My Style, My Way
Making My Mark!
A brief introduction to my style of painting, processes involved and materials used.
If you wish to know more drop me an email.
My Style
I use all types of pastels from powder, hard and soft sticks to soft and hard pencils for both opaque and transparency when layering and details. I also prefer subjects with both sharp (details) and bokeh (out-of-focus) elements as it gives a greater sense of depth.
The paper used is very important as painting a piece usually requires several layers to achieve the correct colour tones and depth.
My hair and fur work is created through fast strokes of sticks and pencils.
I delibrately don't think about copying from the reference material
but instead concentrate on form and the pressure on the pastel to the paper. This technique I find creates a more natural result.
Paper and Layering
The paper I use most is Pastelmat. It allows me to apply many layers of pastel to achieve the desired depth, colour tone, detail and realism I require from a piece.
The other type of paper I use is Velour another specialized paper which feels like velvet. I can't use pencils on this paper only semi soft and soft pastel sticks. Thus doesn't have the fine detail which Paslemat provides but is exceptional for painting fur. It can take up to 80 hours to produce a piece using Pastelmat which reflects in the price but Velour is my alternative paper for pet commissions and takes much less time to produce a painting. Please see 'Specials' for more information about Velour pastel painting.
Baking and Fixing
I use a technique called 'baking' which is one of the reasons why I choose to create several pieces at the same time. It involves stopping after a number of layers and hanging the piece to dry for a week or two depending on which pastels I use and how soft they are.
I rarely use 'fixative' to fix a piece but naturally 'bake' instead. This dries and hardens the pastel so I can continue to apply more layers. The length of time I bake depends on how much soft pastel is used and whether to use a fixitive spray to help speed up the process. If a fixitive spray is used the only one I use is Degas Fixative from SpectraFix. it is Odor Free, Non-Toxic and natural which can safely be used indoors.