating books by Brendan Behan and also those on his own travels around the world. Both artists balance line and mass, shift perspective and create almost abstract patterns out of everyday scenes and people.

Sam and Pat Motherwell chat to Colin Hayes at the Private View.

Other guests.
As well as showing Sam’s drawings, this exhibition offers the rare opportunity to view a working studio and print workshop, and to discuss other processes such as lithography, etching and linocut.

Sam’s studio within the St. Barnabas Press.
Sam Motherwell’s Exhibition runs from 25th April- 16th May at the Barnabas Gallery, Coldhans Road, Cambridge CB1 3EW. Mon-Frid. 10-6, Sat. 10-4
Also worth checking out is Sam’s recent publication – “Mill Road stories without words”. It is a book of 114 evocative linocuts of Mill Road, one of Cambridge’s most colourful streets.
Finally, Sam in flamboyant mode. Behind him, a portrait I painted last year as his term of office as the President of the Cambridge Drawing Society drew to a close.

Pastel portraits

When I consider pastels, the words that leap to mind are, freshness, delicacy and spontaneity. It is the closest one can get to drawing and painting at the same time. They don’t require drying time , they don’t “sink” and the colours do not fade.( assuming you treat them carefully)
They have a relatively short history, being popularised in the 18th Century by artists like Quentin de la Tour, Perroneau and Chardin. In the nineteenth, Manet, Degas and Mary Cassatt were the leading proponents.
In this blog, I will demonstrate how I develop a pastel portrait and also show you a few other samples of my pastel work.

I work on tinted paper, the colour usually determined by the complexion, and character of the sitter. I initially block in with willow charcoal, trying to establish the likeness.
When fairly happy with that, I begin to apply colour.

I usually start with hard pastels, working boldly. It can be a little daunting, (particularly for the sitter), when this patchwork of bright colours appear. But I am thinking ahead, planning what I will overlay to modify them.

Here, I use a variety of techniques. I cross hatch, allowing the original colour to show through. At other times I apply solid pigment and blend with either my fingers, a torchon or soft cloth. As you will see I am now introducing a background, earring and jumper.

The process continues as I modify and adjust the colours and tighten up on the accuracy of my drawing.

” Mrs. Pat Motherwell”
In this final stage, I added stronger highlights and reflected lights on the nose, a bit more detail in the hair, and more modelling on the chin and neck. All that remains is to finish the jumper and necklace.
The following are pastel demonstrations or sketches I have done, usually in about an hour.

“The Commander"

“Young girl”

Pastels are also lovely to use for life drawing

“Peter”
Or, as I demonstrated in an earlier blog, for landscape also.

” Kirkcudbright Harbour”. A pastel drawing of Kirkcudbright Harbour. I did this as a short demonstration in the pastel medium for the group who came on one of our Painting Holidays in the town.
Tips. I use a combination of both hard and soft pastels. The general principal is that the soft are applied over the hard. Any areas, like the eyes where I need a fair amount of precision, I will use only hard pastels, pastel pencils, or conte chalks.

How to create a charcoal portrait

This is one of a series of charcoal studies done in preparation for a finished oil portrait.

Materials: Smooth cartridge paper, willow charcoal, medium and soft charcoal pencils, compressed charcoal, black conte stick, soft cloth and a putty rubber.

Method: After establishing an initial outline, the area of the head was rubbed over with willow charcoal and smoothed with the cloth. The position of the main features was established before softening and lightening the mid-tones. The details in the eyes and mouth were built up using charcoal pencils. For the darkest tones, I used a combination of either conte crayon or compressed charcoal. The highlights were lifted out with a putty rubber.