Your Hidden Gifts... or Art they?

When I was a littler kid, I was usually found quietly entertaining myself by making something with my hands, and pestering or instigating trouble with my sister. My wild side provided endless curiosity to make things; whether with crayon, pencil, paint, clay, wire, tissue paper, gum wrappers, mud, food...you name it. Sometimes the result was a mess!  Making something out of nothing was pretty much a self-driven therapy. I often thank the heavens I'm not crazy...or am I?  So to all of you creative souls out there, I'm sending you suggestions for a year filled with curiously fun adventures, creative opportunities, artistic possibilities, and hopefully some new art supplies that will keep on giving for years to come...

Advanced Pastel Class  $330/$390 
1/15/19 - 3/5/19

This Advanced Pastel class is an 8-week series that will cover the finer points of pastel painting and beyond, with the still life as our subject. Designed for the artists who have a solid understanding of pastel painting. Artists will have the choice of painting a still life that is composed and worked on each week over a series of sessions, OR, from a new still life composition each week. The artist must have knowledge of painting vernacular and skills based upon previous lessons, experience and instructor approval.  

7-week Pastel FUNdamentals and More  $290/350
3/19/19 - 4/30/19

In this course we will cover everything pastel that is 'chalk full' of information with plenty of time to practice and finesse your newfound knowledge. We will build upon your skill, understanding, and confidence in the medium through a progression of exercises on the many aspects of pastels.  We will be breaking down the values of pastels, exploring the facets of mark-making, discovering your style with pastels, under-painting techniques, and more. This is a great course for those who wish to discover the medium, learn about pastel on a broader level, or for those who wish to push their pastel work to the next level.  Perfect for Beginner to Intermediate levels.

Wishing you a wonderful, adventurous 2019

Brenda

I have a new workshop to share with you!

Offering a 2 day "Pastels en Plein Air" workshop. Come join in a fun and highly educational plein air pastel workshop for all levels of painters. Plein air painting has its own challenges and advantages, offering quick studies to beautiful finished works in just a few hours. Get to know the best practices, methods, materials, and how to select a scene that will cement your solid foundation of plein air painting. We will focus on how to build a painting through design, values, shapes, and color to jump start your plein air journey. Brenda will offer a brief demonstration each day to help you focus on the essentials of plein air. Additionally, there will be personal advice at your easel and we will wrap up each day with a group discussion/critique at the San Clemente Art Supply.

Brenda is a Signature Member of LPAPA & the Pastel Society of America, and has been an instructor at the 2nd ,3rd, and 6th Plein Air Conventions.

Dates: 8/26/2017 - 8/27/2017

Pre Demo date: 8/25 at 4:00pm

Tuition:  $275

Register through San Clemente Art Supply and Framing (patience please...class may not yet be listed)

or visit Brenda’s workshop listings at https://brendaboylan.com/workshops

Contact Heather Raposo to register at scaclasses@scartsupply.com

949-369-6603

Mark Making

"Just for Jelly" crop

Been teaching a 7-week pastel series at Oregon Society of Artists and it sure has been a LOT of fun! I'm mid-way through the second series of classes and have one more that begins in late January. This one demo, above, was on mark-making to demonstrate that all sorts of marks can be employed to get interesting broken color as well as providing emotion like no paint brush could. I used a dizzy-like swirly mark on Wallis Belgian Mist sanded paper with Ludwig pastels.

"Swirly Jars" 12x9" sold

The last class on pastels begins Jan 27 and runs through March 10, 2015.  Classes held at Oregon Society of Artists on Tuesdays at 9:00am - 12:00.  Only room for 9 students. Interested?  Get your answers HERE.

Arriving on Tenth, 20x16

"Arriving On Tenth" 20x16" Pastel

Gosh! So much has happened since I last posted, I can't even begin to blog about it all. The happenings and goin's on's seemed to have slammed me all at once with shows, upcoming plein air events, paint outs, and competitions.

First of all, I am thrilled as punch as well as deeply humbled to have received notice that my painting "Arriving on Tenth" was juried into the IAPS 24th Annual show. I now have to get it framed and shipped to Boston before the May 10th opening at Vose Gallery. Now is the time for me to get my calendar all coordinated so not to miss a delivery deadline.

I also will be heading down to Monterey next month for the Plein Air Convention to demonstrate a 1-hour pastel painting. It sounds almost impossible to create a nice work of art under the tight time condition, so I have been preparing for "as quick as can be" piece. Although there is no way possible to finish a piece in front of so many on a stage, quiet resolution and relationship with a piece is not a priority for such a situation. So, I just practice the piece several times to make sure I don't disappoint my audience. I am planning on creating an urban piece like the one above.

Add to that the fun two workshops I have planned and a few exciting plein air events that all add up to a very busy summer. Then, and only then, perhaps I will take a vacation from myself and finally allow myself a bit of rest and rehabilitation with my family.

Here is the line up:

3rd Annual Plein Air Convention
Event Dates: 4/7/2014 - 4/11/2014

Pastels Inside and Out Workshop

Workshop Dates: 5/2/2014 - 5/4/2014

Carmel Juried Plein Air 2014
Event Dates:  5/15/2014 - 5/18/2014,

IAPS 24th Annual Juried Exhibition

Event Dates: 5/10/2014 - 6/21/2014

Clink! A Taste of Oregon Wine

Event Dates: 6/7/2014 - 9/20/2014

Los Gatos Plein Air 2014

Event Dates: 6/17/2014 - 6/21/2014

Lake Oswego Plein Air Chronicle

Event Dates: 6/20/2014 - 6/22/2014

Door County Plein Air Invitational 2014Event Dates: 7/20/2014 - 7/26/2014

Solo Show: The Verdant Valley 
Event Dates: 10/30/2014 - 11/22/2014

What Pastels Do You Use?

Pictured here is a full box of Terry Ludwig Vibrants (front and center), The Most Requested Violets (bottom center)  and a small glimpse of my pastel box at hand (upper left)

Often while I am out painting with my pastels, or while teaching a pastel workshop I am asked the question of what brand I prefer.  I have tried perhaps a dozen brands and have honed into my favorites, although with the popularity of this medium there are bound to be many more brands being created over time. I think brand selection, hardness to softness has a lot to do with one's personal style of working and mark-making. For me, I prefer the softer pastels for my technique because I have grown accustomed to their characteristics. Perhaps I am missing the boat on this one, but others like using the harder pastels for the preliminary stage of underpainting, blocking in, or setting values. For me, I just use a dispersed pigment of Createx, or perhaps I will use a quick, thin block-in of pastel and wash it down with OMS or Turpenoid. 

It only goes without saying that experience and experimentation are key to one's own personal style. Over time, I have gravitated to Terry Ludwig Pastels as my all time favorite brand. Let me mention that I am not getting paid to write this up, or getting any sort of kudos for mentioning this brand, as I am only giving my opinion here. The square shape is perfect for the way I work, often because they have a flat side for filling in color. Also these square shaped pastels have sharp, crisp corners that allow for more detailed line work for tree trunks, or other skinny marks. They are versatile as well as soft, but not too buttery, as well as the pigmentation is rich. There are a few other pastels that I prefer over others, but just as long as they are in the "soft" category of all things pastel. That would be the Unison and then the Sennelier brands. When students sign up for my workshops, I provide a supply list and offer up some pastel brands that will give the student a great start on working in pastel. It's when a student decides on getting a "student grade" of pastel, then they become frustrated with it's limitations. Trust me when I say that higher quality pastels will be more money, but you will get farther faster with them too. So give yourself permission and get the quality you deserve.

So before you sign off, I have to shout out a bit of shameless self-promotion here. If you have always wanted to get yourself off to a great start with pastels, or wish to gain more in-depth knowledge of the medium along with practical techniques and exercises, I have put together two pastel workshops in March and in May that are now on the calendar HERE. Hope you can come join me.

All for now,

B

Pending Pastel workshop schedule

Coffee Break, 10x8" Pastel  SOLD

Simple step by step on the basics and more with pastel.

Tomorrow I will be announcing the details and registration for a pastel workshop in the merry month of May in Portland, OR. Many of you who visit me on Facebook, here on my blog, or through email have expressed for more workshop opportunities. So, with that, I'll be confirming a date here soon.

While I'm on the subject of teaching pastel, there is still room in my Pastel Punch! Workshop at the Emerald Arts Center in Springfield, OR. in March. For details, click HERE.

Also, if you have plans to attend the Plein Air Convention and Expo in beautiful Monterey, CA., I will again be presenting on the Demo Stage at 12:45-1:45.  As a matter of fact, they will have an entire track on pastels and more pastels from some of the nation's best pastelists to teach, demonstrate and meet at this event. Hope you can come!

Hope you can join me!

Pastels Inside & Out Workshop recap

This past weekend I taught my pastel workshop in Portland, Oregon at the Oregon Society of Artists to a handful of very engaged students. My focus was to share everything I know about pastels, and then have my students give them a try outdoors painting en plein air.

Preparing for a workshop takes much thought and preparation, so much so that I found myself waking up in the middle of the night coming up with new ways to teach my lessons. That's when all the best ideas come, in the middle of the night, right? A few weeks before the workshop, I called upon my favorite vendor Terry Ludwig Pastels to see if I could get a few pastel samples for my students.  He generously sent me these two boxes and we divided them up equally for each student. What a treat! The rectangle shaped pastels on the right apparently didn't quite make the "color match" for his colorful sets, yet they still have the wonderful consistency and texture I've come to expect. The box on the left are neutral mixtures that were hand rolled and made into unique shapes with small notes of creativity written on top. I especially like the heart shaped ones. Thank you Terry!

I also went to the Wallis Sanded Paper warehouse and picked up a big pile of paper for my students to use just in case they needed more. For three days we discussed everything pastels:  the nature of pastels, how to keep the studio dust free and safe, studying values in art, mounting pastel paper, storing finished pieces, shipping, the complicated job of framing pastels, colorful underpainting techniques, modifying colors, mark making, color theory, and composition. Some points of the lessons could easily translate over to other mediums, but are so valuable for all artists.  

A simple way to "catch" the pastel dust at your easel. Use a 2" wide strip of masking tape and tape it to the bottom of your easel. When finished painting, just gently roll up and dispose.

Having a "cropping tool" is one of my essential tools in the studio that I use over and over again to rearrange the composition of my source images.

The one point I wanted to drive home with my students was the importance of values and understanding how to see them. Before each lesson the students sketched with pencils their preliminary images, squinting their eyes a lot to simplify information.  They referred to their color wheels and value finders to aid in the process. We then created value studies using our colorful pastels to train the eyes, helping them fine tune and become aware of values for better painting. 

Here are couple of quick sketches of my students work prior painting to help them find and group three or four values in their work.

Here is my demonstration on values. I used 10 sticks of pastel ranging from dark to light (2 for each color block) in a 4-value sketch. See sketch above.

We then worked on mark-making, the one distinction that pastel excels at than any other medium.  Notice a common theme?

Because of the pace of the workshop, I demonstrated several pieces showing the major point of the lesson, but never completely finishing any of them because I wanted the students to get right down to working.  One of the lessons was on under painting with alcohol and then again another with Gamsol. For the Gamsol underpainting, we first lightly scumbled pastel in value blocks and then washed the scumbled pastel with the dispenser. We used a hand held blow dryer to hasten in the drying process.

Blocking in the under painting with one hue then washed with Gamsol.

My demonstration (incomplete)

A quick demo on color modification (incomplete)

Some student work:

Students value studies.  As my first pastel teacher Kitty Wallis once told me, 

"Values do all the work, color gets all the glory".

You have to be flexible with teaching workshops, as they do take on a life of their own. On the final day of the workshop it rained a typical Portland rain, so I changed up the schedule and demonstrated a plein air piece looking outside the large window overlooking turn of the century homes.  We discussed the challenges of painting plein air with pastels, and then went on to complete our works. We wrapped up the workshop with a group critique and we went home full of new ideas. 

I want to thank the Oregon Society of Artists for asking me to hold a workshop at their facility. They are very easy to work with and provided me with a facilitator, Michael to aid in opening, setting up, and closing of the building.

Old Warrior, 8x10 and more...

Old Warrior, 8x10" Pastel

Me in Monterey on the pier painting "Old Warror" with 

Thomas J. Kitts and Hai-Ou Hou (not shown)

So much time has passed since my return from the Plein Air Convention in April. Loads of super good things are brewing here in the studio as well as with my family. Juggling more bowling balls this past May and I can feel the pressure building into June and beyond. I am loving my productive life, the joys of being an artist are plentiful and I am ever so grateful for each day.

On the home front, my daughter of 18 is going to graduate from High school this Saturday and I am proud to say she has earned herself a substantial amount of scholarship money to Pacific University.  Can you say happy parents? Yup. The only thing that still needs to happen is for her to get her drivers license. I can't figure out why kids these days aren't hungry to drive?

In the studio, I have been finalizing contracts for 4 events. This means paperwork and organization are first over painting.  One in particular is the Umpqua Plein Air  event in September and I am pleased and honored to be this year's juror.  Held in Roseburg, OR, a painter's paradise, this show is well organized and supported by many volunteers. If you would like to try your hand at plein air or have never participated in a plein air event, then let me encourage you to consider this one as it is not juried, and you will have a great time painting along with many talented artists.

Another event that I am really "stoked" about is a Plein Air group show in August/September with Northwest artists Michael Orwick, Don Bishop and Ramona Youngquist and myself at ART Elements Gallery.  We have been busy securing advertising as well as an article in the popular art magazine Southwest Art, as well as planning outings to paint for this show. There will be vineyard painting demos and a few other great ideas that are still in the works.

I am also preparing for 3 workshops:

1-day workshop on Painting Water, Sunday June 30th

Click HERE for info

3-day Pastel Inside & Out workshop, Sept 21-23

Click HERE for info

3- day Pastel Punch! workshop, March 21-23, 2014

Click HERE for info

(info may not be posted yet as this contract was just signed)

There is so much more to share but it's getting late and I'm tired eyed. I hope to post more as I go along, even if it's just three words. Over and out.

Pastel workshop Recap

 "Ferdinand", 12x9" Pastel

This past weekend I taught my Pastel Punch! workshop at Sequoia Gallery to a wonderful group of artists. They all worked very hard and so I'm going to share a bit of what we worked on and some of the finer points that I taught.  

Values are distinct when color is absent.

First and foremost I encourage every artist, whether they are a beginner or advanced, to study on an ongoing basis the importance of values. This is probably the hardest point to drive home to artists and often the one thing that we all struggle with the most. Here is my value demonstration of what I titled "Ferdinand." In this lesson, we used just ten pastels of varying values to create depth and volume. When I returned home after the day's work, I checked my work by photographing him in black and white mode to see if I read the values correctly and it looks like I might need more practice too.

Another project we worked on was a 4-value, single hue underpainting using Turpeniod. Turpenoid offers flexibility with the dissolved pigment, but it takes a long time to dry.  It's great when out plein air painting as the heat of the day evaporates it quickly enough.

"Glass Implements" 9x12" Pastel

One of my favorite exercises is having the students create a quick 20 minute study. I use a timer and count down the minutes to add pressure to create. It is my intention to get the students to loosen up and simplify their work.  No room for details in this exercise. Then we stretched a bit further and painted a 10 minute study.  Everybody gets a kick out of the energy that is evident in the work. If I had thought of it, I'd have put on a blood pumping marching tune by John Philip Sousa. Here's my 10 minute attempt (from a photo that I had painted alla prima in oils.)

"Teacups, 10 minute Study" 9x12" Pastel

Because pastel can be handled in so many ways, whether it be blended, crosshatched, stippled or patterned, an artist can have such versatility and a lot of fun.  Here are a few of my students' works with their choice of mark making. 

A delightful stack of cups by artist Ann.

...and a very precious robin's nest by artist Marianne

And finally, here is the wall of most of the students' work.  It was a fun workshop and when I woke up the next morning after the workshop, I expected to go back for more.  There will be more workshops as I have just signed a contract to teach "Pastels Inside & Out" at The Oregon Society of Artists in September,  and I also will be teaching "Pastel Punch!" at the Emerald Art Center in March of 2014. (Details will be up soon.)

Some of the students work over the course of the workshop.

If you are interested in having me teach a pastel workshop in your area, contact me and let's discuss the possibilities.

Pastel Punch! workshop listed in Oregon

In 2013 I will be offering a few pastel workshops for those who wish to improve their knowledge/skill set of this incredible medium. As of now I have secured February 8-10th at the beautiful Sequoia Gallery in Hillsboro, Oregon.  I am working on workshop dates with the Oregon Society of Artists and I am also looking for sponsors beyond the Oregon borders who would love to have me teach in their area.  Please contact me if you would like to make this a reality.  

Pastel Punch!

$300.00

Workshop Dates: 2/8/2013 - 2/10/2013

Location: Sequoia Gallery

136 SE 3rd

Hillsboro Oregon 97123

United States

http://www.sequoiagallerystudios.org/

Learn the secrets of this intensely expressive and colorful medium in an artistic environment. This 3 day workshop will be held in the beautiful Sequia Gallery & Studios in downtown Hillsboro.  Designed for all artistic levels who want to learn what it takes to make knock-out pastel paintings.  Drawing skills are strongly recommended and photo references as well as still lifes will be used for some of your work. Students can expect to work a variety of exercises stressing the unique qualities of pastel while concentrating on composition, value, and color theory, as well as pastel safety and framing. Students will stretch their creativity with the given exercizes and are not expected to complete a finished work in class.  If the weather allows, we may elect to paint outdoors for the final day.

February 8~10th, 2013

Class tuition: $300.  Check or Credit accepted

Class Limited to 10 students only/6 minimum  

Class #31

Register by calling Claudia (503) 648-5785

or Sequoia Gallery

Sequoia Gallery  (503) 693-0401

(registration is conducted through the gallery)

There will also be two opportunities to see a 11/2 hour demonstration at the Sequoia Gallery as a preview to what you will learn in the workshop.  Consider it a mini lesson

Cost : $10. at the door.

Demo dates:  

Nov 14th, 7:00-8:30 pm

Jan 16th 7:00-8:30 pm

Pastel workshop date set

Yup, I'm at it again

I'm offering another Pastel Punch 3-day workshop

Here are the details....

Pastel Punch! Workshop
Seqouia Gallery

Hillsboro, OR.
Feb 8~10, 2013
9:00~4:00 pm
$300
http://brendaboylan.com/workshops

Enthusiastic instructor, Brenda Boylan is offering another opportunity to learn the secrets of this intensely expressive and colorful medium in an artistic environment. This 3 day workshop will be held in the beautiful Sowa Studios in the North Portland area. Designed for all artistic levels who want to learn what it takes to make knock-out pastel paintings. Drawing skills are strongly recommended and photo references as well as still life sets will be used for some of your work. Students can expect to work a variety of exercises stressing the unique qualities of pastel while concentrating on composition, value, and color theory as well as pastel safety, framing and much more. Students will stretch their creativity with the given exercises and are not expected to complete a finished work in class. If the weather allows, we may elect to paint outdoors for the final day.

Supply list and registration here: http://brendaboylan.com/workshops

Class tuition: $300. $50 deposit to secure spot
Class limited to 10 students only/6 minimum Contact Brenda at makinart @ frontier. com

Pastel Punch! recap

 Demo of a 20 min timed painting. Emphasis on loosening up.

Last weekend I spent time teaching my Pastel Punch! workshop with six pastel enthusiasts.  Every time I do this teaching stuff, I feel greatly rewarded in a warm, fuzzy kind of way.  My intension was to help my students become better at their craft while adding a few of my favorite exercises to help them loosen up. 

Every day we covered a single topic and painted with that topic in mind to help drive home the idea.

The basics of values, composition, color, and mark-making were what I wanted to stress in my workshop. Nearing the end of the workshop I wrote some thoughts down for everyone to think about...words that I covered in all the lessons.  Kind of like a note pad of sorts.

 Thoughts on the "Good Stuff"

Every day we had a couple of demos. This demo was about mark-making.

Me and my wonderful students (L-R) Debbie, Sue, Diane, Sarah, Marilyn and Nancy....thanks for your time with me.

Being the marketing nut that I tend to be, I asked my students how they found out about my workshop. It was interesting, because they all came from a variety of sources.  A gallery show, on my blog, word of mouth, out in the field, a flyer, and an private invitation.  There seems to be no one way in getting the word out, but to just keep talking about it in every way possible.  

We painted in Kat Sowa's studio and it's what I'd call "THE" quintessential studio.  Located in an old warehouse, it is full all the amenities for teaching and working on art.  It is equipped with ample lighting, with beautiful still lifes, extra tables, heat, a sink, a small and quiet sitting room for eating or resting on the couch, a library of reference books, a few sturdy easels with plenty of space and more.  It is a studio with great energy and creativity and I do hope to teach there again.

This photo doesn't give the space any justice, but believe me it's awesome!

This coming week, I will be heading down to Las Vegas for the Plein Air Convention with a contingency of Portland painting buddies.  I"m sure there will be much to learn and tons of fun connecting with old friends in the field.  If you are headed to the convention, please look for a short blonde with a funny laugh, and do make sure to introduce yourself because I'd love to meet you.