A
Pastel Painting in progress
Ophelia
the orchid mantis 2006 |
|
|
|
| 1)
I start with a light pencil drawing making many adjustments in
the shapes and forms along the way. Working outside is wonderful
on a nice day, and the natural light can lend a hand in the setup
of your beginning color palette. |
2)
I always begin in the top left hand corner and work my way diagonally
to the bottom right hand corner. It is a discipline I started
early on when I began with pastel portraiture at the age of 11. |
|
|
3)
I finish the details as I go from the top left to the bottom right
with many layers of colors. Some areas require a sharp defining
edge which is the last action I implement after all of the blending
has been accomplished so it stays crisp. |
4)
The background negative space is made up of many different colors
scribbled in and blended together as seen in this picture. All
other components of my pastels are laborious and finely detailed. |
|
|
5)
A close up of my blender…..yep, I use my pinky finger, and
have a damp cloth in my lap to wash and dry my fingers with constantly.
I have been told a hundred times not to use my fingers to blend
pastels, yet I’ve never been one to conform. |
6)
The end result of a difficult pastel painting. Not only had I
selected an orchid mantis which in nature is perfectly camouflaged,
and to boot, my photo references were terrible at best. None the
less, the challenge was worth it. |
Jessa’s
facts on pastel paintings
Jessa uses a variety of pastels including Rembrant soft pastels,
Deweret pastel pencils and Nu pastels for fine details. Upon
trying every pastel paper under the sun, Jessa fell in love
with Wallis Museum Archival paper and is all she has used for
her pastels in the past 6 years. It is absolutely incredible;
the fine grit texture holds the pastels like no other paper
and gives the paintings a rich butter soft finish.
For
pastel paintings, Jessa will often use a series of photographs
for reference; however some of them are created with a specimen
reference and microscope just as all of the oils on canvas are
done. Her insect pastels will range in size from 18” x 24’
to 24” x 36” with painstaking detail and will take
up to 4 weeks to complete.
|
| Go
to Ophelia's biography. |
