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Medium: Pastel Category: Portrait
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Pastel Demonstration
Male portrait in
three-quarter view
using pastel
by William L. Maughan
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THE MATERIALS
For pastel paintings I use soft pastels in stick form, which allows greater coverage than pastel pencils. Any brand of pastel is fine, though I prefer Sennelier's extra-soft consistency and color selection. The tints and shades of a pastel color are indicated by a number. The highest number the lightest tint. White is added to create the tints, and black is added for the shades. In general if you want a pastel in its purest form, look for a color with a middle-range number. How big of a starter set should you get? Ultimately it depends on your budget. But nothing is more frustrating than not having the right colors. Several manufacturers, including Sennelier, sell portrait sets.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
-- Soft pastels, preferably Sennelier's extra-soft pastel "a l' Ecu"
-- 6B or extrasoft charcoal pencil
-- Rives BFK paper, white
-- Spray fixative, preferably Grumbacher's Myston Workable Fixative
-- Chamois
-- Paper stumps (optional)
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I have arranged the pastels I use in two drawers of a shallow file cabinet, where I keep watercolor, pastel, gouache, oil and Prismacolor pencils. It is located to the right of my easel. The drawers are positioned far enough apart to access both layers of pastels simultaneously.
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Step 1. Having set the model at a three-quarter view to my right, I then positioned the light above and to the front and left of center. I did this to cause the side plane to be slightly darker than the front plane. I have used natural light with this model, which caused warm shadows. Since my eye level is above the model, the near eye will appear lower than the far eye, and the eyes and mouth will converge upward toward the higher eye level. With the charcoal pencil I established the gesture, proportion in perspective, shadow shapes, and shadow edges. Although it was tempting to render the halftone value in black charcoal, I did not, as it would disappear in the tone of the next step. I fixed this layer with Myston.
Since I positioned the light source above and to the front and left of center, the side plane of the model's head is slightly darker than the front plane, creating a sense of three-dimensionality.
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"...The best approach to drawing a head and its individual features is one of discovery--to gaze upon the forms as though you have never seen anything like them before. And since each human head is unique, truly you haven't. So do not let experience or your intellect destroy the journey. Let your mind go blank, and let your eyes tell you when the shadow begins and ends. Let the resulting shadow shapes reveal the structure to you." --William L. Maughan, The Artist's Complete Guide to Drawing the Head, p. 63
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Step 2
I created a middle tone by sliding a black pastel stick over the drawing surface and rubbing it into the surface of the paper in a circular motion with a chamois. I fixed this layer with Myston as well.
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Step 3
I used a cool-gray middle-value flesh color as a base for the illuminated side. I used a reddish brown dark value for the local color, warm temperature, and value of the shadow side. Green was applied as a background to complement the red coloration of the flesh.
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Step 4
I added blue-gray as halftone around each feature. I used red, a common color to both light and shadow, to blend all form-shadow edges. I also applied red to turn the contour of each form. I added yellow to the forehead and green to the temples (the blue halftone and yellow create green). I added red to the nose, cheeks, and ears with violet halftones (blue halftone and red create violet).
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Step 5
I used a lighter flesh color to lighten and unify all the color notes previously added, as well as to crisp all cast-shadow edges.
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Step 6/Finish
I added reflected light in the orbicular cavity and bottom plane of the nose. I added green to all other shadows that received bounced light from the background color. To the shadows I added dark accents in dark green (dark green and dark red-brown create a color close to black in value but without the lifelessness). Since the light source is cool, it thus produces cool light masses. I added the highlights in a light blue-green.
Note the temperature of your light source when adding highlights and dark accents to your painting. A cool light will produce cool highlights on the light side of your model and warm accents on the shadow side.
Male portrait in
three-quarter view
using pastel
by William L. Maughan
Visit his Website
Read about his book, The Artist's Complete Guide to
DRAWING THE HEAD at Amazon
Artwork and Text Copyright 2012 by William L. Maughan.
All Rights Reserved.
PLEASE RESPECT COPYRIGHTS
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This demonstration is from the book, "The Artist's Complete Guide to Drawing the Head by William L. Maughan, published by Watson-Guptill Publications an imprint of Crown Publishing Group a division of Random House. Reprinted with permission of the publisher. All steps and text included.
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