Focus on Learning To: Paint "Mixed Media Lilies" Soft Pastel Episode 6b

“What am I going to do? I’m not happy with this painting, not necessarily because it is bad, but because it didn’t turn out like saw it in my mind.” This will sound familiar the more you paint.

Pull out another medium! What’ve you got? Acrylic? That is a good solution…you can use opaque paint over the areas you don’t like and leave the rest. Oil? No, sorry. Oil will eat the paper in time. You could alleviate that by putting a couple coats of clear gesso over the watercolor. Encaustic? Perfect, if you mount the paper to a panel so it won’t crack off. Ink? Probably, if it is opaque. Gouache is opaque.

I chose another opaque medium, one I’ve been neglecting lately. Soft Pastels! One of the reasons I chose Soft Pastels is because the rough paper will allow the pastel stick to slide over the high points of the texture. You can accomplish a layered look quite easily with them.

If you are in the market for soft pastels, be sure to download a copy of my master supply list. I’ve got options and links that will save you money, until you decide to keep collecting.

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

C’mon! Get dirty with me!

Focus on Learning To: Paint "Gouache Lilies" Episode 5b

Hi all y’all! Can you believe we are already on our 5th project? We continue our adventure of the Yellow Lilies this week as I paint the flower part of this project. You’ll notice right away how different the Gouache looks compared to the Watercolor.

Watercolor gets its luminous glow when the light goes through the transparent watercolor pigment and bounces back the white of the paper.

In contrast, Gouache is a more opaque medium…when the light hits the surface of a Gouache painting, the pigment particles bounce the light back. The paper doesn’t come into play to create the glow, you have to add the glow with white/light pigments.

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

Have a great week, and don’t forget to join me on Tuesdays, 3:30-ish CST for a live broadcast on YouTube and Facebook. Vicki Ross, Vicki Artist (Youtube), Vicki Louise Neil Ross (FB). It is a Q&A session, mixed with a freestyle project I demo.

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— Jonathan L.