Tuesday 23 March 2010

Pastel skies and sunny atmospheres

One of the thing I love about the art workshops I go on, is meeting old friends. So, I was delighted to bump into two of them on Saturday who've I've not seen for some months, and catch up with their seperate news (yes, the cats still fine, her mother is better now thanks, her husbands got a new job, the daughter is getting divorced, and the painting is going well - is a generall summing up of the two of them!).

The workshop was well attended and the tutor very on the ball so we were kept busy and well informed all day which I much prefer as the day is more structured than if we're just left to get on with it. The lesson was about atmospheric skies in pastel. I don't do pastel much. I CAN do it, and I DO tend to enjoy it when I get into it, but I find that my results can be sometimes surprisingly fabulous, and sometimes strangely disappointing. But, I found on Saturday that that was because of the pastel paper I've been using, and the method of applying the pastel. I've not been using enough, I've found out now - and should put more on the paper and really rub it in to get more of the soft cloud effects that create a powerful stormy sky. Also, the use of a "colour shaper" would be incredibly beneficial I now know. I've seen these strange looking tools before and never been quite sure what to do with them - they have a long handle like a oil painting brush but with a small wedge shaped piece of rubber at the end, which is brilliant for rubbing in pastels and moving the colour about on the paper. Of course, it helps if you know about all the different kinds of paper too, as some are smooth, some have a "tooth" to them, some are like vicious sandpaper, and some like soft velvet, and all of them will affect the pastel  in different ways - either to make the effect more artistically rough or beautifully smooth. We all had the opportunity to sample and buy small squares of the different types of paper and have a "play" (artistic term!) with each to see which we most prefered. I wasn't so keen on the sandpaper stuff, and not at all surprised to find that the tutor didn't have ANY fingerprints on the fingers she used to rub in the pastel!

I was quite pleased with the picture I did on the day - a pink and purple sunset with the sun lighting up some of the clouds. I want to do more work on it though, before its finished, so I won't show it to you here, as its not done yet! I want to bring out the drama of the clouds and the colours a bit more first. And maybe add a tree in silhouette to add some focus to us, unless the clouds are interesting enough on their own....MMm..... I'm not sure yet.........

And on Sunday, I had a different kind of arty day - at the Guild of Erotic Artists event day. It was my first visit there this year as last time it was snowing heavily which curtailed my being able to get there, and the time before that I had a stinking cold so was better nursing it at home. This time all was well with snot and weather, and great to catch up with my friends there again! Lots to talk about, and discuss, and I was delighted that a guy I met from San Francisco at one of the event days last year whilst he was working over in England, had decided to return again. He'd emailed me a few times since we met last year, and I knew he was going to the event day as he'd let me know how keen he was to be drawn by me. He loves my innovative art and we discussed the likelihood of him having time to pose for me whilst he's in England. I'm hoping that I can get some good drawings done of him, if he's able to come and sit for me.

I was also delighted to catch up with two couples there whose company I really enjoy, and also thoroughly enjoyed chatting with them about life, art and people!

Later in the day, I was most amused to hear a couple of the guys say they were far more interested with what was happening outside Beaumont Hall studios than what was happening INSIDE them. You have to bear in mind at this point that inside, there was an attractive brunette girl in a basque draped in provocative poses, with good atmospheric lighting on her, and a number of guys photographing her. Outside, was a radio controlled plane being flown over the open fields. This was FAR more interesting. Apparently. :)

And to add to my amusement........later on....after the model had been photographed in provocative poses on some pretty sheer fabric, the female owner of the fabric remarked "If that's been around her fanny, I hope she's going to wash it after!!" - which made me burst out laughing and reply "You don't get THIS problem at the local flower show, do you!!!!!"    LMAO

4 comments:

Vi said...

hehehehe....somehow, I couldn't imagine you at a flower show Jackie.

Jackie Adshead said...

Vi - Really? You reckon, eh??? Tee hee..............

Spiky Zora Jones said...

oh my...the guy from Frisco...did he sit or will he sit for you to paint him?

you meet the most interesting people. :)

i hope you're feeling better sweets.

have a fab weekend. xx

Jackie Adshead said...

Spiky - I'll tell you about the guy from Frisco, in the next post....

.....and yes, I do meet the most interesting people! :)