Sketchbook: Pastels and Degas (Module 5, Chapter 10)

I've finally reached the end of Module 5. This module has been a long time in completion, covering the period from losing my father, last year, to the unsettled periods during various degrees of lockdown throughout 2020. However I've finally found time to finish this module just as we are re-entering a new level of pandemic restrictions. I'm determined to move more swiftly on with the next module, if this is possible.

Pastels

In previous modules I got to grips with oil pastels, and during 2019 used them frequently whilst attending a local art / drawing class. This chapter provided an opportunity to try out chalk pastels. In the past I have considered this kind of pastel 'dirty' working tools that don't suit my style. I'm not sure I have dispelled this feeling, as I still think they are dirty dusty things, but I did feel by the end of the chapter that I had found something about them I quite enjoyed.

So here is my box of pastels, cadged from my fathers studio:

I gathered together a range of papers to work with:

I definitely found black and brown paper the most rewarding backgrounds to work on.

Starting off trying some simple techniques as described in the notes:

I then started to try out different pieces of work with these techniques. Starting with squares of colour, blended around the edges:

I made another of these in shades of blue as a base for working with oil pastels. Not a particularly successful piece of work. However, I did accidentally find out the difference between cheap and expensive materials. I had bought some cheap pentel pastels which were hard to make a mark with, but my trusty Caran D'ache glided over the surface: I used fixative on the base before layering oils:

Another squared background with circles, all in blended and mixed chalk pastels:

Squares and ovals using a mix of blending and diagonal lines:

I did a little reading, of course, to see if I could find other techniques and one struck my fancy, using pastels as watercolours. So here are a pair of spider chrysanthemums, painted, blended, and using strokes plus additional acrylic ink:

Back to course notes and I used the side of paper to make fading lines, this was not really a technique for me:

Creating some circles with additional mark making:

Whilst I was looking into Degas' techniques I read about using fixative to layer and keep colour defined. I'll go into my learning attempts in the next part of my notes, but belonging in this section is my final piece. A spider chrysanthemum layered on a blue squared background. I think a total of 3 layers were needed:

Degas and Pastels

As I mentioned above, before starting work on this activity I did a bit of a search on how Degas worked. I was fortunate to find an article that discussed his layering technique, starting from a base of charcoal drawing. So that one would start at the base, seal this base and work multiple layers sealing each with fixative so that the individual strokes and colours wouldn't end up as a mush. I found this technique very useful and also very enjoyable. Alas though, I got so involved I took few working photographs.

Firstly though I tried out the layering technique, it was clear to me that stippling and frothing were especially clear when the previous layer had been fixed.