more experiments with surface: pastel

top:pastel and watercolor on wallis
bottom: pastel and watercolor on marble dust/gesso panel
Whether in pastel or oil I am searching for a way paint my concept. Both surfaces had pluses and minuses.

The wallis takes watercolor beautifully. The effects of dripping and smooshing the watercolor are the best. I also like the way the calligraphy rides the surface.
The marble dust can be dreamier since I can alternately smoosh the pastel into the lines or let it ride the top. Each way has a different feeling. Good to put both together.
So much of the dreamy quality depends on the object looking solid enough, yet whisper enough to look through them. Let go of edges and containing things.

Just looking at these you know it is hot and very humid.

experiments with gesso and pastel

 10x11 pastel and gesso on BFK
A few of us have been hanging out and painting the last few days. Yesterday we viewed some inspirational work in a gallery. Joel Brock, pastels and gesso, beautiful. With a tonalist palette he created serious MOOD. I really liked his very painterly feeling. With that idea obsessing in my head, I bought some BFK and gesso. I decided to start with a value underpainting in sepia pastel. Next I pre-selected a palette and placed pastel on top of the sepia(see underneath jpeg). From there I alternated gesso and pastel sometimes wet, sometimes dry. It was exciting and frustrating at the same time. I did a few more paintings in this manner, but those had even worse results. I love to experiment, see possibilities. They are freeing...you just have to realize there will be dogs.
On another note, Casey is right, there was a little more to the story- I eliminated the  boat police and the bear. If you want more...let me know.

more experimentation with monotypes

Recently I asked an artist, whose monotypes I admire, what materials she used. She was gracious, although she didn't want to give information, her reply was to experiment. So here I am experimenting. But I will share my findings and you may make your own conclusions.
I tried Rives BFK and a mulbery block print paper (made by Black Ink). I found it best to spray lightly with water before printing. My printing tools were the tried and true brayer and wooden spoon. The consistent piece in all of these is that they were created on a copper plate.
Every artist has different feelings about the special methods that make things "my way." My feelings are to share, I don't own the information and if I can help another artist, great. My work is hopefully special not because of my methods, but because of the feeling that goes in them.
from left to right, top to bottom
1.paint, ink, liquin, on mulberry
2.paint, ink, BFK
3. paint, ink, BFK
4. paint ink, liquin, BFK
5.ink, liquin, mulberry
6.ink, liquin, BFK

While these monotypes are not very exciting, they are experimentation. I will post more explorations on Tuesday. In the next ones I feel I start to comprehend my methods. New ways and pastel added... stay tuned;-)