Owner: The Studio News URL:http://bachmanart.com/wordpress/ Join Date: Sun, 19 Nov 2006 04:12:38 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Soft pastels, inks, and pencil are used to illustrate topics on gardening, food, famous artists, and art supplies.
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Daisy Basket, Step 2 2006-11-18 22:41:44 I got some time to work on the DaisyBasket
while the other Daisy was sleeping.
I’ve filled in the empty spots in the background using additional shades of dark greens. This is not showing on my monitor.
I’ve added more color to the daisies. Greens & yelow greens comprise the center, and various shades of grayed blues are used for the petals. The petals are not this bright in real life. I’ve added more color to the basket, and need to be careful that I don’t lose my weave.
The support is a 12″x 9″ piece of Wallis Belgian Mist. I’ll stop here for today, as I don’t want to overwork it. It’s still quite dark, but will lighten considerably as the daisies are completed.
Tags: pastel, soft pastel, daisies, artwork, artist
Daisy Basket 2006-11-17 16:49:59 I think I’m obsessed with daisies. First it’s a dog named Daisy
, now I’m putting them in a basket. No, not puppies. The actual flowers. I started a new pastel this morning, and I’m hoping it grows up to look like a basket of daisies.
As usual, I’ve started with my very darkest colors. It’s always easier to make something lighter in value than darker. My best darks are Sennelier’s Black Green #177 & #179 and Intense Blue #465. I also did a little rock painting while the other Daisy was asleep.
Tags: pastel, soft pastel, daisies, art, artwork, pastels
Read more:Basket
Oh, Must We Call Them Paintings? 2006-11-16 02:24:09 I’m on my soapbox today. Soft pastel is a dry medium, and I use it to draw pretty pictures. I don’t think the fact that they resemble something that’s been painted makes them paintings. In fact, there’s no paint in them whatsoever. What is in them, is the purest form of pigment available to the artist. It’s the same pigment used in artist grade oils, acrylics, and watercolors, but in a less adulterated form.
So why are works rendered in soft pastel referred to as paintings? From what I’ve been able to determine is that if the support is completely covered (and it looks like a painting), it’s a painting. A piece that leaves a lot of paper exposed is a drawing. Oh, good grief…
As an artist, I think it should be quite acceptable to celebrate my medium of choice by NOT calling them paintings. It’s not paint, it’s pastel! From a consumer’s point of view ( and I’ve been one of those a lot longer than I’ve been an Read more:Paintings
Book Reviews: Dog Obedience Training 2006-11-12 21:21:16 I’ve begun adding some book reviews to the blog. I’ve become an Amazon associate in order to try and generate a little income to support my website. No purchase is required to read my reviews, but if the title interests you enough to buy it, I’d appreciate a purchase via one of my links.
My goal is to provide reviews of books that I’ve found useful, or just plain enjoyable. My first review covers two books on obedience traing for dogs, as those were the most recently read. See the post below for the reason behind the initial purchase. main website under the Articles section.
Daisy is catching on to pottying outside really quickly. She’s such a good puppy! She loves to chew, as all puppies do, but has been very good about chewing on her own toys. She’s found her reflection in the fireplace suround, and the glass windows on the back door. She’s the first dog I’ve owned that’s seen herself, and it’s pretty funny. She doesn’ Read more:Obedience
, Training
, Book Reviews
, Dog Obedience
We've Adopted! 2006-11-09 23:02:04 It’s been a long time since the pitter-patter of padded feet have been heard in this house. It’s also been 30 years since I trained a puppy, and I’ve spent the last few days reading books about how to train dogs. This one is almost 6 months old and has been at the dog pound (or is that dog impound?) since she was weaned. So, without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to Daisy, our new Rottweiler.
She’s not all that small anymore, and getting her onto my lap for this picture was an interesting adventure for both of us. She’s also a big sweetheart, and is catching on to this housetraining stuff fairly quickly- for a 6 month old dog that’s been pottying in her enclosure.
She smelled pretty bad when we picked her up yesterday (we had to wait a week to get approved) but she survived her bath this morning and smells MUCH better. She’ll never know how close she came to being named Stink Muffin instead of Daisy.
She’s enjoying her chew Read more:Adopted
Ready to Rock n' Roll 2006-10-23 21:44:05 I’ve finished the rock turtles, and they’re ready to roll! I know the perfect place to leave these!
Halloween is coming, so look for the announcement of a road trip sometime this week! A couple of bright orange jack o’lanterns will be waiting for a new home!
Tags: painted rocks, found art, outdoor art, terrapins, turtles, University of Maryland
Road Trip: Dumped Humpty! 2006-10-20 21:38:27 Okay, he wasn’t dumped exactly, but he was placed in a conspicuous location around 5:30 PM yesterday afternoon.
Travelling south from the D.C. beltway will require crossing the median. Note: not all local roads/entrances are shown on the Mapquest image.
I’ve started some new rocks, and am mulling over my next pastel project. Until I bite the bullet and buy a real camera, I’m limited to 9″x12″ (or smaller) images that I can scan into the computer.
Tags: painted rocks, found art
Read more:Dumped
, Road Trip
Studio Activities 2006-10-18 17:29:00 I’m working on painted rocks today. Hopefully, this one looks like Humpty Dumpty, although this Humpty won’t break. He hasn’t been coated with the clear acrylic yet.
The bottoms of these turtles are done. Hopefully the clear coat is dry enough that I can start on the shells today.
Yes, I know, get a camera. I’ve dropped them on the keyboard and the power switch using the nifty built-in that came with the Mac. Better than not having any pictures at all though!
Next road trip? Heheh… I’ll let you know. Tags: painted rocks, turtles, eggs, art, found art
Found Art Road Trip- The Frogs are Loose! 2006-10-17 12:42:11 The frogs are loose! They escaped to Charles County yesterday, where they parted company when a few decided to check out a couple of local restaurants. After learning french fries are not made from flies and that frog legs are a delicacy, they decided outside was better than inside.
The lifelike fishing lures in a sporting goods shop were also an attraction, and a local learning center looked like a good place for frogs. Kids like frogs, right?!?
Anyway, I hope they find a happy home. They’ve been good company in the studio, and I’m going to miss their silly grins.
Now, stop reading this blog and go find your frog!
Tags: art, frogs, painted rocks, Charles County, found art, outdoor art
Read more:Road Trip
, Frogs
, Loose
Seashells in Pastel - Completed 2006-10-15 21:08:35 So far, the top inch of this piece was visible only in the charcoal sketch. I betcha never even noticed. So here it is, in all it’s glory:
Seashells
in soft pastel, 12″ x 9.” My initials made it onto the front of the finished piece, and are hidden between the lower left shells.
Tags: pastel, seashells, pastel painting
Read more:Pastel
Pastels: What I've Learned So Far 2006-11-19 21:53:23 What I’ve learned so far is that there is no one definitive right way to use these things. What works for artist A may not work for artist B.
My first pastel was a complete disaster. Well, actually more than one but that’s beside the point. So I bought a book. Then I bought a couple more books. Each book describing the methods of the author, and each author having his/her own unique method.
Some begin with their hardest pastels, and finish with the softest. Others begin with an underpainting. An underpainting might be done in watercolor, acrylic, or dry pastel wetted with water or alcohol. I’ve tried several of these methods, but only recently discovered an article in the Pastel Journal by a professional artist doing his artwork in a manner similar to my own. I felt vindicated from deviating from the norm.
To complicate things further, soft pastels come in varying degrees of softness, and will perform differently on different types of paper. A good comparison of some Read more:Learned
, Pastels
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