Grace Pennington

Pastels

The pastels I work in are the soft pastel encased in wood, forming the pastel pencil. Using a variety of brands – Derwent, CarbOthello, Conté, Faber-Castell, and Cretacolor – I get many different colors, which saves time with less layering. Although, I still have to work with what feels like a gagillion layers. So, minus a gagillion layers of just mixing and trying to find the right color match still equals a gagillion layers left of achieving the correct perception of depth. Phew! Ok, maybe not a “gagillion,” but is still a lengthy process making the larger pastel paintings take possibly months to complete. Because of the messiness that always accompanies pastels, I work from left to right almost completing the sections as I go. With all of the colors that I’m constantly pulling up, there are always at least 10 pastel pencils between my left hand fingers as well as a pile of the pastels in a tray connected to the easel for quick access.

Following is the progression of one of the pastels that exhibits extensive layering. Again, no stenciling, no grids, no projectors. Take note — these are just 9 stages. They’re not actually the amount of layers that are applied.

Stage 1:

A light sketch in a similar color that of the helmet. No detail. Just a map to figure location and position of the different parts.

Helmet Progress #1 © 2008 Grace Kettell. All rights reserved.

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Art is all about creativity, progression, life, and passion.  Yes that’s right  – I said it!   If one loves something, don’t they seek to learn more and be more for it?  Oh yea!  If you’re obsessed with a movie, yoyos, a singer, actor, photoshop, sports, cooking, reading, frogs, etc! you do as much as you can for that pursuit of what you love.  There’s no exception for artists.  Have some fun finding your style, the medium, what makes you happy. What then?  Do that the rest of your life!  Wrong answer.  Time is always moving forward.  There is no rewinding, no going back.  Why do artists settle for their talents of the past to be the talent of their present?  Because it pays?  There’s a demand?  A following?  Perhaps.   Maybe you use your same style but continually enhance the execution, the form, the portrayals, the concepts… Enhance something! We have celebrated retrospectives because they’re honoring where that artist came from and who they are today. In this kind of economy, only the best are going to live and not be smothered. The best are the best because they’re always  looking to how they can be better and improve. Progression.

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