I can't tell you how much this little painting and seeing you do it changed my life! I've been trying pastels forever and for some reason it all just clicked! Thanks for everything.
Hi Bethany, I have watched your videos over many times and just marvel at your work. You always let the medium shine thru and keep the spontaneity of the piece alive which to me is heads above so many others on RU-vid. You are truly an inspiration to us beginners and pros alike.
Oh goodness thank you Sal! :) Everyone has their own unique style! When I was learning, I used to be so frustrated that my pieces didn't look like so-and-so's. It took me awhile to realize and be comfortable with the fact that my work will never look like someone else because I am me! :) And of course as artists, we want to stand out and be different. It sounds silly now but when you're learning, you want to emulate those you admire. I appreciate you watching and commenting!! :)
Wow, this was fantastic! Thank you so much, would never have thought to use the alcohol more than once! You have really exceeded the different techniques used in your lovely paintings! Just cannot thank you enough for these demonstrations! Wish we could have seen the picture first! I love seeing the picture that you reproduce! It truly makes me feel more confident that I don't need to rub the colors in like we were taught as children! I'm truly flabbergasted! Again, Thank you so much for demonstrating your techniques! Love all your paintings.
What a wonderful lesson! New to pastels and love working with them. Will try the alcohol technique. Your artwork is beautiful -- looking forward to more lessons. Patti
Thank you so much Bethany. Never thought of using the alcohol after the initial under painting . Wow this really frees me up to get back some of those darks I tend to lose
I've subscribed and spent a lot of time on your website, Bethany. You are incredibly generous with sharing your expertise and time to produce these videos. Tonight I tried my first alcohol underpainting to start a pastoral scene based on these lessons. Wow! It went better than I expected and I got some beautiful effects. Now I have to restrain myself so that I don't cover them all up as I move on to layering the pastels. I'm new to pastels, but I really feel like your demos have taken me to another level. Thank you!
Cheryl, so glad to hear this! I love using alcohol - it provides wonderful texture! I have to restrain myself with the pastels too though! I'm so happy these videos are helping you.
Harry Gray: Great variety of mark making. I do find helpful the text as I can pause them and think about while I see how they apply. I admit I am not a strong listener so that is very appreciated. Thank you!
Thanks for a very informative video; I especially liked how you used the alcohol. You really finished with a beautiful pastel. Looking forward to seeing more of your videos. 👌🏻👩🏻🎨
OMG you brought that scene to life. I've yearned to start with my pastels. Following you no will. You were clear an concise. Perfect. Questioned the base color for grass, omg made sense. It popped. The sky was awesome. The building was not just drop. The trees ... am at a loss. So excited to try. May I ask about the ink? Is new to me. Cannot tell you how much I l9ved watching with such excitement. You may have a new number 1 fan here in Texas. Thank you. 😢❤👏👏👍😁
You really are fascinating to watch your process. I wondered if it wouldn't be to much to ask if you could please share your photo reference when painting. I'm struggling with values and it really helps to see the full decision making process. Thank you so much for your time and consideration!
Sometimes I don't use a photo reference or my painting is so "off" what it would be I don't think it would help. I often just use a reference for the general shapes of the trees or the arrangement. I definitely color outside the lines. ;) With that in mind, my newest youtube and blog share more about my photo reference. :) www.bethanyfieldsblog.com/wintersunset
I do this, too! I have stacks of reference photos I shot myself and I change the composition all the time, mostly just because it amuses me for some reason. :)
Bethany,love your barn with trees,also want to know if you have ever painted with nupastels on bottom with soft pastels on ,bottom without adding water or
HI Brendan! Yes, I have. I like to use the alcohol with the nupastels because it covers the tooth of the paper easily so I don't have to use as much pastel. This saves me time and money! :) Thanks for the question!
I would like more information on how and why you are using a palette knife. The video is so fast that it is difficult to see what you are doing. Love your work!
Thank you very much for this demo with an impressionistic approach ! I wonder if it'd be relevant to show the photo you work from, right from the start, so as to demonstrate your interpretation of it every step of the way.
I am new to soft pastels. Love watching you work. I'm familiar with the alcohol but have never heard of Acrylic Ink. Can you tell me what it is, please? Thank you.
Hi, enjoyed watching. I was wondering what strength of rubbing alcohol are you using - is it 100% or watered down a bit. Also if one uses ink in the process, would this be considered a mixed-media painting if you were putting it in an art show or not? Love your work - beautiful. Thank you!
Hi Cheryl! :) Thank you for watching and for the questions. I am using straight alcohol, no watering down...It is 91% isopropyl alcohol I purchased at my grocery store. :) Also, the Pastel Society of America deems any painting a "pastel" if at least 80% of the surface is soft pastel. Lots of artists are using oil stains, watercolor, and acrylic as a base toned underpainting...Good question though and I'm glad you asked! Thank you again for watching!
Hi Bethany! Incredible work, love your values! I have a couple questions as I'm new to art and especially pastels... I discovered watercolor last year, moved into acrylics and just enjoying learning about all these mediums, so I've purchased Charvin water soluble painting sticks(48) as well as set of water soluble extra soft oil pastels. I try to limit the new media I purchase to water soluble and was surprised to see you use alcohol- would alcohol work to blend these known as well? Next question is I noticed you're using acrylic ink to set a dark underpainting in place - would it have worked also to have started with a dark piece of paper? And do you often use toned paper? Thanks so much if you find time to answer and keep sharing your work, I've learned SO much just watching.
Thank you Charity for the comment! Oil pastels wouldn't work with the alcohol as they wouldn't be able to blend due to the different chemical structures of the elements. Alcohol works great for soft pastels as there is no binder in pastels to propel the alcohol. I love to used toned paper! I use some in this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-I9FyBdTYBWE.html :) I don't often use pre-toned paper as my preferred Uart paper comes in an oatmeal color. It's really personal and there are many different papers to try! Thank you for watching!
Enjoyed this video and wondering what paper you are using. I'm a beginner with watercolor background so this is like making a 180 degreee turn. Love your use of other materials and tools!
Thank you! I needed inspiration to complete a pastel landscape that I started over a year ago - you did it! I love your technique - everything you do and will surely try the alcohol wash with maybe a bit more confidence now. One question - can you explain just a bit what it is you are doing with the palette knife on the house? Again, thank you.
Yes! It is also known as "surgical spirits" in different locations around the world. It is usually used for medical reasons as a disinfectant. It dries quickly on this sanded paper and causes no buckling.
Beautiful picture! Thank you for sharing your process. Have you ever used Panpastels, and if so, what do you think of them? If not, what do you thing About them? =) I've seen some amazing paintings done with them - even some animal pictures "drawn" with them. Looks pretty cool, but I think I would have to have a great amount of talent in the first place before I could do that! I am just starting out with pastels and mostly using Faber-Castell Pastel Pitt pencils, but I did get some Charvin soft pastels to try them out (because they were cheaper - for practice, I figured) and also got some Sennelier half sticks to try out as well (not so cheap). How are the Nupastels in cost and in quality? What are your favorite pastels to use? Thanks for reading this, if you did! =D
Hi momicajack! Thank you for the comment! I don't use Panpastels but have seem some great paintings done with them. I like a sharper edge to my paintings sometimes and have seen most pan pastels have a softer effect. It is up to the individual artist for sure! Sennelier are beautiful pastels - much, much, much softer than Nupastels. Nupastels are on the less expensive side and are usually available at the big box craft stores. I love Terry Ludwig pastels, Unison, Rembrandt, Schmincke, and also Girault.
Bethany Fields Thanks so much for your reply. For now I have been mostly following tutorials, to try to learn about layering and such, but I have done a couple of cat pictures on my own as well. I would love to try scenery and have taken my own pictures of sky and of trees with flowers also for subjects. I guess I just need to brave it and try it, and see what I can come up with on my own, too. I love old barns and need to stop and try to take some pictures of those around where I live. I know that confidence is key, but I'll never gain much if I don't just go ahead and try! Lol! Thanks again for sharing your work! =)
I sometimes use both...this was a fun experiment and the ink goes on nice and dark. I also like to use other methods of applying it to achieve different textures. :)
Hi Karin! No, I paint mostly "small works" but do all different sizes and compositions. Yes, of course feel free to paint along but please reference me! :)
You are very talented but, I cant read and watch at the same time. I love your videos where you talk. At least do a voice over. P.S. You've got a great voice.
This is greatly sped up. Real time probably close to an hour! I like that sound too but the files are too big to upload with my wee little laptop. Thank you for watching!
