Pastel Drawing Colorist Method Part 2

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

This is a continuation of yesterday’s blog entry about the Colorist Method of applying pastels to a drawing.

OK, in my last entry you saw that I put warm colors (reds, oranges, and yellows) into the light shapes of my disegno and cool pastel colors (greens, blues, and purples) into my shadow shapes.

Now, I am ready for the next step. That is, trying to put in more "accurate" colors into each shape. I put the word “accurate” in quotes because this is actually a subjective term and up to the artist to decide. Here in today’s first image, you may see that I have started with the angel’s wing and have begun to add blues to the face. Based on my experiences painting in the streets of Florence, Italy, I have learned that I do not want to fill-in the shape entirely. Instead, I prefer to use big scratchy type of strokes that allows plenty of the color underneath to have its day in the sun. (You can tell I used my right hand this time; see the direxions of the strokes?) I also know from street experience that I will turn this nasty look into something more refined once I blend the pastels.


In this second photo, you can see that I have now blended the face. And, of course, I see all of my horrible shape errors. Those facial features are so off! And just like street painting, blogging about my works-in-process is like hanging my dirty undies out over a busy street.

I worked all day again today until late afternoon when I headed to Zecchi’s Art Supply to buy some specific pastel colors before I went to draw at my Open Studio tonight.

I must prepare for my exhibit’s publicity and invitations, so please bear with me as I get past my press deadline soon.
Thanks and thanks for reading!

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Pastel Drawing Colorist Method

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

The first time I worked with pastels was in the streets of Florence, Italy, as a street painter. Everything about it, it seemed, was new: working large and flat, working with chalk, working with color, and a very different type of physicality as compared to carving stone. I am still not sure what I think of my work as one of the madonnari.

However, I meet interesting people and some fans. One is our newest street painter, a young woman of about twenty. One night she told me that what she liked best about my work is that I am “all over the map.” Doh! And I thought that I had found my voice years ago. Also, all art marketing and business gurus will tell you that Picasso was the exception. A professional artist cannot do too many kinds of art to survive and be taken seriously. And I am no Picasso (I am generally happy about that.)

So, here I am preparing new art for my exhibition here in mid-April, and EXPERIMENTING. Wait, I do not have time for that! This is a SOLO show. I must fill that space with only my work. Am I TRYING to sabotage my career? Hmmmmm. No, My theme is light emerging from darkness. And I want to explore this as thoroughly as one artist can in a short period of time.

Anyway, I recently read an article on EmptyEasel.com titled The Colorist Method of Painting with Pastels (A Four Stage Tutorial) by Robert Sloan

Following this pastel drawing method loosely (I seem to have a difficult time following rules), I created my disegno (drawing/design) in charcoal on a piece of Roma paper that is about 46 x 64 cm.


The first step in this pastel lesson is to place different warm colors in the light shapes, while different cold colors should be put into the shadow shapes. I was pretty straightforward on how I color-coded my design, only adding a darker purple in the darker shadows of the face and a lighter purple for the face in shadow.

No doubt this will be one of my projects in which some of my collectors will love while others will say, “Please stop this and go back to what you are good at.” I wonder what I will think?

Allora, if you are curious about some of my street paintings here in Florence, Italy, just skim this blog from the very beginning September 2007. Or befriend me on Facebook – I have a photo album there of some of my work on Via Calimala.