Pastel painting: "The Outcast"

I like this one too :) This was fun to do. There was so much going on in the bowl... I tried to keep it simple.

I have a hard time finding titles, even in French :). So I would appreciate any suggestions.

Pastel painting on primed board, 10" x 8"

Pastel painting: Three Orange Wedges and a Bowl

I like this one! I had fun doing all the bowl's colors and its subtle reflection on the surface. I'm happy with the effect of light and the orange pieces.

Pastel painting on primed panel, 10" x 8"

Pastel painting: Chip off the Old Block

I like this one too. And particularly the way the cut piece is barely touching the orange, but it makes a strong shadow.

Although I was hoping to get faster with a third painting with similar color scheme and subject, it didn't happen :(

Pastel painting on primed panel, 10" x 8"

Another "Trois Oranges"

For this one, I kept the darks thin so it gives a rougher texture and the background color (dark blue) shows through. The lights are thicker as well as the reflections on the surface. It gives a smoother texture. I like the values and overall, I'm happy with this one.

Pastel painting on primed panel, 10" x 8"

Studio setup for pastel

I'm always interested to see how other artists are organized in their studio, so I thought this may interest someone too.

I'm always looking for better ways to organize my studio. It often distracts me from painting, but I have fun working on it and I gain so much by being well organized that it's worth it for me. Whenever I get an idea of what would work better and I know I can make it myself, then I need to work on it (design, material and execution, even in the 100F Texas heat). That's what happened last week.

I needed a better setup for my pastels and I needed a setup that would allow me to easily switch from pastel to oil painting with a minimum of things to move around.

So for pastels, I did two trays with lids. One pastel tray is for the semi-soft pastels and the other one for the soft ones (may change soon). The lid protects the pastels (or the cats) without having to put them (pastels or cats) away :). For easy access and to have a better view at the pastels, I put each tray on an angled shelf.

Pastel trays on angled shelves. The lid is on the left tray and the right tray is partially filled with semi-soft pastels.

Taking into account my studio space limitation, I also made the trays stackable and the shelves foldable for easy storage. You can see them all on the first two shelves.

For oil painting, I made another tray (smaller than the pastel ones). I can put it on the angled shelf when needed (no picture of that yet) or under the table (to the right on the first shelf in the picture above).

For the organization of the trays themselves, I need to work with this new setup for a while and find out what works best for me. Stay tuned :)

Trois Oranges, pastel

I'm going to need new pastel paintings if I want to keep entering shows. There is usually an age limit of 2-3 years for a painting. And there may be additional restrictions. For example, if your painting was previously selected or won a prize it may not be eligible. So my "Rocher Percé" paintings are getting old for competition.

One thing I really like about oil is the compact setup: a palette, some paint and a few accessories.... Pastels on the other hand take quite a bit of space because I like to see all of them at the same time. I have quite a few pastels and I find myself rearranging them very often. I also only have space for one easel in my studio, and I'd like to be able to switch quickly (with a minimum of things to move around) from oil to pastel and vice versa. I'll work some more on my pastel/oil setup and I'll post a picture.

This painting is a similar still life setup as my last oil study. I really liked the color combination and I wanted to try it again. I used a mat board that was primed with a blue ground for pastel. So the surface is a bit rough and you can see the background color almost everywhere. I spent as much time looking for the right color pastel as I would have taken to mix a color in oil :(

Pastel on primed mat board, 8" x 10"

Awards & Show

I have two paintings in the Central Texas Pastel Society (CTPS) 8th Annual Membership Exhibition & Competition at the Cultural Activities Center in Temple, Tx until October 9th.

Yesterday was the reception & awards ceremony. I was very excited to receive an award for each of them. I got an Honorable Mention Award for "Sanctuary" and for the first time I received a People's Choice Award with "Sentinel". Youpi!

Sanctuary, pastel, 30" x 24"


Sentinel, pastel, 24" x 30"

Oil study #118: Slice of Orange

I'm glad you like the bold colors from yesterday's study, because I used a very similar setup today. I liked yesterday's but now I like this one much better. The surface colors make more sense and are nice.

I've been using a limited palette (since the workshop in early July). It consists of a warm and a cool yellow, red and blue, plus burnt umber and white. So it is still a challenge for me to mix the colors. I end up wasting quite a bit of paint trying different mixes.

Oil on canvas panel, 6" x 8"

Oil study #117

I pushed the colors a little today :) I wish the underpainting color (I paint the canvas with a single color before the painting) would show through: it was a light yellow green!

Oil on canvas panel, 6" x 8"

Oil study #116: Oranges and Blue

I like this one too, although I wish I had noticed how dark the shadow is on the back orange sooner.

Oil on canvas panel, 6" x 8"

Oil study #115: Trois Pommes dans un plat

I enjoyed doing this one, I was relaxed and patient. And I like the the result :)

Oil on canvas panel, 6" x 8"

oil study #114

I rushed on this one today... and apparently from the beginning. I should have seen the dark upper left corner. It is not a good composition element. Although I like the reflection of the orange in the bottle the table top reflection could have been darker.

I was planning on working some more on it after my exercise but my hand was not steady anymore and I was too tired.

Oil on canvas panel, 6" 8"

Oil study #113: Warm Cherries

Here's a warmer version. I was running out of time to finish it and I just noticed that I forgot to paint a few highlights in the reflections of the two cherries, both on the table and on the bottle.

Oi on canvas panel, 8" x 6"

Oil study #112: Cool Cherries

How cool is that? Maybe too cool. I was planning on using a warmer blue... oh well. The picture doesn't show well the reflection of the bottle on the foreground. It's still there, although it could have been a bit darker.

Oil on canvas panel, 6" x 8"

Oil study #111

Last time I painted this bottle I had trouble with the values. So I thought I should try a value study first this time. I think it could be darker still in some places, since the bottle looks almost black in some places.

What about the stand alone cherry? I like it!

Oil on canvas panel, 6" x 8"

Here's another picture of yesterday's study.

Oil study #110

I initially was not sure about this one... I struggled with the subtleties in the greens. But I like it now.

I'll try to take a better picture tomorrow.

Oil on canvas panel, 6" x 8"

Oil study #109: Cherries and Steel

The cup was reflective as well as the surface. Maybe that was too much for a Monday. :) I'll have to give another try with this cup.

Oil study on canvas panel, 6" x 8"

Oil studies: a little background

To answer one of the comments (by Holly) a while ago... I spent on average about 3 hours on my oil studies (hoping I'll get faster some time soon). I still don't have a big stack of them yet, since my first 57 were done on canvas sheets or canvas paper (see below). Since then I tried different panels (1/8" thick) that I hang around the studio.

I have a shelf around my studio at 6' height. It is wide enough to hold paintings but too narrow for the cats. I put small nails (10 so far) at the bottom of it to hang my small oil studies. I put tape on the back of each panel sticking out about an inch and I hang it with a paper clip. I can hang three panels per nail that way, so 30 panels at a time. I use the top of the shelf for everything else.

This is my easel setup with paintings hanging from the shelf and some framing tests on top of it.

My first 57 oil studies (6" x 6" and 6" x 8") were painted on 6" x 9" canvas sheets or canvas paper. This allowed me to not worry about making mistakes on more expensive support. Once dry they're very easy to pile up and store. Maybe I'll cut and mount my favorites on board or acid free foam core.