Wednesday, September 17, 2008

First Two Weeks of Pastel Class

Well, I chose wisely....this is going to be a great class with Deborah Bays!

The first two weeks we have been discussing the difference between two approaches to painting:

Tonal and Light/Shadow
They are important in revealing form on a two-dimensional surface, and play a big role in the "intent" of your painting. (Another new concept, which I will try to explain once I understand it....smiling)

Tonal painting reveals form (a form is your subject...a pear, apple, box, flower) by value, shape and color. It can look quite graphic in nature. A great example of tonal painting is the Japanese prints. If you do a search on Japanese woodblock prints or art you will have some great examples, but I liked this site at Tokugawa Gallery -


http://www.tokugawagallery.com/gallery1.html



12" x 18" My attempt at a tonal drawing using vine charcoal on Canson (white)


I attempted to show form by shapes and values....this was hard for me as I think I am primarily a Light/Shadow painter. So let's take a look at that concept.


Light and Shadow painting reveals the form through light and shadow (things are in the light or they are in the shadow), and some great examples are the old Dutch Masters. Many of today's artists who specialize in Realism employ the Light and Shadow concept. Here is the Wikipedia site for Dutch Masters -


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Golden_Age_painting

11" x 12" My attempt at a Light & Shadow drawing using vine charcoal on Canson (cream)

One approach is not more preferred than another, it is all in the intent.....

My observations....
It is much easier for me to employ the Light and Shadow approach when painting.
I do think in the tonal approach when I do my art quilts.
I hate, hate, hate vine charcoal!
I can't wait to explore the idea of "intent" for starting a painting.

All for now.....C

3 comments:

Karen Hargett said...

Cindy thanks for sharing. Sounds like it is going to be a good class.

Elflling said...

Sorry for bothering you with this, but I was trying to find information on Deborah Bays' class, workshop or her website, and had no luck. Do you know where I can find this information? I really love her work too...

Unknown said...

Thank you Karen! Thanks for taking time to comment ;-)

Hi Elflling! Welcome to my blog...
Deborah does not have a website but if you do a google search you will see some of her work.

Here is a link to her work at Abend Gallery in Denver. She also won an award at the PSA show in NYC, I'm providing the website but there aren't any pics yet.

http://www.abendgallery.com/html_artists/bays_deborah/bays.htm

http://pastelsocietyofamerica.org/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=31