The Prep Stage of the Painting

Once the research has been done and the animals set up in a satisfying background, it is time to prepare. Folks sometimes underestimate this process however it is a very important part of doing the painting.

I have had a number of art instructors over the years from the time I was about 9 years old since it was recognized I could draw when I was four, and yes, I do remember EXACTLY what it was I had drawn and why!

One of these amazing artist instructors was someone I spent two weeks in the summer with...a bunch of ladies and I would rent a cabin and we then would go to the Green Lantern hall and do pastels after watching demonstrations from out instructor, Mr. Charles Couper; an amazing and dedicated man who came from a long line of painters instructed by the likes of Charles Hawthorne following the colour  lineage of Robert Henri and John Singer Sargent back to the impressionist. Following this demonstration, we would work from white plaster casts in both direct sunlight and/or indoor lighting. Some days we would go out on location and do plein-air paintings of local scenes.

One thing this master colourist always emphasized was that the act of preparing the canvas and setting up was as important as the actual work you subsequently did! I likened it to be much the same idea as setting yourself up to meditate, also a very important part of the process.

On the way to the workshop my older friend and I would discuss what colours we could distinguish as we drove down to Bear River, and were always astonished at how much more we could distinguish and see on the way back! There is something to be said about working from plaster or other white casts...you really do start to develop the rods and cones in your eyes! Indeed, in my drawing instruction classes I often use still life over a photo...so much faster way to develop one's ability to see and translate this to a mark on paper!

I was only 16 years old the first time I went and he made me promise never to become a German Expressionist! I had NO fear of colour that is for sure!!! Such fun! I was half the age of everyone else and I would wack something on the canvas and go off visiting everyone else; a true social butterfly but hey, I so impressed one lovely woman who was the Chancellor of the University of Illinois (Alice) that when she left she gave me a card with $200. 00 in it and a promise me I would go to art school!...I kept that promise!

I again digress! Such is me! With the upcoming painting, I have to decide on the paper and what kind of tooth it has; with soft pastel depending on how many layers you put on it, will also effect how much pastel the paper can hold...needless to say, more tooth, more open spaces in the grain to fill up and the more it will hold...a smoother paper has to be used with a much different handling!

The paper also comes in various colours. I usually prefer a Canson gray however I could not get that in the city I moved to so I settled on another type with a different sort of speckled look. It shall be fun to use! Of course, both are acid free!!! I would have it no other way!

As for my pastels, I am very fortunate to have an antique box of Grumbachers Artist quality soft pastels as well as supplemented with a box of about 50 Rembrandt Artist quality pastels. Over the years, these companies have changed hands a number of times and each time the colour saturation content has changed so that what one thought of as a Rembrandt burnt sienna can now look more like raw sienna!  Nine times out of ten, the way the pigment in the grounded power is saturated has changed since the better the actual raw colour is, with as little filler and gum binder as possible is far more expensive to make and far better to use! If you have ever used a soft pastel that actually scratches on the paper, well, that speaks volumes to the quality and where the pigment came from! My old pastels are far superior and would cost thousands now to replace of the same quality! Newer ones, like so many things, have not been watered down, however mine are not in the least bit waxy or scratchy! I must say I am spoiled! These sort of pigments do not fad in direct sunlight!

I have had my works on display in gallery windows for very long periods of time...the mat may fade, but not the pastel...it is sort of why I find non glare glass that looks so foggy and takes so much away from the painting, is such a useless drag (unless it is a really expensive archival type which seldom is found or used by folks!!!).

This reminds me, I must also consider what key I am going to do the painting in! By this I mean am I going to make it a tiny bit lighter in value to allow for a fixative spray or not! Mr.Coupar was a purist and knew so much about the chemical composition of so many things and he would NEVER use a fixative. He felt it was an impurity that would shorten the lifespan of the pastel painting and of course, he is likely right, however, pastel paintings have two enemies; vibration and dampness. Dampness if happens when behind glass, means the roof leaked or the bath above over flowed or a pipe burst. Not something one has much control over however vibration is another story. A fixative will keep the pastel on the paper so that if there is major upheaval such as major vibration on the back of a bumpy truck or horseback (although I can't see when that is likely to happen, but I suppose, paintings have been dropped before!!!) it will keep the painting intact. My work is always of archival quality and I do use a good fixative (if I use one at all!) although in a pinch, a cheap air spray will do the trick! In both cases however, you have to lighten the painting a little to allow for the spraying. The painting I am doing shall likely get man handled in shipping so yup, I will keep this in mind when spraying it!

Besides your normal things like an easel and table to put the pastels on, there is also the light source to consider. I have learned over the years, if I am working from natural light, then that is all I should be working from! If I am working from artificial light then I want a daylight bulb and will use only that!
This also means that the time you work from your outside natural light cannot vary either! If it is certain times of the day, then work only at that time! And be aware, if you are working with tinted glasses, it will change things!!!

So, the easel is set up, the pastels and table are arranged, the sit (IF you are sitting!) is in place as is the light source, so what else?

The pastel paper needs to be placed on a board. There are many way to make a board, but there is a few things that have to stay the same such as the board has to be big enough to accommodate a full sheet of paper, and it MUST be a flat surface; this means nothing that can come through onto the painting...just think of a rubbing...you don't want that! I used to use a canvas board with a sheet of velour paper on it for years. I liked the softness of it. I didn't have that this time so I used what I can find, a piece of wood panel with layer after layer of newsprint tapped into place. I like my paper to have little spring to it!

The first and last consideration is the space you are working in. I am house sitting for a friend so I certainly cannot make a mess of her place! So I have sheets and a plastic table cloth on the floor to protect things. It isn't as bad as paint, however better safe than sorry!

And lastly, health hazard of breathing in pastel dust is a reality! Mr Coupar gave up pastels for this reason but he was already, I believe in his late 60s or early 70s and he lived to be well into his late nineties so even though it is a consideration, and I do wear nose filters when I have larger dusty areas to do, I do not think for a moment is is as bad as carving soap stone of bone or antler! I talked to him just before he passed and he was as sharp as ever however I never got to go take that last run up to see him which I shall always regret...my stupid old clunker of a car had died and I couldn't afford another.

Charles Couper was a dedicated and disciplined artist who did not win the favour of the limited political morons who were running the provincial art gallery in NS. Too bad, their loss! He took his ability to see colour to the extreme almost to the point of abstraction and even though I did a major in studio specializing in painting and sculpture at a prominent art college, nothing compared to the training and foundation he gave me!