MATERIALS
• 300 x 400mm sheet of Colourfix sanded
• Soft pencil
• Felt marker pen
• Pastels from Terry Ludwig, Schmincke and Unison sets
The aim was to use a limited palette of blues, off white,greens and red. At all times I made a conscious effort to keep the pastels as clean as possible laying them side by side and avoiding blending. The scene is quite simple and therefore the painting technique can be kept simple. A painting like this can generally be completed very quickly. The red flowers are the purpose and feature of the painting.
STEP ONE
The scene depicted here does not exist. My inspiration came from a side view of a recently renovated Cape Cod cottage. The bougainvillea is located just around the corner from our place. I’ve simply put the two views together. Starting with a light pencil, drawing to establish the house profile, I outlined this with a marker pen. Painting began with the sky.
STEP TWO
With an off-white Terry Ludwig pastel I painted the house and indicated the cast shadows.
STEP THREE
I painted the shadows and minimum details of the house.
STEP FOUR
I slashed in the red bougainvillea shape.
FINAL STEP
The final step was to add some detail to the flowers, add dark green and blue wall shadows and some foliage behind the gate. As an afterthought I added the white gate.
ARTIST’S HINTS AND TIPS
• The fast way to learn how to use pastels is to have lessons and or join a pastel society group.
• Top pastel artists conduct workshops and classes. Enquire through the Pastel Society in your state.
• I discovered a way to dramatically improve your painting skills – paint daily, paint small and paint fast.
• By fast I mean set a timer (say 10 minutes) and paint something in that time. It’s not hard but it requires discipline.
• Use Facebook to check out the world’s top pastel artists – you’ll find exciting new work, techniques and ideas every day.
