Terrilynn Dubreuil, TravelingArtista, presents Art Creation & Fine Art Instruction from basic fundamentals of drawing to in-depth info about color theory, application, and other aspects of Fine Art, with a focus on the expansive delights of Soft Pastels. www.TravelingArtista.com
Thank you for that review. I have been gifted a 25 year old set of Winsor Newton soft pastels, and recently bought a set of Marie's. I have been trying unsuccessfully to paint with both sets, and my addiction to bright colours has made the WN disappointing ... more suited I think to landscapes, although particularly soft. The Marie's are quite firm and chalky, so I may try to learn more with these before deciding if this is the medium for me. I love seeing artists review budget supplies, as you are more likely to know the qualities of these. Thanks again.
The WinsorNewton soft pastels should be great! You can layer and blend them, of course, to get a huge range of colors and hues. I've never heard of Marie's. So many options these days! The Mungyo have some great bright color choices and the price might help you try. Otherwise if you want POWERFUL color, try Terry Ludwig or Diane Townsend soft pastels. They cost more, of course, as they are higher quality, but the colors are so pure! Also, are you using sanded paper? Check DakotaPastels.com for some sample packs.
(despite the name) I'm working on a music Project an I'm trying to make everything realist and believe able as possible (despite there beings for beyond reality in the story project) cause I'm looking for a thing for creating a language, an I've got my writing base an I'm wondering if it should be carvings or painting based. (the work I'm working on is Horror based hence why I was going to do carving, but painting can add a extra level of detail and expression.) an I'm trying to make sure everything I do can be made/created in the setting of my story, in a Forest. so I'm going to be using charcoal from my local backyard fire pit.
Thank You for the tutorial :) I would like to create a pastel painting using your formula to make pastels sticks straight from pigments & a binder. This painting will be given to my nephew who lives in a tropical climate, My only concern is mold & mildew so does • Distilled water or isopropyl alcohol act as a preservative? If not; do you have any recommendations like framing/and or fixative that can preserve a pastel painting in humid climates?
kh, I thought I had responded to this (sorry, if not, and sorry, if I'm repeating). Mold and mildew can be a big problem so keeping the painting dry and mold-free before framing is vital. Alcohol kills the mold & mildew as you make the pastel sticks. When framing, be sure it is done in a very dry place and the edges around the sandwich of glass, mat, painting and backing are sealed when it's very dry. I use an art or framing tape to seal the edges. Put about ⅛ inch over the front of the edge of the glass, carefully wrap it around to the back and press firmly. Be sure the tape goes all around the edge of the "sandwich". This should keep your painting secure in a very dry state. Then it pops into the frame.
Thank you for this great tutorial! Although I looked for oil pastels tutorial, I enjoyed especially the examples of paintings at the beginning lots! But I would like to know the names of all those wonderful pastel artists.
I say many of their names quickly, but let me see if I can get them here (in order, I hope): Olga Abramova, Jacob Aguiar, Tony Allain (Venice) , Michele Ashby (tattooed figure), Lyn Asselta (nocturne), Brian Bailey, [still life blue bottles, I don't remember], Jeff Fioravanti (motor), Chanh Syravanh, Debora Stewart (abstract flowers), Bernadette de Cesare, Michael Freeman (skull in box), [2 men, I'm not sure], Jeri Greenberg (woman at table), Casey Klahn (abstract trees), [texture on gauze, I forget], Klimova ? [blue still life], [woman with gold turban], Lorian Signori ("Turner"-esque), William Schneider ? [woman], [still life] Tara Will (woodblock marks). Since I did this a while ago for a Society, I don't remember all the details. Hope that helps a bit. 🙂 Best of luck with your oil pastels! (I find them a bit limiting for my approaches .. but many artists do amazing things with them. I'd love to see what you do! Email: TravelingArtista@gmail.com
@truenorth .. this is just one great approach to simplifying .. start with about 300 marks, then half that then half it again and see where you are. Larger and simpler forms create bolder and stronger paintings .. or at least the underpainting!
What's going on in this video? Landscape painters in Greensboro aren't unusual. I was there working on my MFA with Andy Martin as my thesis committee chair. He influenced many young painters there.
We're just sharing our trip from Greensboro to the International Association of Pastel Societies 2024 Conference in Albuquerque. (Not at all saying "hey plein air painting is new in Greensboro". Not sure how you got that) ... we're just having fun sharing our joy of pastel painting each day as we go on our trip west.
Lyn Diefenbach & Terrilynn Dubreuil .. follow along with us as we take a road trip from eastern to western United States: North Carolina to Albuquerque New Mexico. Follow on Facebook or on Instagram or RU-vid shorts. (links below) instagram.com/travelingartista_art/ www.youtube.com/@TravelingArtista/shorts facebook.com/terrilynnbdubreuil
I made water color with gum Arabic both ways liquid/ paste and they both work well adding just enough water to mix though it's easier to get into pan although I made oil sticks, since I love those I'll make pastel just need to have patience to mix paste for this!
What's the ratio of gum and water for your pastel? I saw another video show a 1:20 ratio. I found gum Arabic 1 pound for 1-19$ on Amazon. I may have gum tragacanth I work with leather so I also have tokonol already ready although that's so thick, that have to be diluted....it's the same tragacanth.
Ohh, those reds. I think they are always the most tricky! I do not have a set formula for how much gum and/or water/alcohol to add to the mix .. I basically estimate. Honestly, personally, I like using this approach to create wonderfully softened and slightly neutralized tones .. and tons of amazing greys! .. and leave the bright purer sticks to the experts. It's been a while since I've made some sticks myself, as I've been teaching so much (live and on my Patreon), but I do plan to do a couple updated videos soon. To make the process a little clearer and to make some pastels out of the natural dusts I've been collecting. If you find a secret, please let me know. ONE thought I have is adding in a bit of neon colored dust .. (like Diane Townsend)
The light powder is Titanium White ground .. pure pigment powder. I use it to lighten other colors. I use gum tragacanth gel as a natural binder because it was in a few recipes when I first researched this process. It is a natural, pure tree sap like gum Arabic so either could be used. And just enough to hold the particles of pigment together .. so that takes a little experimentation with each different color. Every color has different properties so I offer no set forumula here. Most of the difference between this and watercolor is that watercolor adds a bit more to the formula, usually honey and glycerine and much more water. At the foundation it’s all pure pigment! IF you are reconstituting pre-used pastel dust that has fallen from your easel that you e collected, then you don’t usually have to add more binder (gum tragacanth). It’s already in there .. so just water and/or alcohol will help bring the particles back together.
@@TravelingArtista oh great, is the pricing better for the tragacanth? Its only available for 1 oz at the local store, gum Arabic. I have tried the red again its darker but still it is not what I wanted although it's working well for shading and better outlines but still not harsh at least. I like that the way yours came out, there was no other binder or preservatives? I'm hearing impaired so I will try cc to watch video again in case I missed something thanks a bunch!
@@samanthanicholson9015 I get the gum tragacanth from Amazon .. and not much is needed so this lasts a long time (link at the end here). 4.4oz. Then I don't have to mix the powder so it's quicker to use. I'm not sure where you're located, of course, but this is my info. Again, I buy my reds if I want them really bright, and keep my reconstituted sticks for more muted colors and surprise colors (sometimes it's "who knows how this will come out!". I'm going to check to see if I can add CC to this, tho for a couple weeks now I won't have time to edit it to perfection probably. Here's the tragacanth Amazon link: www.amazon.com/Tandy-Leather-Eco-Flo-Tragacanth-2620-01/dp/B003BCUYK0/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2HYEQTB7BUICF&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.nS0F9TsaxiU1wSjDM83GvHDFQ8vgQRmHlSeckV3y0IGiAgBr-PfXfTgbi_ePTVglng0fl9kuxG0omddFr1MN_CiFnm-lZVbDLIJYjcyxxR7YUArnOTCWu1pHp6wOUrZOheTcKeHBPIcr30fD-1x1bw.F2LW6hVrVOT-vrhSAXP4kEjBhYE4nAP6Wa5HDZCoFIs&dib_tag=se&keywords=gum+tragacanth+liquid&qid=1717322137&sprefix=gum+trag%2Caps%2C88&sr=8-2
@@samanthanicholson9015 Can't do captions now .. you'll have to on your end. Here's a great video from Roché in France .. their history and how they make pastels (well, they don't give their historic formula tho!) and these are for large batches .. we're just making a couple sticks at a time. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Eu6po8_sPco.html
@@TravelingArtista oh great thanks so much! I'll be trying some pastels today a few your method and one other I have recipe of sorts for....I'm still going to try the red, oh the oil red I got from an old oil stick made some sticks but they also turned out terra cotta color, I'm wondering to try that with pastel though the oil may affect binder so I think I won't try that. I hear lake 27 and 40 are good but someone else said sienna and dioxide for red should be better. Someone used cement colors and I hoped to use the dye pigment but I think they could use alum or chalk it even clay, I want something to use that won't cost a lot for large color options.
You can use the power, but probably make it into a gel before adding to the pigments. PERHAPS you can mix the powered Gum into the pigment ground thoroughly and evenly before adding any liquid, but I've never tried it. I purchase the gum tragacanth already in gel form (quicker & easier for me). IF you do it another way, please let me know how it works!
I was trying to look for a video of an actual "How to..."; and not one of those videos when a creator(s) who just talk behind a desk and not show examples. Awful. Thank you for your work, it turned out amazing how well the result where in the end.
Great tutorial. I started with blending on a flat palette like you show here, then I heard of a fabulous trick that saves a lot of time and effort - blend pigment and water/binder in a small jar with a popsicle stick or other tool. The source where I read this was using baby food jars, but those are hard to come by these days. I ordered a bunch of 2 oz jars and they work great. You can set up tints and shades very easily this way too by adding black and white to your base color. You can shake them with the lid on to blend different pigment powders before you start mixing, which is also a huge time saver and helps consistency. You can still knead it by hand if you like once the dough forms.
I use 500 grit wet/dry sandpaper and have been working with Canson XL Dry Mixed Media paper for my soft pastels. You have to learn to work with it, I find better soft pastels like Unison and Richeson hand made work just fine. My colors came out quite strong.
Thanks Leslie for this comment. I did use some Diane Townsend and Terry Ludwig super soft pastels in this. It basically doesn't work for my approach but I'm glad it does for you. I know Canson tests their products extensively so probably a matter of preference. Thankfully today we have so many more options to choose from! I also use wet/dry sandpaper for my beginning students! It's a great tool to get them used to the feeling of soft pastel, but is much less expensive. Of course, it is not archival. But a great paper for newbies and demos!
I do abstract and don’t sell much, so spending a lot of $ on the sanded papers is not right for me. I also use MiTients, and have tried pastel grounds on other papers.@@TravelingArtista
@@leslieharris9088 Glad you're trying things. And I get the thrifty approach. I spent a couple years really experimenting with different surfaces and approaches. I've found there are a couple surfaces that I can use and reuse and repurpose. Now I purchase ONLY those papers that I can re-use when a painting doesn't work out. UArt and Lux Archival are my favorites now. (I used MiTeints for YEARS .. as it was the only paper I was aware of .. that and hard to semi-hard pastels. I'm surprised I got anything decent from those .. but it's possible!)
Ha! Thank you. It just takes some practice. Play with color mixing (make swatches on a piece of scrap watercolor paper), practice different brushstrokes, then layer colors light to dark. 👍🏼 Sometimes I repeat the same painting multiple times (3-5) until I get it where I want it.
Simply use water-soluble wall paint. It contains fillers such as calcium carbonate, silicates and quartz powder, which make the surface like fine sandpaper, making it ideal for pastels. You also have different colors as a base.
Sounds great ... those mineral powders must ad a great texture. (Wondering if it's archival? Some people are very particular about that .. but I imagine it must be)
Thank you, Lady Justice. The binder is Gum Tragacanth (gum Aribic works too). Water and or alcohol are added to make the "pastel" .. and the alcohol just helps it to dry faster. I have not tried mixing the pigment with oil yet .. have you? What kind of oil? Walnut? Stand oil? Of course, this process starts with just the ground powdered pigment which is in all paints, regardless of the binder. I like to use the most pure that I can.
As a beginner, homemade surfaces are a godsend! I've been using cheap watercolor blocks with Liquitex Clear Gesso and it's so easy (plus I can do watercolor underpainting if I want).
