Pastel Workshop

Umber Tree In Light

2012-01-27T10:27:00.000-08:00

Umber Tree In Light

7" x 9.75"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

iPhone Photo.

2 Spaces Left in Morristown

2012-01-25T12:01:00.000-08:00

See Differently. Authenticity & Your Art.

PSA member artist and author of The Colorist blog, Casey Klahn, will be teaching his workshop in Morristown, NJ, March 17th & 18th, 2012. See Differently. Authenticity & Your Art.

Contact ArtSpace Studio, Julie Gridinsky Friedman, to secure one of the 2 spaces remaining. A waiting list will be started for this workshop when it fills. Also, the workshop on the 15th & 16th is full. Contact Julie to be added to a wait list.

Snow Day

2012-01-24T07:45:00.000-08:00

Several artists, working in various painting and drawing media, are using a photograph I took for a practical exercise in snow scenes. This one is my pastel effort, and you may see the event here, on Facebook.

A Riverside

2012-01-18T07:42:00.000-08:00

A Riverside

6" x 4"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

iPhone Photo

Purple Fields

2012-01-17T05:23:00.000-08:00

Purple Fields

4.25" x 4.5"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

Only a Few Spaces Left in Morristown

2012-01-12T07:33:00.000-08:00

March 15 & 16, 2012. $280.

March 17 & 18, 2012. $280.

ArtSpace Studio
14 Elm St
Morristown, NJ 07960
www.juliefriedmanart.com

Contact Julie.

Happy New Year From Paris, France!

2012-01-11T07:34:00.000-08:00

This wonderful greeting comes from La Maison du Pastel, Roché Pastels, in Paris. Very inspiring!

Roche.

Electric Gorge

2012-01-07T12:10:00.000-08:00

Gorge Bluff

13" x 8"

iPhone Photo

Pastel

Casey Klahn

Workshops Page

2012-01-04T20:29:00.000-08:00

News.

Sakura Carre Hard Pastels

2012-01-03T08:21:00.000-08:00

These are my favorite hard pastels. As far as I know, they are unavailable in the USA.

March 17th & 18th in Morristown.

2011-12-29T08:37:00.000-08:00

I'll be teaching at the studio of artist Julie Friedman, in Morristown, NJ. March 17th. & 18th., 2012. More info to follow.

Progress

2011-12-28T08:08:00.000-08:00

Detail

Charcoal, Conte and White Chalk

@ 8" x 12"

Casey Klahn

Okay. I fixed the eye placement and the lip. It is fascinating how once good abilities can evade me after too many years out of practice. Figures and heads require lots of practice, and then there's the art part, too.

This is done on newsprint.

Detail of a Head

2011-12-26T18:41:00.000-08:00

Detail

Charcoal, Conte and White Chalk

@ 8" x 12"

Casey Klahn

This drawing was a failed start. But, this detail is nice. I'll try it again tomorrow.

Subjects - A "How To"

2011-12-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

This is the second installment on subjects. Originally published a year ago.

Hoquiam River Bright
10" x 14.75"
Pastel & Charcoal
Casey Klahn

Cindy Michaud asked me to follow up on the previous post about what to leave in, and what to leave out. In that post, I wrote about finding your subjects, and gave my examples of the river and the prairie. But, how to find them is the core question.

Would it be obtuse of me to say that your subjects may find you? Here's what I mean. Decide what your best recent works are. Perhaps you have 6 or 10 of them framed that you really feel represent your best work. What are the subjects? You find when painting these given things, such as botanicals or wildlife or city streets, that you do your best work. These are the subjects that sing for you.

Concentrate on these few things that you've identified. Spend your next several studio sessions just painting these things. Right now, for me, it is a river in the forest. Specifically, the Little Hoquiam River, on the coast in Washington state.

Studio Hoquiam River Scenes

Your Subjects

2011-12-22T04:45:00.000-08:00

This post was first published a year ago. It is in two parts, starting with What To Leave In, What To Leave Out.

It was interesting to see a great pastel artist list his focus on a narrow range of subjects in a book I read recently. The book is a dated one by Albert Handell: Pastel Painting Workshop. He likes the Southwestern landscape with arroyos and pueblo-style structures. He does trees, rock boulders and waterways. In his figurative work, he likes vignettes and portraits.

Why be narrow in subject matter?

It is good to be aware of what your subject matter is before you go off to the field to paint on site. Why be narrow in subject matter? My own feelings are that you may delve into a subject as deeply as you wish, and may never run out of inspiration. If your goal is to "draw things", then you may wish to pursue every possible subject one after the other. But, if you are wanting to produce paintings with depth and with good technique, then limiting yourself to a handful of subjects will provide you a greater opportunity for depth.

Limiting your subject matter will put you in good company.

Limiting your subject matter will put you in good company. Van Gogh stayed with agricultural landscapes in France that revolved around trees, waterways, fields, buildings and bridges. He did portraits and still lifes, but he stayed with common themes. Degas stayed with interior and theatrical figures, such as orchestras, singers and ballerinas. He did nudes at the bath. He also liked the horse track, and some industrial interiors. Daniel Greene stays with the portrait, but in his figurative work he focuses on painting his wife, artist Wende Caporale, in the New York subway with tile mosaic backgrounds. Of course, he does other works, but his series work is a method of staying focused. Harvey Dinnerstein does self portraits where he is painting bare chested, and Andrew Wyeth stayed on the Helga series for a number of years. His Helga series kept true to his own ouevre of rural interiors and moods.

Limiting my subject matter helps tremendously in finding compositions.

My own oeuvre features trees, forests, rivers and the prairie. Sometimes rural buildings are featured, and rarely do I bring in the sky, horizons or light. It's interesting to think of what I purposefully omit. The horizon is too much landscape - too boilerplate. Light is not much of a part of my environment, especially where I grew up on the Washington coast. The sky is better left alone, unless to add a pushing or pulling event, or to set the color concord.

Some of the content of this post was brought forward from a previous tips post, and updated with new material.

Color Rules, as in, "The Roost."

2011-12-19T09:08:00.000-08:00

RYB

This article was published at The Colorist, and I want to develop these color ideas here, too. Enjoy:

There has been some call for me to reveal my opinions on the use of color. When I demonstrate in person, students invariably wants to know why I pick each color as I work. This series of posts will be my attempt to draw back the curtain on my ideas about color.

After perhaps six, or maybe ten, of these posts, there will be some organization to what I am saying. For now, I'll just write things down as they occur to me.

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Color choice is a very personal thing. I mean that in both intention and in talent. You have your own color sense, and it is up to you to let it reveal itself. Choose the color you want. WANT!

Kandinsky got it wrong when he assigned meanings to color. That is, I think that the artist's job is to make the patron see his, meaning the artist's, own meanings. One should not pander to perceived ideas of what colors may mean to the viewer.

...umber comes from the earth already umber.

I use the RYB color theory. Red, yellow, and blue. The reason I do is that I am not submitting my artwork to the printing press or the camera, at least not at the conceptual stage. I will become involved in color mixing, and the RYB color space works well for this.

In thinking about color theory, and in spite of the fact that I use the "old school" RYB method, I do think in terms of modern, or contemporary, color. That is to say, we have the fattest color array available today. Raphael would have given his left arm to work with this many colors.

I begin with the hue. More on this later, when I lay out for you my own theories on what is most important in approaching color. By the way, I hope you are arguing with me about these things.

A Color Solid is a fun and useful tool, also. I have seen it used with the Munsell theory, so I just make adjustments in my head to see it my way. Someday I will construct a Color Solid as I see it.

Just because you know that color theory has evolved over time, does not make you "right" in your opinions about color theory. It does reveal that opinions are subjective. I need to focus on what works, and my tools are laid out before me. It is important for the artist to know how to mix a brown he likes, but please also realize that umber comes from the earth already umber.

Homework:

Robert Gamblin has a great video about his Color Space theories. I differ in that I think of each hue as a two-part system named by its color, but not by its temperature. More on that later. I say, "blue-red" and "yellow-red," not cool or warm red.

Available Unframed Pastel

2011-12-16T11:53:00.000-08:00

Field Reflections

4" x 6"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

Unframed: $100

plus tax.

The Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts

2011-12-14T15:09:00.000-08:00

This was posted in the sidebar at The Colorist, but I favor it so much it needs air at Pastel Workshop.

Artistic Authenticity

2011-12-08T14:18:00.000-08:00

The elusive state of artistic authenticity is what I want to discuss. Here is an excerpt from the article I am writing about Authenticity In Your Art:

"Ignore Everybody,"
Hugh MacLeod.

Technical skill is not critical to being authentic, although it may help to more easily say what you mean with your artwork. More importantly, I value being comfortable with line, composition and color. The formal elements of all artworks can be a huge distraction when a painter doesn't use them with intention and ease.

One obsolete meaning for the word, "authentic," is "authoritative." This is where my focus lies. Having the merit of authority – unimpeachable work. I once lunched with Donald J. Wiseman, the man who excavated ancient Babylon. Here before me was a living textbook footnote, for he was certainly the authority in his field.

Wiseman.

Hugh MacLeod.

More to come.

New Blog Name: Pastel Workshop

2011-12-07T13:34:00.000-08:00

Pastel will now be Pastel Workshop.

Since there is a demand for me to teach workshops, and because I have been doing just that this past year, I have decided to recruit this blog as an information center to provide lessons and data about upcoming workshops. For those who have followed Pastel over the years, I thank you and want you to know that I will still be offering the same content as before, along with improved access to instruction and to my artworks posted here and at The Colorist blog.

Requests for future workshops have been made for Portland, Oregon, Berlin, Germany, Morristown, New Jersey (not far from New York City) and also for eastern Canada. No calendar is yet published, but if you are interested in any of these, please leave a comment here, and I will put you on my mailing list for workshops.

Workshops Flyer.

The Winter Studio

2011-12-06T09:09:00.000-08:00

Sort through old supplies...

Winter backlight, or, It looks like my head is Photoshopped on...

Gray days ahead, but that's what I like!

I was motivated by Maggie Latham's post, Ten Clutter Busting Ideas, to clean up my own act in the studio. First: my desks! They are the worst clutter keepers offending me right now.

If I have any tips for you, I will pass them along next time.

Riva del Garda

2011-12-03T19:15:00.000-08:00

Hotel of the Sun, Garda

@5" x 4"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

I posted this somewhere before, but here is the formal photo.

Shadow River

2011-11-23T16:55:00.000-08:00

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Shadow River

11" x 19"

Pastel & Charcoal

Casey Klahn

Available. Please inquire.

Happy Thanksgiving to the readers of pastelsblog!

Pre-Sale at The Colorist

2011-11-22T08:18:00.000-08:00

There is a Pre-Sale going on at The Colorist, before my exhibit at the Arbor Crest Winery Tasting Room in December. You may participate by bid or on a "buy now" basis. Happy Thanksgiving!

Field at Dusk. Available Soon.

More images will follow soon - I hope on a daily schedule.

Unified Sky

2011-11-20T17:31:00.000-08:00

Unified Sky

@ 4" x 5.5"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

Many new and small works will be posted quickly over the next few days. I am trying to organize a pre-sale of works before they go to exhibit in Spokane in December. Please stay tuned.

Framing Little Works

2011-11-18T17:22:00.000-08:00

Framed Print via Imagekind

2011-11-16T10:44:00.000-08:00

Imagekind Framed Print: Red Barn with Ramp by Casey Klahn.

As Shown, framed, for under $120. Add tax and shipping.

Yes, M. Degas Does Walk.

2011-11-15T11:52:00.000-08:00

Neutrals In The Field

2011-11-01T12:02:00.001-07:00

Neutral Corner

@5x 6"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

This is one of those endless variations done from one seed image.

Belvedere - Work in Progress

2011-10-19T14:05:00.000-07:00

Belvedere - WIP

@ 3.5" x 3.5"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

This was a demonstration work in Bellevue a couple of weeks ago. It had some technical roughness, and so I am planning to do it over. At Daniel Smith, in Bellevue, I used my demo earnings to buy an LED LightPod, and have already gotten a couple of follow-on images from this one. This scene was taken from a photo I took in Italy in 2006.

Field with Diagonals

2011-10-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

Field with Diagonals

3.75" x 3.5"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

Painting an Idea...

2011-09-26T19:44:00.000-07:00

Orchard

2011-08-28T17:44:00.000-07:00

Not Named Yet

25" x 39.5"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

Top Tips

2011-08-19T10:08:00.000-07:00

Top Tips for Travelling Artists is Katherine Tyrrell's series of reports on what works well for taking your studio with you and going over the horizon. She has plenty of links in her series, and I recommend you read and bookmark her posts for that day when you will be scratching your head over what to pack.

Because I have written for many years about my take on pastels, some of my own hints are linked. Thank you for that, Katherine. Much has been made about my choice to paint on sight with only 6 Unisons. I got that idea from a San Francisco artist, whose name I have unfortunately forgotten and whose URL I can't find anymore. All that to say I didn't invent the idea.

Two layers in a cigar box. Insert is a Fome Core DIY box lifted with a ribbon. Six values of any hue is the organizational principle in this kit.

Maybe out of guilt over the attention I get for this, I have been trying harder to get outside and use the 6 U's kit. I'm glad to report that some paintings have been started, and yet I have to admit I am not much of an outdoorist. I did get a really nice painting started at the beach with charcoal and the 6 Us, and then I used my mid-sized box of pastels, pictured above, which I re-fitted right before my trip with a better selection of sticks. It worked great, and yet when I went to the studio to do the "resolve" of the painting, I struggled and struggled. So much the better. Learning happens.

Happily, I have two great painting ideas from my summer's efforts, and they started as the 6 Us in the field. That is what makes the whole thing worth while, isn't it?

Here are "The Six." I added my one extra stick, the Grey-18, to extend my value range to the lighter side.

Making a Mark
Top Tips - Pastels

DIY

2011-08-18T12:48:00.000-07:00

Beach Rocks

2011-08-04T23:05:00.000-07:00

A Rare Plein Air Effort.

WIP (Work in Progress)

At The Beach

Photo: Lorie Klahn

Carriera, Copley, Chardin, Oh My!

2011-07-13T10:55:00.000-07:00

Young Lady of the Le Blond Family

13.4" x 10.6"

Rosalba Carriera [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

This looks good. For those interested in pastel's historical development.

Pastel Portraits: Images of 18th-Century Europe
May 17, 2011–August 14, 2011

Brightly hued, highly finished, and relatively large in scale, pastels in the 18th century were regarded as a type of painting and displayed like oils. The powdery, vibrant crayons are particularly suited to capturing the skin tones and evanescent expressions...

Head Games

2011-07-11T19:57:00.000-07:00

Sketch, Head

Copied from a book

@ 9" x 7"

Charcoal and Chalk

Casey Klahn

This image was one of four 10-minute sketches of heads that I did the other evening to celebrate cleaning my studio. I was reading Drawing magazine, which is one of my guilty pleasures. The idea here was the head as a cube in perspective. I am also guilty of taking this from Ned Mueller, as I saw his great drawing in one of my coffee table art books. Consequently, it will never be for sale.

Pastels, Yellow Ideas, The iPhone Camera, Six Unisons Only & PA Sketches.

2011-06-30T14:15:00.000-07:00

New Colors - Hand Made Pastels

Canola Crop - Making Me Think of Yellows

Scenery On The Butte

Six Unisons Only - Well, Maybe I Added a Gray or Two

Flowers On The Butte

Sketches

Just Thinking with a Charcoal and a Pastel in My Hand

2011-06-20T21:34:00.000-07:00

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Study and color study thumbs

Washington State - The Place To Be

2011-06-17T08:15:00.001-07:00

In the next few weeks, make sure to watch my sidebar, if you don't already subscribe to Astrid Volquardsen's and Loriann Signori's blogs. They have traveled from afar to enjoy the plein air painting in Washington, and will be taking Richard McKinley's workshop and posting wonderful new things.

Astrid Volquardsen

Loriann Signori

Intent - After Degas

2011-06-07T17:46:00.000-07:00

Intent, After Degas
@ 7" x 5"
Charcoal & Pastel
Casey Klahn

Feather Rock

2011-05-31T05:56:00.000-07:00

Feather Rock

@5" x 7"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

While you are waiting on me to write a couple of posts on my pastel palette, please enjoy this new artwork that is based on a plein air sketch.

Upcoming posts:
How to build your palette tray yourself.
My secret palette.

My Palette

2011-05-23T20:50:00.000-07:00

I have been asked about the palette that I use: the nuances and secrets that are just mine.

Ever shoot a shotgun? That describes the pattern of buy, use, buy some more and then have too many doubles and go out and buy some more. It is a scattered approach. I have shopped for pastels at specialty art retailers, from catalogs, off of eBay and from unusual places, such as stationary stores. You would do well to look at your needs first, and then collect in a more goal oriented manner.

Here are some practices that pastelists follow in collecting their palette of sticks.

Collect by brand.

If you fall in love, or even like, with a particular brand, then you may acquire their color chart and begin collecting several sticks within the brand. This is a safe choice, because the manufacturers consider the whole range of colors and values that are possible and profitable for them to make. Dakota Pastels sells hand made color charts, which is a great investment when you are interested in a given brand and want to have a lot of them without too many duplicates, or want to be able to replace sticks within the line, and need to identify a color that has lost its label.

Collect by color wheel.

Kitty Wallis once had me make a color wheel with my sticks, and then it was easier to identify the holes in my collection. Do this to find out what you need to have a full range of hues. What you need to do is arrange each hue also by value in order to cover the scale of darks to lights.

Collect by trial and error.

See the above comment on shotguns. One guaranteed way to find yourself with doubles and to get lost organizationally is to buy sets that manufacturers label as "Landscape" or "Southwest Landscape" or "Portrait" sets. Buying any two of these sets almost guarantees you'll double up in some colors.

Collect by filling in the gaps.

As with the color wheel method, one can systematically buy either open stock, or well identified sets that cover a range within one hue. A good example is the Diane Townsend sets of blues. Another way to buy to fill-in your needs is to get sets of very darks, or tinted grays. You are less likely to double-up within a brand, but you will have more of one color from different sets. That is a good thing, since each brand behaves in unique ways - one more abrasive than another, one softer than the other, etc.

Buy the whole set.

This is the rich man's method of collecting pastels, because complete sets can run an artist around $1,500-$2,000.

It is a yummy and rewarding way to establish a big collection, though. Not to mention that the boxes may help with storage and organization. I like to put all of my pastels in one big studio tray, which I made myself, so that my palette is organized my way, rather than the manufacturer's way. Figuring out what makes a manufacturer organize their pastels in a particular way requires degrees in chemistry and engineering. Don't even try if that's not you.

Collect by market suggestion.

No explanation required. We are all subject to the forces of the marketplace. Your best defense is to try pastels a few at a time before you buy deep in a brand.

Open Stock.

This is the method of choice for the well organized professional, who knows what he wants to fulfill his set, or who needs to replace sticks or improve his palette.

Sets.

As mentioned above, I prefer no-nonsense sets organized around a hue or around a value set. Blues, greens, grays, darks and such. Dine Townsend does a fine job of this.

Make your own.

See my posts on making your own sticks.

Next post: My secret palette.

Did You Know That I Have Another Blog?

2011-05-22T08:28:00.000-07:00

The Colorist

Cedar Shed with Flowers

2011-05-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

Garden Shed

8" x 6.5"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

Gray Pastels & Charcoal

2011-05-14T08:03:00.000-07:00

Charcoal River

@9" x 14"

Charcoal, Chalk & Pastel

Casey Klahn

Sometimes you have to take charge of your own grays. I make them from easel tailings, and they are full of inclusions. You never know what you're going to get.

Homemade Grays

Lighthouse Keeper Updated

2011-05-04T11:44:00.000-07:00

The Lighthouse Keeper
5" x 7"
Pastel
Casey Klahn

A Cup of Chocolate & an Article

2011-05-03T18:15:00.000-07:00

The Cup of Chocolate, 1897
Pastel
28.7" x 21.3"
Mary Cassatt

First published in 2008.

Who are the great historic lights of pasteldom? The answer is briefed in Pastel Masters, by Naomi Ekperigin at American Artist Magazine's website. See what the influences of Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt, Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, William Merritt Chase and Jean-François Millet were on our contemporary burgeoning medium.

Grab yourself a cup of chocolate, and dig in to this article!

Fences 2

2011-04-27T08:30:00.001-07:00

Fences 2
small, 5" x 5.5"
Pastel
Casey Klahn
pas camera

A studio revision of an on sight painting.

Rocks and Fences of Springtime

2011-04-23T13:01:00.000-07:00

Feather Rock
small, @ 4 x 5"
Pastel
Casey Klahn
point&shoot camera

Remnant Fence, Springtime
small, @ 5 x 7"
Pastel
Casey Klahn
pas camera

In a Wood
@ 9 x 12"
Pastel
Casey Klahn
pas camera

The first two are on sight paintings, and the last is a memory painting. My apologies for the photography, which is my own. I will post better ones when available. But, I wanted you to see the latest things, especially very recent plein air paintings.

Peter's Paris and Montmartre

2011-04-06T15:54:00.000-07:00

Grave of Degas.

If you don't read Peter's Paris, you are missing some great reporting on the Paris of our artist heroes. Enjoy.

Montmartre in the evening.

Caillebotte-Andre-Jacquemart-Museum.

Photo from Photobucket, scdecaro.

Degas' Late Work and His Studio

2011-03-02T07:52:00.000-08:00

Edgar Degas is a master artist whose star rises with time. If you want to peek into his studio, and perhaps a little of his thinking, I recommend this video series.

Master Copies, Casey Klahn

Visit European Pastelists Online

2011-02-25T10:14:00.000-08:00

space

Artist Philippe Benoit, who blogs at My French Easel, has revealed his pastel set-up. I enjoy his viewpoint, and I hope you'll discover him via this post. Philippe lives in the UK.

Pastel artist Astrid Volquardsen has been interviewed in the Pastel Scribbler. She reveals how she got her start as a pastel artist. Note her new blog address. Asti lives in Germany.

space

space

In The Bath

2011-02-16T04:03:00.000-08:00

In The Bath - Degas Copy

@ 3.2" x 3.5"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

pas

Other Degas copies.

Vincent van Gogh and Pastels

2011-02-14T15:19:00.000-08:00

From 2007.

Self Portrait with Cap
Black Chalk
van Gogh

"Pastel is a process which I should like to know. I shall certainly try it someday. If one can paint a head, one ought to be able to learn it in a few hours," van Gogh.

Agree?

Kid Rock Was Born Free

2011-02-12T07:36:00.000-08:00

Any questions?

Deer Sketch

2011-02-07T16:56:00.000-08:00

Deer Heaven

5" x 7"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

Yesterday I was winding down my studio session, and I painted this quick impression of a North American Whitetail buck. I see way more of these than I do people at my studio in the country. This is one of my rare wildlife paintings - maybe I'll do a few more this year.

Molly Ban

2011-02-05T07:06:00.000-08:00

I am trying to get some culture in my life/blog. Every Saturday.

Do You Read The Colorist?

Green Cast

2011-02-02T05:37:00.000-08:00

Boulders, Green Cast

5.25" x 5.5"

Pastel & Charcoal

Casey Klahn

Framed Pastels

2011-01-31T08:17:00.000-08:00

This is a free-association post where I just picked a number of images of my pastels in frames.

Culture Weekend - Hey Mambo!

2011-01-30T13:35:00.000-08:00

This is why Rosemary Clooney was the best at what she did.

Enjoy some off-topic cultural excursions with me on the weekends.

Webcam Landscape

2011-01-20T08:55:00.000-08:00

Italy - Evening Light

@ 6" x 8.5"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

This image was drawn from a webcam view.

Top Pastel Painting Blogs

2011-01-18T01:30:00.000-08:00

OnlineGraphicDesignDegree.com

Thank you to the people at Online Graphic Design Degree for choosing this blog in the awards for 2010. Follow the link to see a nice list of prominent pastel blogs, and enjoy looking around.

Venice Practical

2011-01-17T07:13:00.000-08:00

Venice Practical

5" x 7"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

pas

I've never painted Venice before - at least that I can remember. This was a practice piece, copied from a detail of a painting in a magazine.

More Degas Studies - Degas Ballerina Pastel Copy

2011-01-12T15:01:00.000-08:00

Rough work. I'll post the "finished" work next time.

Large Format Pastels Book

2011-01-10T13:03:00.000-08:00

I posted one image from a WK catalog I have the other day. You may enjoy seeing more of these pictures. This is a commemorative from an exhibit at the Ameringer McEnery Yohe gallery in NYC in 2006.

Wolf Kahn Post

2011-01-03T08:55:00.000-08:00

Image from a Wolf Kahn exhibition catalog

Artist Larry Groff, who blogs at Painting Perceptions, has offered up a thorough report on Wolf Kahn.

You know how much we love WK here.

Studio Work - Over The Shoulder

2010-12-30T17:43:00.000-08:00

Casey Klahn
Yes, It's Cold Outside
Photo: Lorie Klahn

Pastel Christ by Odilon Redon, via SPN

2010-12-24T10:25:00.000-08:00

Christ in Silence

58cm x 46cm

Pastel & Charcoal

Odilon Redon

Mario Vucelic, who blogs at Soft Pastel News, offered this post featuring Odilon Redon's Christ in Silence.

Of course, the crow means death, which was always the purpose of our Lord's incarnation - to die and rise again. Christ is contemplative, holding the crow in front of Him.

Odilon Redon (April 20, 1840 – July 6, 1916)

How To Find The Subjects

2010-12-22T08:23:00.000-08:00

Hoquiam River Bright
10" x 14.75"
Pastel & Charcoal
Casey Klahn

Studio Hoquiam River Scenes

What To Leave In, What To Leave Out.

2010-12-20T09:06:00.000-08:00

Why be narrow in subject matter?

Limiting your subject matter will put you in good company.

Limiting my subject matter helps tremendously in finding compositions.

Raphael Drawing Passion.

2010-12-17T16:28:00.000-08:00

Claudia Hajian, who blogs as Museworthy, is one of my favorite blog reads. Go here to see her post on Raphael's drawings. Exquisite.

Claudia wrote one of the Top Ten Posts of 2009.

Drawing

2010-12-16T15:55:00.000-08:00

This post was originally published 9-08.

Ponte Vecchio - Old City
@7" x 6"
Graphite on 70gr. Sketch Paper
Casey Klahn

Under Riva Ridge, Italy
@8" x 5"
Charcoal
Casey Klahn

View my complete body of drawings at Pastel.

At The Colorist, I also have a collection of drawings.

The Portal

4.75" x 4.5"
Graphite
Scene at "Riva Ridge," Italy
Casey Klahn

Lake Garda Alley
@4" x 3.75"
Pastel
Casey Klahn

See all of my drawings at The Colorist.

A River In The Woods

2010-12-15T14:32:00.000-08:00

A River In The Woods

Charcoal, Chalk & Pastel
8" x 14.5"
Casey Klahn

Back Profile - Ballerina

2010-10-27T17:24:00.000-07:00

Back Profile, Ballerina - After Degas
@12" x 9"
Charcoal & Pastel
Casey Klahn

2010-07-27T23:28:00.000-07:00

Ponte Vecchio - Old City
@7" x 6"
Graphite on 70gr. Sketch Paper
Casey Klahn

Under Riva Ridge, Italy
@8" x 5"
Charcoal
Casey Klahn

This post originally published in 2008.

View my complete body of drawings at Pastel.

At The Colorist, I also have a collection of drawings.

The Portal

4.75" x 4.5"
Graphite
Scene at "Riva Ridge," Italy
Casey Klahn

Lake Garda Alley
@4" x 3.75"
Pastel
Casey Klahn

See all of my drawings at The Colorist.

More Tiny Paintings

2010-07-14T22:03:00.000-07:00

Folded Tree

3.5" x 3.75"

Charcoal & Pastel

Casey Klahn

Here you go, Jala.

Tiny Paintings

2010-07-11T15:43:00.000-07:00

Threes

3.5" x 3.75"

Charcoal & Pastel

Casey Klahn

The field subject has become a source of miniature works for me. Only, instead of getting into minutia, I am trying to stay on the abstract side.

At The Bar

2010-06-30T08:20:00.000-07:00

At The Bar - Copy of Degas

@22" x 17"

Charcoal, Conte & Pastel

Casey Klahn

pas camera

Color Charts

2010-06-29T14:28:00.000-07:00

Sub Text Red

6.25" x 8.25"

Pastel
Casey Klahn
point & shoot camera

Via Jan Olsen, at Observe Closely, here are the links to online color charts for many of our favorite pastel brands. I order the hand made charts from Dakota, but sometimes online is just handy.

Now Offering Prints

2010-06-11T15:37:00.000-07:00

Here is an opportunity to get prints and framed prints of my still life apples.

Imagekind.

New Grays

2010-06-01T08:37:00.000-07:00

Homemade New Grays

I have been making new pastel sticks. These are mostly from easel tailings that I collect over time and reconstitute with water. I make tints by adding white, and I also stretch the recipe with whiting. What results are grays made just to my own liking. Next, I will be manufacturing pure hues from fresh pigments.

Crazy Things I Do; Evil Laugh

2010-05-22T09:51:00.000-07:00

Here is a series of photos of using Turpenoid on La Carte. For some reason, there was a crease along the long edge of my La Carte that only showed up when I applied pastel over it. One method I tried to fill this crease was a Turpenoid wash. Observe the crease in photo one, the application of the solvent which leaves a dark area initially, and then I continue to work while it dries. Turns out the method never did resolve the crease, but I may be happier with cropping out that 1 inch of edge anyway.

Sketch and block in.

Problem crease.

Uh oh. Here comes the Turpenoid!

"Mwahh Hahhh Haaaa - Mwooh Har!"

Let it dry and continue to work.

Finished work.

When I do crazy things in my studio, like putting liquid on La Carte, I have to let out an evil laugh. Enjoy these evil laugh videos with this post!

Reclaiming La Carte

2010-04-30T11:49:00.000-07:00

Not yet named; reclaimed La Carte and a new prairie image.

Save money and have fun by re-working your Sennelier La Carte paper. Some papers can be reclaimed by pastel artists; new artwork can be made on top of failed images. But, many artists don't consider Sennelier La Carte durable enough to reclaim. To worsen this impression, La Carte is water hating, and so washing off an image isn't considered.

This artwork was done on re-claimed Sennelier La Carte paper.

Sometimes Weather
9" x 7"
Pastel
Casey Klahn

I want to introduce you to the many ways you can re-purpose your valuable Sennelier La Carte paper, as I have been doing successfully for the past few months. Additionally, I have achieved new techniques from these methods - rewarding me with fresh ideas and images.

With the Great Recession in full pace, I have been searching for ways to save on material costs in the studio. I have been turning to my stock of Rives BFK, Legion and other papers.

I have always enjoyed Wallis, which is hands down the most durable sanded paper available. You can wipe, wash and re-use it to your heart's delight. Not so much the sensitive French sanded ground, La Carte. La Carte is a professional, acid-free and colorfast board that has a sanded texture created with vegetable matter. I prefer it for my own methods - it is the surface most suitable for my style of both heavy handed application of color, and also gentle scumbling and overlaying. Nothing beats whispering a Diane Townsend Terrage pastel over it's grainy surface, mixing optically with the under layers. Now add the rich pinks and blues from your Sennelier à l'écu sticks and you have advanced to the seventh heaven of artistry.

Erratic Boulder

6.25" x 8.5"

Pastel & Charcoal, re-claimed La Carte Paper

Casey Klahn

The following methods have proven successful for reclaiming Sennelier La Carte:

Identify abandoned works that you are going to reclaim. I look for lighter pastel coverage, although I have reused heavily worked surfaces, too. It is just harder to find enough tooth available, but it helps if there is an image there that you can imagine as an under painting - it may become a brilliant foundation for your new art. Read on to learn my tricks for finding more tooth in your used Sennie paper.

Brush away the existing pastel dust with a flat brush. A smooth, cheap paint brush works great - I work the surface one direction at a time, and tap the paper to release stuck dust. Repeat this process to see how much you can remove, and you'll soon get an idea of how exciting this method can be.

Wipe the old pastel off gently with tissue, a paper towel or a chamois cloth. My favored method is with the tissue, after I have already removed as much as possible with a brush. There will be bits of tissue remaining, and that can easily be brushed away - especially if you were gentle.

Wash the old image away, as another option. The proper solvent is Turpenoid, which is low odor, and works fine for under painting and blending your pastel on La Carte. I have had some success with this method, but I do find that it fills the tooth more than the brushing or wiping methods.

Still having trouble getting your pastel to take? I have found two more methods to reclaim my cleaned-up old La Carte.

Spray the surface with fixative. Right now, my favorite spray is No-Odor Blair, which I can use in the studio with minimum discomfort. I also like Spectrafix, but at the point where I am starting to add pastel to a reclaimed surface, I want the most coverage I can get from my spray. Another method would be to apply several layers of the Spectrafix. For subsequent layers, after my colors have been established, I use Lascaux spray, which changes my colors the least. I don't want to add spray at the end of my work, though, since the highlights need to pop.

Sand the surface to bring back just enough texture to accept more pastel. I tried a sandpaper block made of foam, and it actually worked great! The finer side of a two-sided block works, and I have found that it is only needed on small areas and not the whole painting. The conditions will be that you have developed your painting, and will have a nicely resolved artwork, except that a limited area will be dull and resist new marks. Like with the brush, sand in one direction only, to avoid tearing the paper.

Now consider some new techniques brought out by reclaiming old La Carte. In many cases, I have created new works that allow old colors to bleed or to show through. Some become vardøgr images, and some provide rich under paintings (red under green in a tree). I have taken to imagining my new image around an old composition, often turning the old painting upside down or sideways.

A crowded build-up of art in my studio. I may be handy with supports, but can't get around to putting up that 1 piece of drywall! Any guesses on who I was trying to draw on that big one?

Did you sneeze on your La Carte pastel painting? Then you may have run up against the dreaded white hole of melted-off surface that has plagued many Sennelier users. See this post with repair solutions for damaged works (h/t Sheila M. Evans).

My images at Sennelier: here.

Leonardo

2010-04-13T21:12:00.000-07:00

Face, After da Vinci

@14" x 20"

Conte & Compressed White Charcoal

Casey Klahn

Raw Red Apple

2010-03-30T10:14:00.000-07:00

Raw Apple Sketch

9.5" x 10.5"

Pastel & Charcoal

Casey Klahn

The first attempt at this sketch failed at the drawing stage, but I colored it in, anyway. Then, I wiped away the first attempt and satisfied myself, for the most part, with this. I left it as a sketch, with no background.

Process

Ballerina Sketch

2010-03-17T08:32:00.000-07:00

Degas Copy - Ballerina Sketch

12" x 8.25"

Vine Charcoal, Graphite, Compressed White Charcoal and Pastel on Paper

Casey Klahn

These Degas copies are helping me on the path towards my own voice with the figure. Meanwhile, enjoy these, and keep a good thought for the master, Edgar Degas.

The Colorist

Degas Copies - Irrelevant; Not Irreverent

2010-03-11T08:31:00.000-08:00

Degas Copy - Ballerina 2
15" x 12"
Pastel & Charcoal
Casey Klahn

These Degas copies were done by free-hand copying from Degas' sketches, with some measuring for proportions. The one posted today was then transferred to a La Carte board the old fashioned way by making a charcoal negative and rubbing the backside to leave an outline. The color is added by imagination, and with heavy influence from memories of Degas' style and color choices.

I have decided that he truly was focused on the drawing component of his pictures, and his "candid snapshots" of figures relied on draftsmanship and his realist ideas.

On The Easel

These copies cannot be sold, or submitted for juries, because of their derivative nature. They may be irrelevant, but they are not irreverent.

The Colorist

Ballerina Copy

2010-03-07T19:17:00.000-08:00

Degas Copy - Ballerina 1
10.5" x 8"
Pastel & Charcoal
Casey Klahn

If I were to quit landscapes and just spend the rest of my days copying Degas, I would still be a happy man. Photos with a point and shoot - better quality ones to follow.

The Colorist Blog.

Skagit Barn

2010-03-01T14:01:00.000-08:00

Skagit Barn Study
@6" x 8"
Pastel & Charcoal on Sketch Paper
Casey Klahn

Skagit Barn Sketch
@6" x 8"
Charcoal
Casey Klahn

Who wouldn't want to sketch and paint an image of the Skagit Valley, Washington? This photo is from my collection, and I have been thinking about painting it for a long time. I only had a short hour in the studio this morning, so here is the sketch, a color study on sketch paper and the old photo for reference.

Blogged Book

2010-02-17T20:31:00.000-08:00

Many of you are fans of Deborah Secor, who blogs at Deborah Secor: Art and Faith. She has embarked on a unique new project, which is a book on pastel landscape painting. The unique twist? She is blogging the whole book a chapter at a time, and it is free to you the viewer. Deborah's expertize in teaching will be available to you at LANDSCAPE PAINTING IN PASTELS.

Very generous of you, Deborah, and I look forward to each page!

Photo credit: raaez at Photobucket

Sunflowers and Stephanie Smith

2009-09-23T09:44:00.000-07:00

Sunflower-12
23cm x 30cm
Pastel
Stephanie Smith

Sunflower-15
23cm x 30cm
Pastel
Stephanie Smith

Artist Stephanie Smith is bursting onto the scene with free-form florals that make most flower paintings pale in comparison. Perhaps they even work better than the real thing, in the visual sense. Open, loose, color-forward and engaging as only full throated pastel works can be.

Her blog, A Roker Artist, delivers her images and her process for your enjoyment. Stephanie is from Tyne & Wear, England.

I wanted to interview her about what she is thinking and feeling when she renders these florals.

The interview.

Pastelsblog: Tell us something about your Sunflower series.

The flowers I painted from were weeks old and well past their best, but I loved the curious shapes made by the live and dead petals around the solid centre.
These weird, asymmetrical arrangements of petals were what grabbed my attention.

PB: What is your common theme from one image to the next?

I was driven by the need to capture the last days fo these flowers; when they were in full bloom they were quite uniform and bland. But as they died the colours developed, like the oncoming of autumn and change in the foliage of trees and bushes.
The saucer shapes became contorted and oranges and reds appeared alongside the lemon yellows. There was such a variety which hadn't existed when they were newly bought. Each head was individual and changing almost from hour to hour, until all the petals were shed.

PB: What is the role of gesture in your Sunflowers?

I apply pastels in a number of ways, and I've used a range of techniques in this sunflower series; intial drawing in conte stick, smudging in the local colour, building up structure in thin layers similar to drybrushing so that the colour underneath shows through, then getting heavier with impasto pastel as I strengthten certain areas and details.

The excitement was in the contorted petals, so once I'd lain down the structure of each flower head, the pastel marks became freer and more expressive.

PB: What about color?

I was painting the sunflowers in gloomy corner, and I wanted to show the way the yellows shone out, as though emitting a light of their own.

Choosing a coloured paper gound which was very close to the sunflower centres was effective. It meant that the petals made an almost abstract arrangement on the paper, with the flower heart and leaves disappearing into the background. And I used a restricted colour palette throughout the series, as pastels, when laid over each other, start to meld and smear and create new shades. It's one of the characteristics of painting with pastels which I enjoy.

PB: Also, I notice the bones of drawings in these images. Tell us something about the role of drawing in your process.

I have always been a drawer and I've only recently learnt to paint I suppose. Pastels were one of the earliest mediums I worked with, and I've been trying to find new ways of working with them. So I'm not surprised that drawing is evident in these pieces. And pastels make such great marks, depending on how you hold them and how little or how much pressure you apply. I suppose I've drawn on top of the painting in these sunflowers.

PB: Give me the what, when and wheres of the venues where you are showing right now.

Some of the sunflower series are currently being shown in the Time For Tea, a little Cafe-Gallery in Poynton, Cheshire where one of my sister Melanie lives. Melanie also has some of her acrylic still lifes on show there too. The cafe owner is an artist herself and displays and sells her own work in the cafe.

Four more paintings from the series are being sold in Warm Earth Gifts on Park Lane, Poynton, Cheshire. UK.

Note: Melanie Rimmer blogs at Chickpea.

Diversions

2009-08-29T19:01:00.000-07:00

Apple on a Violet Book
4" x 2.75"
Pastel
Casey Klahn

Still Life is a diversion for me. It can be good practice in modeling form, but I always get caught up in the color play.

Booth Mock Up

2009-08-27T08:28:00.000-07:00

Here are some booth mock-ups for the upcoming Sausalito Art Festival. The actual booth will be flush with art, instead of thin as shown here, but this is a good preview of how my art is framed and how it will be hung. C U There!

The Lighthouse Keeper

2009-08-07T07:51:00.000-07:00

The Lighthouse Keeper
5" x 7"
Pastel
Casey Klahn

This was posted previously, but only as a scan. It is a studio finish from a plein air painting made on the Oregon coast.

Did you know that lighthouses, back in the day, would burn whale oil or kerosene? And, what's more, they were as popular for tourists in the nineteenth century as they are now. Except, of course, the travel there was harder.

The gift store by this lighthouse had paper models of the lighthouses. I imagined using these, well lit, as studies for more paintings. Some day you'll see those here.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse.

Wonderful Washington Workshop

2009-07-30T09:53:00.000-07:00

Loriann Signori's Painting-a-Day

I can tell that the Richard McKinley workshop just concluded in Mt. Vernon, WA was a success by the results that show in Loriann Signori's work. Her recent works are still very much Loriann's signature style, but they are her work at its best - great clarity, superb color and authentic. Her heart is in it, and she's creating lovely pastels that you should take a look at. These are my favorites: The Field 1 & 2.

If you've ever taken an art workshop of any type, let alone one of the length and intensity of McKinley's La Conner one, you know how it can turn you inside-out with the issues of self-direction versus a strong and influential teacher's style. You are there to adopt and apply the teacher's ideas, and yet you have your own statement to continue. I have lost sleep over these things!

My interview of Signori is here: Plein Air On Purpose.

She suggests that Washington State is an inspirational locale. I agree, of course! Skagit County, where McKinley's workshop takes place, is the art rich home of the Northwest School (Tobey, Callahan, et al.) and is noted for the strange diffuse light that permeates the marine air. Some day you really ought to make the trip to see for yourself.

Richard McKinley
La Conner Art Workshops
Loriann Signori's Painting-a-Day
Museum of Northwest Art (MoNA)

Materialkunde

2009-07-24T09:49:00.000-07:00

Pastels are an endless source of wonder as a medium. The dust on butterflies' wings, it has been called.

Astrid Volquardsen is blogging about the pastel medium in detail. She is comparing paper, stick softness, pencils and has a particularly fun post on manufacturing pastels.

My interview of Astrid Volquardsen is here.

Art of the Wood Shed

2009-07-14T11:29:00.000-07:00

Through the Cedar Shed Door
5" x 7'
Pastel
Casey Klahn

The wood shed with the door open, revealing 5 gallon buckets. Painting finished on site.

Plein Air Cedar Shed

2009-07-10T11:13:00.000-07:00

Cedar Shed with Stool
5" x 7"
Pastel
Casey Klahn

On site painting this month has been ticking along. A number of scenes around the garden ("cedar") shed have been done, featuring cast light and various surfaces. The surface is the light grey La Carte, but the results still are very warm.

I am bringing this post "over" from The Colorist because I want to follow my plein air project here, and keep the River Series going at that blog. Think: pastel paintings here, concepts and ideas there.