When choosing a new piece, I start with a great photo that grabs my attention in some way, that looks interesting, intriguing or challenging. I use photos from a variety of sources, sometimes my own, sometimes from the internet, sometimes from local photographers. I always make sure that I have the right to use the photo from the photographer (not the copyright…that always remains with the photographer). As an artist, you can get into a lot of trouble if you simply use someone's photo without asking their permission first. Even if you think that you may never sell or print the piece right now…things can change. You may be pleasantly surprised at how your piece turns out; someone may fall in love with the piece & want to buy it; or you may decide to print it many years down the line. You don't want to get yourself in trouble by using a photo without permission. If possible, use your own photos. Now, this is easier said than done! Unfortunately, just because we are artists, doesn't mean we are also photographers. I, myself am trying to learn how to take a great picture to use as a reference, however, living on the prairies this can often pose a challenge if I want to draw an African animal!
Sometimes I may have a perfect photo that I can use as-is, however, that isn't always the case. Often, there is something, sometimes many things, about the photo that must be changed, added to, or taken away. In "Standing By" for example, I had a photo for the baby, one for the mother (full size, that I cropped to only include the legs), a photo for the mother's feet (that I couldn't see in the other picture), a photo for the tail, a photo for the background, and several photos of mothers and babies to show me the relative size & pattern of the pairs. This is when a "thumbnail sketch" is crucial. It is a simplified, small sketch to plan out the composition & values of the piece before drawing it full-scale. This can save you a lot of drawing & erasing. The theory is that if your piece won't work on a small, simplified scale…no matter how much color, detail, etc. you put into it, it still won't be successful.
Once the composition & value patterns are decided on, I will start a rough sketch of my piece. This is often on newsprint or tracing paper that is the same size that the finished piece will be. The reason for creating a rough copy first is so that you don't have to get it perfect right from the start. You can draw, erase, redraw, cut, reposition & tape things back together. For example, on my piece "Standing By" I was happy with how the baby's head was drawn, however, I discovered that the neck was the wrong length. So, instead of erasing a perfectly good head to fix the neck, I simply cut the head out & repositioned it to where I thought it would need to be, then redrew the neck. The same was the case for the mother's legs: once they were too long, then too short, etc. By cutting & pasting, it saved me a lot of drawing & erasing. Unfortunately, my rough copy was in many, many pieces by the time it was done, but this did not cause any problems in the long run, just looked kind of messy!
When I am finished the rough copy I then transfer the image to the surface that I will be drawing on depending on the medium that I am using. When working in pencil, I would graphite the back (with a 6B graphite stick), if working in pastel I would use pastel on the back, when working on scratchboard I would use white chalkboard chalk on the back. For this tutorial I will be working with pastel. I work on either suede mat board or a sanded surface such as Pastelbord when working in pastels, depending on the subject matter that I am drawing. I find that suede gives the piece a softer finished look, but can be difficult to blend (so works well with a piece that has lots of fur, such as "Cleaning Up"). Pastel bord is easier to blend on & picks up the colors very accurately (this was used for "Standing By"). When working on suede, softer pastels work better than hard ones & many layers are required in order to be able to blend (like for a smooth background). When working on Pastelbord, harder pastels work better: I will often do a majority of my piece in pastel pencils. The "rule" of working with pastels is to work from hard to soft in layers. If you work too soft too quickly you can saturate the pores of the surface which can make subsequent layers much more difficult. Having said this, however, some rules are meant to be broken, sometimes. My theory is that we must first learn the rules before breaking them, then you must know why you are breaking them & have a plan. There are many different approaches to working in every medium. None are the "right" way because that will be different for each artist, each subject matter & sometimes even with each piece that you do. You have to experiment to find what works for you best.
I start a piece by first blocking in the underlying colors first, without any details, often blending to fill the pores of the surface. Think of it simply as a basecoat of color. Once the basecoat is blocked in, I will then go back to add the details a bit at a time, often leaving it unblended so as not to lose the detail that I am creating. If you have a lot of detail in your reference photo it is easy to get lost while moving your eyes from your reference to your drawing. Because of this, I will often put my finger on my reference at the spot that I am working in to make it easier to find my place each time I refer back to my reference photo. The theory is that you should spend more time with your eyes on your reference than on your drawing, as each time you take your eyes away from your reference, you are now drawing from memory, which is never as accurate. Always draw what you see, rather than what you think something should look like. There is a difference! Trust what your eyes are telling you, even if you don't understand it. Again, there are situations when you will have to break that rule. For example, if your reference photo does not have the detail that you need for your drawing (like an eye that is totally lost in darkness), you may have to put more in than you are actually seeing. If this is the case, you may have to use another reference.
Throughout working on the piece, I try to leave each area approximately 90% finished. The reason for this is that when working in pastels (as well as in pencil), it is easy to lose some of the detail that you have put in throughout the process of the piece. If you were to rework the picture every time you lose this detail, your piece would quickly get overworked. In pastel, this means that it may no longer take any more layers of pastel or that the colors may get quite muddy. Instead, if you leave each area about 90% finished you will only have to do the last 10% once, at the end of the piece. Unfortunately, this can be frustrating to leave each area "almost finished" as sometimes, you can be a bit unhappy with the piece. Just keep telling yourself that it is where it should be right now…you will finish it completely later! When you are feeling "sorta" finished, then it is ready for that last 10%. This will include touching-up details that have gotten faded, smudged or lost, and accentuating the brightest lights & darkest darks, adding a few "hits" of a bright color, adding any lost texture, etc. It is AMAZING the difference you will see in your piece! Such a transformation…from "alright" to "perfect"! (hopefully!!!)
When working in pastel I always use a workable fixative spray throughout the process of my piece. Some people believe that this can darken the colors of your piece…& it can, if done incorrectly! I will spray my piece several times throughout the process, whenever I have covered a fairly large area in a new layer of pastel. The trick is to shake the daylights out of the can of fixative (always make sure that it is "workable"), then spray 2-3 LIGHT coats of spray onto your piece. It is important to use several very light coats instead of one heavy one…if it is too heavy, it will saturate the piece & darken it. Spraying your piece will help to keep the pastel dust from falling off of the piece or blowing onto other areas of the piece. It will also prevent the pastel dust from falling & collecting at the bottom of the picture frame when framed. It will never be permanent (you wouldn't want it to be, as this would result in a very flat, boring look), so always cover up whatever you aren't working on, and whenever you pack it up at the end of your painting session. Spraying the piece will also give it a bit more "grab" to the surface, making it easier to rework an area that may be a bit overworked. I am fairly generous with my spray, however, I always use very light coats. Framers & printers will often ask if a pastel piece has been sprayed due to fear of damaging your finished piece while they are working with it. Any professional framer or printer will still handle any piece of artwork with extreme care! You want them to handle it more carefully than you do!
When finished a piece, please be sure to always sign it! I usually sign it at the bottom right corner of the piece, not too close the bottom (as it may get covered by a mat when framing), using your first & last name. After all of the time, energy & talent that you have poured into your piece, you want to take full credit for it. If you were to just sign with your initials, your viewers may not know exactly who created it.
