Historicity; Pastel's Long Legacy.

Video by Stan Sperlak.

IAPS (international Association of Pastel Societies).

Carriera, Copley, Chardin, Oh My!

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...

The Last Cow Discovered?

My ignorance of the beautiful French language is on display in this post. To me, "Lascaux" sounds like "Last Cow". And, indeed the Caves at Lascaux do feature some cows - among the first known cow paintings. Perhaps the French should have called the place "First Cow".

Be that as it may, today is the anniversary of the discovery of the caves, on September 12th, 1940, by a dog and his entourage of four boys. Pre-historic art, so called, is an endless source of fascination to the artist. Was the early artist a "magician" or "shaman", because of his inexplicable ability to represent the natural world by drawing? There are early man paintings in my own area, and what little kid wouldn't wish to be the first to discover a rock wall covered with something like that?

As I prepare to teach an upcoming class on drawing, I am asking myself many questions about the activity of drawing. Is it "magic", or in other words, reserved for a special person, or type of person? Or is drawing available to anyone?

Matisse, who is the subject of my current studies at The Colorist, has said that a drawing must "be decisive!" Does he mean decisive like in the use of the double envelopment (also first displayed on this day at the Battle of Marathon, in 490 B.C.) ? Or, does he mean to make marks with authority, and not tentatively or weakly?

So, today instead of Five answers for Friday, I have put these questions to my kind readers. What are your feelings about drawing, and how it should be taught?

Note: I want to give credit where credit is due. The earliest evidences of art, although muddled in with functional and craft objects, are actually ceramics, and not drawings or paintings. This could be due to archival reasons, but there you have it. Of some comfort to the pride of the painter, the earliest known art object may be a Venus figurine painted with Red Ochre.

Oldest Pastel?

Isabella d'Este
1499
Charcoal, Chalks and Yellow Pastel
Leonardo da Vinci
The Louvre

This may be considered the oldest pastel artwork extant. Go get 'em Leonardo da Vinci. An interesting backstory is given that Isabella may have been one of Leonardo's few female friends. He began his Mona Lisa (another subject) a handful of years later, circa 1503. That puts this work in the same vicinity of time, at the height of da Vinci's artistic powers.

Soldier Artist

Soldier, Hero & Artist Charles W. Reed

Abraham Lincoln at City Point, Virginia, 1865
Charles Wellington Reed (1841-1926)

Charles W. Reed was a soldier artist in the Civil War. What is more, he earned the nation's highest medal, the Medal of Honor, for an action at the Battle of Gettysburg.

MOH, Authorized Version until 1895

A rather confused link, but with numerous thumbnail images of Reed's artwork.

It seems that Reed, an enlisted bugler, was rather a "Johnny on the spot," having been present at key battles and for great events. Among those events he witnessed were Gettysburg, the illustrated review of common soldiers by the president, and no less than General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox. His illustrations were published after the war.

Civil War Artillerymen

Route Step in Garrison

8" x 7"
Charcoal & Pastel on Canson Mi-Tientes
Casey Klahn

This now qualifies as my return to the figure, and as a project. I'll name it the Civil War Project. The guy on the left of the image makes a great model, as he is a big statured guy with large hands.

Today, at The Colorist, I posted about the Civil War artist Alfred Waud. Follow the links there to find some artist reenactors who are active back east.

The drawing is not quite this severe in respects to contrast, as this is a scanned image.

Civil War Art

Painting Waiting to Happen
All Photos: Casey Klahn

Caisson

Girl Marching in Uniform

Dresses

Back to Civil War figures. I had the unparalleled opportunity to sketch and paint the reenactment in Spokane over the holiday weekend. The figure is a subject I have wanted to return to. An artist can pay good money for costumed models, or find an event like the one I did. But, you gotta be brave to set up in the middle of holiday gawkers, and more than likely fail all over the paper. See the artist bleeding on the ground.

As it turned out, I was really happy with the outcome. Yesterday's post shows Friday's images. I returned with the family in tow on Monday, but gusting winds kept me from setting up. It just underlines the blessing of getting a good set-up on Friday.

Maybe I'll get in costume and arrive next year at the Civil War reenactment as a period artist. Stove pipe hat, anyone?

I was wondering who were the artists active during the Civil War, so that I could have a baseline to begin with for my study. The illustrated magazine was new on the public stage, and artists were in demand. The first artist I found was, of course, a pastellist. Edward Lamson Henry, 1841-1919 struck a chord with me right away.

Winslow Homer is the most noted Civil War battle sketch artist. Thumbs.

Wounded Soldier being Given a Drink from a Canteen

Drawing: Charcoal and white chalk on blue-green paper, 1864

14 3/8 x 19 ½ ins
Winslow Homer

Drummer Boy

Drawing: Black and white chalk on blue paper, 1864
17 x 10 5/8 ins.
Winslow Homer

Battle Sketching!

Sharpshooters in Green, On Site "Battle" Sketch
Pastel, Casey Klahn

Photo: Casey Klahn

It never crossed my mind before that sketching a (reenacted) Civil War battle could be so difficult. Or exhilarating! This is the Memorial Day weekend, and the war between the states is one of the things we remember.

Reb

Charcoal
Casey Klahn

Needless to say, one must work fast! I was very happy with the outcome. I sat cross legged on the sidelines and worked back and forth between two sketchbooks, in charcoal and charcoal/pastel to capture the mock battle's ebb and flow.

After the battle, I was able to set up my field easel behind the medical tent and painted a fun work with a Medical Assistant and his banjo. The blue jacket caught my eye, as it could be tied in with another blue uniform jacket that was hanging on a camp tripod, and a third element (perfect!) of a large flag. The backdrop? White canvas tentage.

Sketch


Civil War Medic with Banjo Sketch

10.5" x 9"
Pastel & Charcoal on Diane Townsend Paper
Casey Klahn

Rebel
Charcoal
Casey Klahn

Lessons Learned:

1. I don't draw animals as a habit, but I am happy to get the impressions I got here.
   
2. Following the rule of keeping my field works in a reduced value scale (nothing too dark or light) doesn't work when faced with Army Blue. I should know that stuff, as a veteran myself!
3. The Banjo Player WIP I think may need it's blue elements split up into a triangular composition, with the coat to the right of the figure, and with the white tents as framing highlights. And the background needs work.
4. I wanted to "model" the form of the banjo player, but didn't quit make it. An opportunity there!

Cavalry Formation, Action
Charcoal
Casey Klahn

Battlefield
Pastel in Moleskine
Casey Klahn

It didn't escape me that painting on sight is just as anachronistic as the dress-up event I was chronicling. The camera was just making it's (evil) debut in the same time period, and it would forever make the painting less dear in the public mind.