Kim Morin Weineck's Art: pastel card

Showing posts with label pastel card. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Continuation

Abstraction for me seems to be another way of saying "loosening up" because there is no mistaking what most of these small studies are, even though I painted them with less detail.

My exercises continue focusing on color, composition, and on making each mark really matter. Like in the piece above, those dots of red really make the piece for me.

It's hard not to keep going on these. I want to make more detail and explain myself more - yet, when I see these here, it's obvious that they read for what they are without all the extra marks.

The alternating colors activate the space. I like the effect.

All of them are fun and quick and are oddly exhausting!

For directions on how to try them yourself, check this post here.
Thanks for reading! ~kmw

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

As an art instructor, I often say the same things over and over. Describing color and detail and abstraction while teaching a workshop, I explained ways one may loosen up and explore relationships in art. It seemed appropriate that I taught by example and so I made these few studies.

Pick a reference at random. Collect all the colors you think are needed to render your study. In pastel this is such fun - selecting your color notes and laying them near each other to see how they relate. Test yourself to use only the colors you initially select. Test yourself more by putting a limit on the amount you can choose ;)

Goodness me, they were such fun! And while they're 'abstracted' they aren't abstract. You know it was a sunset sky, a cottage lane, and a beach and treeline inspiring these works.

And all of this came from this more serious piece on gessoed gatorboard. I'll get back into it, but during the workshop, it was too fussy for me. It was the piece that spurred me to the first one in this post - which I have to say I like MUCH better than this.

The start of a sunset in pastel on kraft-paper gatorboard with a pastel ground

For me it's going to be about finding a balance. When I posted the album of these studies on my Facebook page I was so SEIZED UP and went to delete the album on numerous occasions. (In fact, I still may do that.)

All of my studies. I love how they look together!

Good things will come from this practice. Color relationships are trued up. Composition skills are increased. I can guess that my class will be exploring this idea as well in a near future class!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Art Demonstration Feb 13, 2012

The Taunton Art Association has asked me to again come to their monthly meeting and perform a demonstration for them. It's always such fun for me to share some insight about how I create my artwork, and I have been excited for this demo since they asked me months ago!

Kim Morin Weineck, BRANT POINT ROSES, original pastel (c) 2011
created by direct painting on Sennelier Pastel Card

In October I demonstrated for the Foxboro Art Association and really stretched myself doing four quick studies in 2 hours on four different pastel surfaces. Each behaves so differently, and I wanted to showcase the pros and cons of each. After the four sketches I was exhausted but in the best possible way!

For the Taunton demo I'm going to paint the same picture two times using direct painting on Sennelier Pastel Card and with and underpainting using mounted UArt sanded paper. I think the techniques showcase the most dramatic differences and the end results will excite the artists in attendance.

If you're local to Taunton, do try to come. 7-9pm. It'll be fun, I promise.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Trio of new works

This week I squeezed in some time to complete these three small pastels.

I used Nupastels and Sennelier pastels on Sennelier Pastel Card with some of the new Richeson Semi-hard pastels which had arrived by FedEx this week as well. Having new supplies really can be an impetus to make art. I couldn't wait to try them out!

The Richesons are lovely, but there's a learning curve while I familiarize myself with their specific properties. Some of the colors thrill me and others I have to learn how to incorporate into use.

It's fun to explore new materials and experiment with techniques. Can't wait to find some more time to keep up the exploration!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Pastel surfaces demonstration

Pastel painting surfaces are myriad, and it's quite important to select the right one for how you work and what you'd like the final outcome to look like. This precise topic was the subject of my demonstration two night's back for the Foxboro Art Association.

The nearly two-hour demo concentrated on four different surfaces and somehow I quickly was able to sketch four (!) paintings to show just how varied these surfaces can be.

Sennelier's Pastel Card is my favorite and so it was my opener. I created this landscape with two hay bales on dry-mounted charcoal colored Pastel Card. I find the paper, with its cork tooth, grabs color vibrantly. This is a work-in-progress, but I stopped at this point because it demonstrates the point.

The next surface was Canson Mi-Teintes paper, which has two distinct sides. The 'right' side (with the Canson watermark) offers a zillion small circular 'nubbies' on it which I am constantly feeling the need to overcome. I have a hard time with this paper on the 'right' side.

I created this sketch on this paper, again selecting paper in a charcoal tone for continuity to the above sketch. A member made the observation that this piece looked like it had a netting over the entire surface - the exact 'nubbies' I'm describing! Yes, it does look just like that!

If you turn this Canson Mi-Teintes paper over to the 'wrong side, an entirely different effect is achieved. No 'nubbies' are there. It's smoother and, for my way of working, I am not fighting the paper the entire time I'm painting. The pastel pigment sits nicely on the paper, I find.

To finish up, I painted this incredibly dull start of a pastel which needs so much work I nearly didn't post it here. For the purposes of the demonstration, though, I'm including it.

PastelMat by Clairefontaine is a relatively new surface which is so mind-boggling in its ability to accept more and more pastel and yet confounds because it has no tooth or grit to grab the pigment. The paper I had was white, and a lot is still showing through. More work to be done, but those in attendance got to see how one works on the surface.

My goal is to finish up what I can on these and post when they're completed. I hope I can keep on this positive flow of energy since the demonstration this week and get to them soon! Please cut me some slack on these studies. They were done in great haste and aren't refined yet.

People asked me some wonderful, pertinent questions about materials. Keep in mind that this is my opinion. Please experiment and enjoy your own process of discovery! I'm reluctant to use the word 'best' here, but in my opinion, that's what they are!

The plein air set

The best go-to set of pastels for plein-air:
Sennelier's 80 half-stick set for Plein Air

The best paper for plein-air:
Sennelier's Pastel Card pad in either size available

The best fixative to protect your pastel and not have too much dulling of color:
Lascaux fixatif

The pastels I used for the demonstration:
Sennelier (so beautiful with Sennelier Pastel Card), Unison (loved these with the PastelMat surface), Terry Ludwig, Nupastel, and Girault.

The best sources for on-line ordering of pastel supplies:
Dakota Art Pastels
Dick Blick
Jerry's Art A Rama
Terry Ludwig

Please find me online at kimmorinweineck.blogspot.com and follow my blog, should you like.
I'm also at Gallery9 at Custom Art Framing as the Gallery Director. I'd be delighted to see you there.

What a wonderful experience it was to test myself for this demo. The crowd was wonderful with amazingly on-point questions and such encouraging comments.

Thank you to Foxboro Art Association for having me!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Surfaces for pastel

Tonight I'm doing a demonstration for the Foxboro Art Association.

I have to say that I love doing demonstrations. Standing up in front of a group and discussing your talent is a sure-fire way to solidify how you work.

I'm taking the girls with me to Jerry's Art-A-Rama this morning for a fun materials buying spree. A little art supply fix also is a sure-fire way to get inspired about your medium!

The focus of tonight's demonstration is about pastels and contrasting the various surfaces available.
There are so many but my time will concentrate on Sennelier's Pastel Card, Clairefontaine's Pastel Mat, UArt paper, Wallis paper, and perhaps Canson Mi-Teintes paper (I never know how to pronounce that last one.)

More information on supplies I use in making pastel paintings as well as sources for everything can be found here on my blog.

I enjoy making pastel paintings thoroughly. It's my hope that tonight's demo will impart this joy to other artists. What a wonderful opportunity!