Exploring Pastel class#3 & Tom Nahreiner Demo at Milwaukee Sketch club

This is going to be short I'm really tired.

Exploring Pastel Class #3
Got to learn about and use pan pastels with sponges & moo acrylic erasor. Use a light touch. Can put 2 colors on one sponge. Can wipe off dirty pan with sponge. Use light circular motion to pick up pan pastel. Today we drew a landscape from our imagination on Teintes dark green pastel. Then we got to draw a picture on a really long red paper from a photo(s). Raining too hard so didn't bring them home.

Tom Nachreiner Demo at Milwaukee Sketch Club

• Excellent. To see more of his art go to http://www.tomnachreiner.com . He also does plein air competitions in door county and cedarburg wisconsin.
  
• Like to work Plein Air. has a studio with bank of north facing windows for winter. Cool lt, warm shadows, constant all day.
  
• When working outdoors, works early to 10am, then 2-6. Wants shadows, although sometime hi noon turns out better than you think.
  
• Prefers oils although has used pastels and water colors. Also does digital art with Wacom tablet.
  
• If working from photo or picture, he turns it upside down so can more easily block in abstract shapes. Shape, Color, Value, temperature. Gets grayed versions of colors down first and big shapes.
  
• Uses homemade plexiglass palette painted same color of canvas on it's backside C-clamped to his stand. Doesn't use medium. Cleans brushes in process with paint thinner, final cleaning with Kerosene. Always has a frame for each canvas he paints. Doesn't varnish.
  
• keeps roll of paper towels handy. has looser, more painterly style.
  
• Color palette of white, lt yel, yel ochre, cad lt, aliz, trans ro, ult blu, raw umber to gray colors, prus blu, no blk.
  
• hold long brushes at ends so can see painting at a distance. Works big shapes to small.
  
• Sneak up on whites and colors.
  
• Uses a pad of paper towels to minimize touching oils and solvents.
  
• Constantly judging lts/dks, warm/cool, color against color, edges soft/hard. compares as works around painting.
  
• Filbert brush double dips colors. angle bright bursh for drawing, more precise, don't overuse.
  
• Each stroke defines 2 areas, backgrd & front.
  
• Feels oil painting teaches you more about painting than other media, have 2 mix colors (vs premixed pastels) and less mechanical drawing & filling in (watercolors)
  
• Can use a plexiglass grid with black, gray & white, dick blick, artworksessentials.com? picture perfect, red cellophane to see values.
  
• Once all general shapes in right area, turns upside right to finetun. Makes it fresh. check temp, color. Big brush to soften things.
  

adios