Large Landscape Project 1 10 Feb 2011

This week we started on the new project. Spread over the next few weeks, this will be a large format (A2) pastel painting of a landscape using an expressive technique. Here are the preliminary studies (thumbnail sketches) as they deconstruct their subject to understand the design, tone and spatial qualities: 

Anne's pencil studies

Frank's pencil studies

Janice's pencil studies

Jean's pencil studies

Jean's pencil studies

Mary's pencil studies

Moira's pencil studies

Rose's pencil studies

Val's pencil studies

Black and Colour Ground Projects 3 Feb 2011

Some continued to complete their first black ground paintings, others started the next project using a coloured ground. This involves spotting a "key" colour in the source image and painting the whole image area in that colour as a deep powdery ground. Then after a simple drawing structure is added in lines, local colours are added according to the details in the source image. Here are those images, the grounds forcing some to work from light to dark, others from dark to light: 

Ann's second black ground train painting

Detail: early stage. A dream-like image is developing

Janice's black ground image
with new red-blue base

Detail: beautiful, expressive mark making hidden
deep inside the bottle

Jean's black ground at second stage, deeper space

Detail: good contrasting strokes and colours whilst still
allowing the black ground to influence colours.

June's black ground picture complete.
Warmer greens and pinks give the image balance.

Detail: marks are wonderfully intense and highly textured.

Anne's colour ground painting, first stage.

Detail: intense yellow ground, with first stage greens
and blues that shimmer alongside each other.

Moira's colour ground painting, first stage.

Detail: fabulous purple ground provides a dynamic base
from which other colours can react to vigorously.

Frank's colour ground painting, first stage.

Detail: light brown ground provides a warm base,
allowing a wide range of colours to sit gently. 

Mary's coloured ground painting, first stage.

Detail: striking green ground will help complimentary
colours to subtly play against each other.
As can already be seen in the top left.

Back to art school Jan 2011: working from a compressed charcoal ground

The class returned to pastel painting for a new 10 week improvers programme. This week we welcomed two new faces, June and Jean, to the group and they settled in really well. On this first week we started a project working on a dense black ground using compressed charcoal then working colours into the ground in layers. All blending is done with the pastels (not fingers or torchons). The diversity and quality is fantastic from all the group, who are responding well to this organic technique. Here are the startling results that will be developed next week showing the full picture and a detail:

Janice's still life

Detail: wonderful close colours and variety of marks.

Ann's Cutty Sark study

Detail: lovely abstract qualities 

Jean's study after Hopper

Detail: wonderfully abstract with interesting palette emerging

Anne's study after Monet

Detail: great use of bold marks creating 'high-emotion' surface

Moira's study after Spencer

Detail: good subtle colour, great intimacy and quirkiness 

Val's study of a goat in a field

Detail: excellent broken colour, very interesting surface qualities

Frank's study after Cornish

Detail: really interesting subdued colour, surprising silver quality

Mary's landscape study

Detail: beautiful deep colours coming out of the black

Rose's study after Van Gogh

Detail: wonderful moody colours, very atmospheric