Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Sushi Chef - Painting on Pastelmat with WIP pics

Here is my second painting on Pastelmat.  It's still trial and error for me at this point, but I'm getting used to the paper, and I like it very much.




Sushi Chef
19.5" x 15.5"
Soft Pastel on Pastelmat


People keep asking me for WIPs, so I tried to remember to take some pictures along the way so I could show you my process.


First, I started out with a grid.  I laugh at myself when I try to grid, because I can never get the grid even, or to accurately match the reference photo grid.  And even if I had everything accurate, I don't have the patience to copy the boxes exactly.  So for me, a grid is more of a tool I use for the initial placement of the image, and then I draw the picture from the computer monitor.  I also correct and redraw as necessary when I'm painting.


For the grid, I took a few drawing pencils and made small marks on the paper.  Then I erased the marks with a kneaded eraser.  I used the pencil that erased the best.  I drew the painting with a pastel pencil, and lost parts of my drawing when the pastel pencil rubbed off, so next time I'm just going to use the drawing pencil. 


A note about pastel removal:  A kneaded eraser pulls up pastel very nicely on this paper, particularly if you're not trying to pull up a lot.  I found Q-tips effective when I wanted to remove a lot of pastel (meaning many layers).  A soft paintbrush is also effective.  I actually tried the vacuum, and was surprised at how ineffective it was (and my vacuum has a lot of suction!).


Here is my initial drawing:



I started painting the hat and face first.




Then the hair and shirt.




Then I finished the shirt and started the background.




Next I have a gap in the photos (sorry).  When I got to the hands, I realized you might like to see how I paint skin (I used the same method for the face, just didn't get pics of it), and thought to get a photo.  First, I redrew the hands with a pastel pencil (the drawing had faded by the time I was ready to paint the hands).  Next, I painted the local color of the skin, using probably six different pastel colors. 





Next, I blended that, then applied more pastel in the same manner, then blended again.  After that, I touched up with pastels and pastel pencils to define the hands a bit better (sorry, I got so into my painting I forgot to take pics!).


  


After that, I made corrections, removed things that weren't necessary, etc.  Here's the finished painting once again.




I am really getting to like the Pastelmat.  I like the fact that it is so soft, but I can get a nice sharp line on it.  It takes a lot of pastel, though not nearly as much as suede matboard.  This paper will probably replace La Carte for me.  I get similar results, but a bit better coverage, and blending is much easier on the fingertips.  As far as dust goes, I'd say I get less dust than La Carte, but much more than suede matboard.  I would use this paper for anything I would normally use La Carte for, and probably suede matboard and velour paper as well, with the exception of animals.  Once I get used to the paper, I may try fur again and reevaluate.


I hope this was interesting for you, despite the gaps in my photos!

18 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow wow Wow!!! Thank you for taking the time to post the in progress but I am still in awe with the final product. The frosted glass, the grains of rice, the perfect skin tones. You are amazing!

Kari Tirrell said...

Thanks, Sheila! That's very nice of you to say. :)

Nancy L. Vance said...

Spectacular! I prefer working on suede matboard also, so I am glad to hear (and see) what you accomplished with the Pastelmat. Where can you purchase it in the US?

Kari Tirrell said...

Thank you! I bought my Pastelmat at www.dakotapastels.com. You can go to pastelmat.com and click on "buy" to find other options.

Reflections From Life Art Blog said...

Beautiful Kari!!! His hands are wonderful, and hands are so hard to do! I need to give my Pastelmat a work out. Haven't even really tried it yet and bought some last summer. :p

Nancy

Lokelani Forrest said...

OMIGOSH...absolutely amazing. You have done a spectacular job. The details are amazing, the realism, the rendering of the hands...BRAVO!

Edward Burton said...

Wow, what an incredible job, Kari!

Kari Tirrell said...

Thanks, Nancy! Definitely try out the Pastelmat! I'm interested to know what you think of it and how it works for you.

Thank you, Lokelani and Edward! I really appreciate your comments, and I'm glad you like the painting. :)

Aimee D said...

Amazing, Kari, but you're probably tired of hearing that. It seems like Pastelmat really agrees with your technique!

Kari Tirrell said...

Thanks, Aimee! No, that never gets old. ;)

Unknown said...

very well painted , like the details very much

Kari Tirrell said...

Thank you very much, Rishi!

Gwen Bell said...

Really super work! I love the way the drawing is sharp and yet soft at the same time which keeps it on the warm painterly side of things. Really beautiful form and technique!

Thank you so much for the process photos...extremely helpful!

Kari Tirrell said...

Thanks, Gwen!

Shaz said...

This is absolutely awesome!! The progress pictures are interesting and such a nice touch to the final product. I aspire to this kind of talent!!!

Kari Tirrell said...

Thank you, Shaz! I'm glad you like it. :)

JRonson said...

Oh God it's beautiful to see al the process of work, maybe one day i'll do this with my works, the result is awesome :)

Kari Tirrell said...

Thank you very much!