Terri Ford Pastel Workshop and Ojai Preserve Painting in Plein Air

These landscapes of water and reflection 

have become an obsession.

~Claude Monet

Terri's Beautiful array of pastels ...

Terri Ford Workshop

Ojai, Spring 2016

It had been, at least, a couple of years since I'd taken my last intensive 3 day pastel workshop. I'd loved taking a couple of those workshops with Richard McKinley, but he hadn't done one in Ojai for such a long time, so I'd been keeping my ears open for a great instructor. Terri came highly recommended and after checking out her website I got really excited! Her work is loose, gorgeous and vibrant. Bingo. 

Day 1

In the Studio

Terri sketching in her darkest values ...

It's always wonderful, as an artist, to stretch and move yourself in directions that you wouldn't ordinarily take with your art. It's not always easy but sometimes you have to make yourself uncomfortable in order to grow. Life lesson, right?

Terri's demonstrations were great because, like Richard, she explains her process as she goes along. She lets you in on why she is doing what she is doing and is very generous with all her knowledge. She's also just a really great gal and easy to spend time with over 3 days of working.

Here's her first finished demo. I'm sorry I don't have the reference photo but the finished pastel painting is so much more beautiful and interesting than the photo ... which is the hope, right?

That first day, we worked in the studio all day, having been told ahead of time to bring reference photos. Plus, as I recall, the weather forecast was a little dicey. 

Day 2

en Plein Air

Ojai Preserve

Ah ... spring in Ojai! Just wanted to mention, that it's amazing how many art supplies I can fit in my Mini!!

It was obviously a gorgeous spring day! Terri set up with a view of the Eucalyptus trees. When you work outside, you have to get in the broad strokes. There isn't a lot of time to work before the light completely changes!

I loved loved loved this demo. So fresh and loose and vibrant ... and all the information you need is there and just sunny and beautiful. This underpainting was vibrant using pastel (you can see that magenta under the sky!) and then washed with denatured alcohol. Then soft pastels over the top!

Of course, the big question is where and what do you want to paint?

 

I must have flowers, always, and always.
~Claude Monet

I decided to set up near the water, in part, because usually water isn't really my forte. Sometimes I get lucky but ... well, at least it was a pretty spot and I was stretching, remember?

The reflection of the reeds in my pastel were kind of cool and I liked the texture on my mountains but the water?
Eh? Not so much. Oh well. I'd have another chance on day 3.

In the meantime ... photos and enjoying the gorgeous afternoon! (And a fabulous almond cacao smoothie from Farmer and the Cook down the road.!)

 

It's on the strength of observation and reflection 
that one finds a way.
So we must dig and delve unceasingly.
~Claude Monet

Day 3

Terri set up, in the morning, with a view of Eucalyptus trees, mountains and sheds. It was fun to watch her edit what was in view and even lowering the line of the mountains. 

Another fabulous demo and it was even more wonderful in person. So yummy.

She wanted us to loosen up so she told us to be done with our painting by lunch. I think we had an hour or something? Maybe a little longer but not much! 

I loved this tree and the light coming across the grasses so I quickly threw up my tripod and attached my pastel box!

I loosely sketched in my little composition ...

Then used a paint brush to add the denatured alcohol, so it became a wash. (looks like  very saturated watercolor.) Then, I took a couple of pictures of the scene and before I knew it the sun had gone behind a cloud! No more light and shadows! Thank goodness I'd taken pictures!

My day 2 set up ... 

A nearby log that caught my eye. Might have to draw ...

OK, back to work! A little sun coming back ... 

And after my friend Tom took this photo of me, below, the wind started coming up and a few raindrops so ... time to break it down and get out of there before our paintings became pastel soup!

I did a just a tiny bit more in the studio, adding the lights into the tree, and will still want to add a bit of darks below the line of trees in the distance but until then, this is what it looks like ... My favorite of the weekend.

I worked on another piece in the studio that afternoon (of Italy, surprise, surprise!) I can share it later but I'll end with this, for now. It was fun to work more bold and colorful than most of my other pastel work. See? Good to stretch!

Eventually, all the information you gather and all the various things you learn from different artists and experiences, influences your work and it helps you grow as it becomes incorporated into your "toolbox" and merges with your own style, personality and creativity. 

Anyway, you should check out Terri Ford's work Here, and if you enjoy working with pastels, I definitely recommend taking her workshop! When I win the lottery I'm buying her paintings that she did in France.  GORgeous!!! 

Every day I discover 

more and more

beautiful things.

It's enough to drive one mad.

I have such a desire to do everything,

my head is bursting with it.

~Claude Monet

Happy Summer!

Blessings and light!

House of the Vestals in Pastel

Accept the things to which fate binds you,

and love the people with whom fate brings you together,

but do so with all your heart.

~Marcus Aurelius 

Staying with the theme of Antiquity (from my last post) I thought I'd share my most recent pastel.

This photo was taken in 2012, at the Roman Forum. I'd just been on the Palatine hill and the sun had begun to set as I made my way off the hill and through the Forum. They were trying to get everyone out but I managed to make my way into the House of the Vestals. Last time I had been there, there was so much excavation going on, you couldn't really see much, but from the other side of a chain. 

The photo I chose for a study was one of those frustrating moments in "point and shoot" photography, where you can get the beautiful sunset sky but everything in the foreground is in silhouette ... or you can photograph the subject matter in front and the sky becomes totally blown out and white!

Solution? Do a painting.

This was mounted, sanded, paper than can take water media. So ... I was covering the surface with water colors, to have a jumping off point for the pastels.

My little setup with my handmade Heilman box, below. It has a little metal easel that sticks into holes drilled into the box, to make it easier for working in plein air (outdoors) ... or in class.

Below, you can see I've started getting the trees, the background Roman structures and sky in, with pastels.

I like doing a pink underpainting in the sky with the watercolor and letting it show through when I go over it with pastel, especially for a painting that's during "magic hour." You can see I've started defining some of the stone of the reflecting pool, as well as some of the other greenery.

Going more into the stonework, and getting the mossy feel, as well as a bit of a reflection ...

And finally, into the statuary ... I kept the  ones in the distance softer and more loose.

And here it is! I am going to lighten the lower left corner slightly so it doesn't match so much with the right ... but there you have it!


House of the Vestals
Pastel on sanded board
9x12
 

For my photographic post of that magic hour I spent at the House of the Vestals and Roman Forum click here.

For the Palatine Hill, click here.

For the pastel demo of The Baths of Caracalla, click here.

When you arise in the morning,

 think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive-

to breathe,

to think,

to enjoy,

to love.

~Marcus Aurelius 

Richard McKinley Ojai Pastel Workshop

The artist and the photographer

see the mysteries and the adventure of

experience in nature.

~Ansel Adams

In my life I have been blessed with some great teachers. Some I've gotten to work with for an extended period of time and others ... it may be brief, but just as impactful. This was the second year I've done Richard McKinely's 3 day pastel workshop in Ojai and once again I got so much out of it! Last year I missed my Italian midterm so I could attend!

He is so generous with his knowledge (both in technique and in theory) as well as with his time and energy. He is also very supportive of everyone in the group, regardless of where you land on the experience scale. If you are a pastel artist, I would highly recommend his workshops, (he travels all over) as well as his book Pastel Pointers. Can you tell I am a huge fan? :)

I wanted to run off with his pastel box. Just look at those yummy colors!!! Seriously though, I want a Heilman Box. They are the Mac Daddy, Ferrari of wooden pastel boxes. I cut out a picture of one from the Pastel Journal magazine and pasted it on my vision board. I am working on it!

Richard doing a demo the first afternoon in the Ojai Nature Preserve.

Getting in the big shapes ...

This is his sketchbook of Thumbnails. Good idea to make a small thumbnail to see how the composition will work before you commit to your field sketch. You can also see his value (light and dark) thumbnail and his "Notan" on the bottom left, which is the composition simplified down to only black and white. Preparation people!! ;)

please click to enlarge if you need to better see what's going on!

Getting into a little more detail ...

Finished field sketch ... The light was kind of crazy out there to photograph. It was a beautiful little pastel painting!

ta daaaaa!!!

Field Sketch by Richard McKinley

In nature there are few sharp lines.

~A.R. Ammons

Richard's pastel box again. Can't get over it.

That afternoon we did our own field sketches (I will share later) then the next morning he did another demo, a larger piece, working from his field sketch.

This time he worked on mounted Wallace paper and did a watercolor underpainting.

Check out this underpainting! It's already so gorgeous and yummy before he even puts any pastel on it!!

And here is the almost finished piece. I say almost because I think he added a couple of little things but it was pretty close to being finished. Sorry it's slightly blurry. If you ever get to see his work in person, it's absolutely gorgeous and the light sings! Sings, I tell you! It's as if light is emanating from the piece.

Pastel by Richard McKinley

To see more of Richard McKinley's work click HERE. Every year we have a little pizza and vino night and he does a slide show of his work. This piece HERE, is one of my favorite pieces! If you are interested in seeing my post from last year, out at Lake Casitas, click here.

His blog Pastel Pointers Blog is very informative, so if you are into pastels or plein air painting, definitely check it out!

Art will never be able to exist without nature.

~Pierre Bonnard