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Howtopaintfigurativescenes

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pastelpaintingonahorseauctionnearApplebyinYorkshire.Theconceptinthiscasewasa

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supportIworkedonwasanacidfreeartframingboard.

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Ipreparedthesupportbyprimingitwithathinlayerofpastelpaste.Iusevarioustypesof

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IwaselectedvicepresidentofthePastelSocietyearlierthisyearandIamkeentoshow
peoplethatitcanbeanexcitinganddynamicmedium.Thepaintingisalargeformatandthe

pastel,alwaysstartingwithsoftfirstandthenharderlater,beforefinallyvaryingfromhardto
soft.

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Byusingarigidboard,Iamabletotapandshaketheboardtoremovesurpluspasteldustat
eachstage.Iusefixativeinbetweenstagesbutneverattheend,becausethefinished
surfacecanloseitsvibrancy.

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1.MyinspirationforthispaintingcamefromasetofphotographsthatItookofahorsesale

15&utm_campaign=Shortcourseshomepage)

nearApplebyinYorkshire.Iwantedtousetheseasthebasisfortheartworkbutdevelopthe
compositionasIprogress.
2.Theideaoflookingdownonatheatreofactivitywasforemostinmymind.Workingwith
myphotographsofthesceneasreference,Ibeganbymappingoutthesceneontothe
preparedsupportfromasquaredupdrawing.

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3.Withthesketchinplace,Iwillpaintonaleanlayerofacrylicwithahouseholdbrush.
Watercolour,gouacheorinkscanalsobeusedasabaseforthisstage.
4.Hereyoucanseetheresultsofblockingincolour.Ihavelosttheoriginaldrawingnow
andcanreacttothegeneralareasofcolourandtoneinsubsequentlayersofpastelmarks.
(http://bit.ly/1rrgKdJ)

5.HereIamapplyingareasofhighlightsinsoftUnisonorSennelierpastelstobegin

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buildingatexturedsurfacetothepaint.
6.Iamworkingonallareasofthepaintinghere,overexaggeratingthedrawingand

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layeringprocess.Mycompositionremainsclosetotheoriginalreferencephotoatthisstage

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7.Atthispoint,Ipausetoevaluateeachofthecoloursandmakesubtlechanges.Bypicking

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outelementswithanalogous(similar)orcomplementary(opposite)colours,Icancreate
areasofharmonyorinterest.

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8.Usingacolourinmorethanoneareaofapaintinghelpscreaterelationshipsbetween
differentareasandcreateharmony.HereIhaveworkedovertheentirepaintingwithblack
pasteltoaddcontinuitytotheshadows.

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9.Icontinuetoaddextrahighlightsanddetailstothepeopleandhorses,includingtouches
ofgreentothefleshinordertotonedowntheredfaces.
10.DaytwoofthepaintingandItendtostartbyredrawingtheoutlinesandgettingtoknow
thecompositionafresh.Imadeseveralalterationsduringthisstage,includingaddingahat
totheforegroundfigure.

11.IpickedupthisPlanesoftheHeadmannequinheadintheUSAwhenIwasteaching
outthere.Itwasexpensivebutinvaluableforfiguredrawing,asyoucanuseittojudgethe
relativetonalvaluesofaheadwhenlitfromdifferentangles.
12.Thehatisaddedandthefaceadjusted.Addingmorelinearmarkshelpsmetogetto
knowthesubjectanddevelopitgradually.Removingthehoodfromthejacketoftheother
mainforegroundfiguremeansbreakinguptheareabehindhim,too.

13.Afterfinishingwiththefirstlayersofsoftpastel,Ispraythewholepaintingwithfixative
andswitchtotheharder,morepreciseContepastelstobeginpickingoutdetails.
14.TheharderContepastelsarealsousefulforhatching,especiallycontrastingcoloursthat
helptoneutralisebrighterareas:inthisinstance,Ihatchedgreenintothered,earthy
colours.

15.Steppingbacktoassess,thepicturefeltlackingintoneandcontrast.Someareas
neededbreakingup,inordertomakethedifferentpartsofthepaintingappearmore

dynamic.
16.Itookthedecisiontosimplifysomeoftheshapesandreducethelevelsoftextureby
usingalargewetbrushtocompressthepastel.

17.Byscrubbingthebrushoverthepastelinthisway,ithelpstosoftentexturesandfine
details,leavingyouwithflatterareasofmoreunifiedtone.Surplusloosepastelislikelyto
comeoffonthebrushsobecarefultocleanitasyougo.
18.Inthisstage,youcanseemyprogressafterwettingthevariousareasofthepainting.I
washappywiththeresultsbuttheoverallpaintingnowfeltgenerallyquitecoolincolour
someareas,includingtheshirt,needwarmingupforabetterbalance.

19.HereIambringingtexturebackintowettedareasbyusingsoftpastelinaheavy,almost
impastoway.Thesemarkswillbevisibleinthefinalpainting,sothattheyopticallymixand
varytheapparentdepthwarmercoloursappeartocomeforwardandcoolercolours
appeartorecede.
20.Assessingprogressagain,someofthemarksfeeltoolinearandthehatchingistoo
obviousoncertainareas,suchastherighthandofthemanwearingtheflatcap.Themanin
blackinthemiddleofthepicturelacksdepth,too.

21.Ivecontinuedtodevelopthedefinitionofsmallerareassuchasthehandsofthemenin
theforegroundandthefiguresatthebackoftheroom.Throughoutthisstage,Iamre
evaluatingtheedgesandshapes,tryingnottomakeanyoneareamoreprominentthan
another.
22.Moreimpastostylemarksareaddedtothehandshere,allowingformoreopticalmixing.
AsIaddthedetail,Iamtryingtokeepthisinbalancewiththelevelofdetailintherestofthe
painting.

23.Sharpedgescanbesoftenedatthisstagebyechoingcoloursinadjacentareas.HereI
amtryingtolosetheedgesontheshirtcollarbybringingthefleshtonesintothewhiteofthe
shirt.
24.Timeforthefinishingtouches.Theambiguousshoulderofthecentralcharacterismore
clearlydefinednowandthecolouroftheladyinredbehindthemanwiththeflatcapis
heightenedtosuggestgreaterdepth.
ClickheretowatchavideotutorialofRogerDellarinaction,ashecreatesasmall,figurative
paintingwithoils.(/howto/PortraitsFigurative/475/videorogerdellarpaintsafigurative
sceneinoils)

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