This weekend i attempted a portrait of Rembrandt using 4 colour Pastel Chalk. I always like to try and push my skills and the tools i use to combine new materials with old techniques. Here's what i came up with, i hope you enjoy my post! Thanks.
To begin, i started with Arches Aquarelle Cotton paper in Hot Press (smooth). This was paper i had previously prepared for oil painting by giving it a few coats of white gesso primer, then adding a Rose Grey gesso primer. By painting each layer horizontally, then vertically and back and forth a few times, you can get a nice canvas style grain which allows the paint - or in this case the chalk to stick. Here's a break down of the drawing process:
I used General's MultiPastel chalk pencils in Sanguine (red), Burnt Sienna (yellow), Van Dyke Brown (light brown), Black & White.
This is a very similar palette to what Rembrandt would often paint with. He would mostly use earth colours in a simple palette when painting his portraits simply because bold colours like blues & greens were very toxic and expensive to create back in his day - circa 1650's. He would sometimes use those colours in a commissioned painting but in his self portraits he would usually stick to basic earth tones that where easy to mix and which could convey a full range of light and shadow.
In this image you can see how the pastel chalk sits on top of the paper. It is very easy to move around and layer but also very easy to smudge and spoil. Being right handed, i had to move across the image left to right to make sure i didn't smudge it.
And here is the final piece. Drawing Rembrandt is something i think every portrait artist should try. You'll learn so much about forms and light by following his mastery. He had a very simple technique when you break it down but it was performed at such masterful levels that it takes decades to achieve that level of simplicity. All we can do is keep practising and learning ourselves and with each attempt, try and take something new to the next effort.
Tools Used
- Art Spectrum Colourfix Primer in Rose Grey
- General's MultiPastel Chalk Pencils in:
Black, White, Burnt Sienna, Van Dyke Brown, Sanguine.
- Staedtler Mars Rasor rubber pencil
- Paper stump
Thank You
Thank you for reading my post, i hope you like it. If you can vote, re-steem, follow and all those good things i'd really appreciate it!
Amazing art work
Thank you for the re-steem @crisgojar - i really appreciate the support.
Your welcome @groundcontrol
You've given such a good and thorough explanation of your creative process, plus your drawing was rendered quite well I might add. You deserve that $276.16 upvote! Keep up the great artwork groundcontrol! Upvoted and following you and your beautiful artwork on steemit!
Thank you @jamie-smith - it's a wonderful surprise to come back to a post with such a high value after going to bed when it was at .90c after and hour thinking it was going to get lost in the Steemit tide!
It gives me drive to continue and push myself to get better. Steemit has been a great motivator, i look forward to making more work.
Keep going like this, and you won't have to sell the originals. ;-)
Haha, wouldn't that be the dream!
good job.
consider listing it or other artworks on www.steemarket.com, if you want to sell them for SBD :)
Oh I didn't know such a thing!! Great!
Thank you @paolobeneforti i hope to get something on www.steemarket.com in the future. It's a great initiative for Steemit artists out there.
I launched a new art contest too ;) https://steemit.com/art/@paolobeneforti/a-new-art-contest-for-steemian-artists-steemarket-art-contest
I tried that url- it doesn't resolve.
really? http://www.steemarket.com/
It worked when I typed in the url, but didn't copy or link right- ah, the vagaries of the browser...
I do not do visual art, but have many old (and young) friends who do. Some are astonishing in their talent and capability.
Wow. Seriously, just wow.
Has Rembrandt been a big inspiration for you? I notice you have a similar "feel" to your style... maybe it's the use of hilights..?
Really, I'm in awe.
Thank you @offbeatbroad - yeah i really love Rembrandt, he's the master of light. I'm still trying to work out what my style is. I want to work on refining down to a 'less is more' style rather than a full photorealistic rendering and Rembrandt was a master of this. Capturing light is what gives an image life in my opinion, especially in portraits. Everything we see is just a reflection of light bouncing off a form and into our eyes, so trying to draw/paint with that in mind is the style i'm working towards.
Excellent work @groundcontrol! This portrait Rembandt did of himself, to me, always looks a bit sad, wistful, tired. It says much. I think you have done a good job of conveying the same feeling as the original.
I noticed your bottle of Art Spectrum Colourfix Primer. I was going to ask, but then noticed you are #teamaustralia. Art Spectrum was always a favourite brand of mine. I bought a few more tubes of oils when I was back in 2015.
Upvoted and resteemed.
Thanks @leoplaw - As Rembrandt got older and his eyes got worse, his style become a lot more loose and rough but he never lost the ability to make his paintings glow. This one feels like he's trying to push it even further with the way he raised his eyebrows. He's old, he's tired but he still pushes himself.
I only recently discovered Colourfix primer. I was actually watching some old Bob Ross and he uses the clear gesso and it made me think there must be something like that at the art store. I figured a clear gesso would work well for securing a transfer drawing before painting - never really felt comfortable using fixative spray for that as some painters do. Colourfix have a clear which works really well - but then i saw they had colours as well so got a few tubs to try out. #teamaustralia
Thank you for the re-steem!
Monet's eyesight deteriorated markedly in his old age. But this water lily period is the one he is most famous for. But I guess it was also fortunate for him that this coincided with the Impressionist period. So, we as visual artists are indeed very fortunate that our careers can continue right up until we drop. Heck, I even saw a video about blind painter. He became legally blind in his 30's and then at some point was totally blind. Now in his 70's he's still busy and selling.
How do you apply the clear gesso to pastels? Won't you disturb/smudge them?
Oh, i meant the clear works well for sealing transfer drawings prior to oil painting. I don't know if you start with a drawing or fix it before you paint but some oil artists will draw their transfer drawing with charcoal and then spray it down with fixative. Not sure from a conservation perspective if that will be seen as having been a good idea a 100 years from now?
The pastel on the other hand needs a spray after the fact, i haven't sprayed this one yet because i reckon it'll compress it a bit and lose colour. Suppose i could touch it up thou.
I have to remind myself to squit to 'spoil' my eye sight in order to not get lost in detail, i guess at some point as i get old it will do it naturally, then i'll be squiting to try and improve it!
This is absolutely incredible work. I love pastels - they are one of my favorite mediums. I love the pastel pencils too - you can get such amazing control. You captured this master brilliantly - voted resteemed and following :)
Thank you @j-vo - yeah i really love charcoal and pastel chalk, it's very versatile and suits the style i'm developing.
I'm still on my first pack of General's but i'm loving them so far.
Thank you for the resteem & follow! :)
only a true master can paint something magnificent like this :)
Thank you @zephyraijunzo for the re-steem, i really appreciate it.
Upvoted & resteemed
Thank you for the vote & re-steem, appreciated!
damn
awesome painting
so nice to see some great talents on steemit
thanks for sharing and keep up the hard work
Thank you, yeah steemit is a great outlet for artists, there's nothing really like it - unless your happy with just getting 'likes' and watching as advertisers make money off your efforts!
Amazing post! Keep sharing like this in order to provides us more infomation about painting and those exceptional combinations people can use. Congrat @groundcontrol
Thank you @paolasofy25 i will keep trying to help where i can in sharing what i have learnt.
Your technique is wonderful and so precise! Amazing work. Resteemed it.
Thank you for the nice comments and the re-steem, appreciated!
Great post and very informative, I wondered about Rembrandt's use of the Earth colours, thanks for clearing that up.
You have a great talent, your colour and shadow work is impressive! I love pastels and have not used them for many years, you have inspired me!
I went to London about three years ago and had to visit the National Gallery, there were several works by Rembrandt there, so wonderful to see his work and also that of a lot of old masters.
Van Gough's work was in there too. I was astonished by the great works of art there and could have stayed all day and gone back if I could, maybe one day.
Does it take long for each layer of gesso to dry, it's been too long for me to remember, literally years!
Thanks for sharing!
Gesso drys fairly quickly, 15 mins. If you were going to layer a lot of oils and mediums on it you might want to let it dry a bit longer between coats.
You thin each layer out with a bit of water as you go which helps it dry a bit quicker.
Your lucky being able to visit the London galleries, they have some of the best stuff. It's even a small jump over to the Rembrandt museum in Amsterdam or the Louvre in Paris from the UK. In Australia we are lucky to get a big artist every few years and usually then it's mostly the side stuff, the drawings and lesser known works. Understandable they don't want to risk bringing paintings like the Mona Lisa over the ocean but it would be nice to get some of the classics now and then!
They brought out Rembrandt around 1997 i think, had a few of his self-portraits which was pretty good. That's probably the best selection i can remember.
Thanks for your help, yes the gallery was so great! Must go again soon! Too bad about getting quality artist's work to see in person down there. I believe there are a couple of galleries with online gallery content.
Not quite the same, especially when you stand or sit in front of a painting that is like three metres tall! The frames are so impressive as well, finely engraved ornamental frames some with real gold leaf, so cool!!
Now your just rubbing it in! Lol while your enjoying the ancient history and world class artworks, this is what our tax funded National Gallery has us looking forward to - nonsense plastic junk.
https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/exhibition/louise-paramor/
Lol, Oh my gawd! That is sad, but the main page had at least three great artists. Rembrandt was one, Blake and Turner. Not too shabby😊
My art teacher in school was a Ms. Turner, and she could paint too!
Great work!!! And now you challenged me to try to prepare paper with gesso and try doing something on it :)
@groundcontrol I wouldn't say you "attempted", rather, I would say you "DID" a portrait of Rembrandt. And a very nice one indeed. Enjoyed your process. Thanks for sharing. More please... =)
Beautiful work, thanks.
I would have enjoy also a video with making the proces.
Thank you @titotips - maybe i could do a video in the future. I see that Steem now has a video upload system in the works to take on youtube so the future looks good. I have to remind myself just to take progress shots still! One thing i have realised thou is taking the progress shots helps give a second eye to the work, you'll find things to fix and correct that are hard to see with your own eyes. Artists would use a mirror for the same reason but it's a bit easier with a phone!
You can also overlay your progress shot on your original reference to see where things are off. It has really helped train my eye to look for these minor discrepancies.
Good idea, haven't tried that. Been looking for an antique black mirror which are great for tone & shadow adjustments but haven't found one yet. Apparently phones/ipads aren't good for that even thou they are 'black mirrors' (as the amazing Charlie Booker tv show calls them!).
Absolutely amazing piece... Great talent. Thanks for sharing
Thanks for checking it out!
wowwwzzz !!!! so innovative
you very cool @groundcontrol
Beautiful. He almost seems to be communicating with the viewer
Oh wow, seriously well done! You have some skill right there! :)
And congrats! This post really did well.
Thanks for the kind words.
Its always a great surprise when a post lands and is recieved well by the steemit community.
Yeah no doubt! :D
My content is very steady in it's returns since day 1.. I have never had a post over $100.. But cannot wait until that happens. It's only a matter of time :) I think if a person's content is consistently good, it will eventually be seen and start doing well..
Your post deserves it's success :) You earned it!
Love the work and love you sharing about the work. Great post and inspires me to want to create something.
I hope you do!
Great work! Well done!
Thanks for taking a look. Cheers!
Good content like it
Amazing art work , read more intresting stuff @kingjan
https://steemit.com/earnings/@kingjan/quarterly-earnings-for-q2-2017-alphabet-general-motors-coca-cola-and-facebook
good artikel
I really like your work ( art) the eyes are really drawn with petients and lot of efforts have been put into the art. Keep up the hard work.
Really enjoyed the art.
Upvoted
very nice as always. you should do a self portrait sometime.
Never done one before but been thinking about it, easy subject to find!
as you can see from mine, they make a good avatar
Maybe i'll wear a hoodie too for mine. Usually wearing one anyway.
for me hoodies help me not look like a creep as i stare at people before i draw them. hats also help with that
Very nice the picture Congrats, I'm an artist too
Nicely done! Great layout as well. Thanks for your time.
Amazing art well done :)
Rembrandt is one my favorite artists of all time, Your drawing is really quite nice. The colours just pop at you
so cool well done
Nice technique groundcontrol. What a feeling for light and structure Rembrandt had in his paintings. Any artist should study his style...I'm inspired to give it a go.....Followed and voted...still learning all the other stuff
Great job. Paintings with pastel are amazing! The combination of colors is very good. The portrait looks alive)) So, good luck!
Oh wow, that is amazing! I'll follow you. Maybe you should do more Dutch Golden Age paintings? Keep up the good work.
UGH! this is fantastic work! And, why haven't I followed you till now? You've been all over my posts... great drawing, awesome post outlining your steps! Thanks for this one! Can't wait for more... :)
WHAT!!??? You haven't been following me? How dare you sir!
😄
Glad to have you on board now! Thanks for the nice comments.
you have give such a amazing post
Wow! You are very talented, I'm a new fan now. Congrats for the amazing job!
Nice to see a professional work!
Excellent work- and the value keeps rising.
Here's another penny.
Wonderful work!! Looking forward to more! I'm new to Steem, thanks for the inspiration!
Amazing process and impeccable technique! Bravo!
Wow. Talent oozes from you.
Great.... Wow. Genius... U are really talented...
Check out my drawings tooo... Hope u like it
Amazing Artwork! I am new to steemit and would like to ask how you centered your post??
Thanks for sharing this, I will follow you... maybe you are interested in oil painting techniques too.
https://steemit.com/art/@art-universe/painting-techniques-1-mischtechnique-a-step-by-step-guide-with-oil-and-casein-part-i
You can use some basic html in posts.
< > & </>
Put center inbetween both < > & </ > to start and finish the centering.
Thanks for this :-) love your post. Amazing job!
wow @groundcontrol, I wish I'd have just 1% of your skills 😅 This looks like a masterpiece to me!
Well thanks 🤗
I think i'm only at about 1% of Rembrandts skills thou!
Well, every master got some different skills. There will never be the same in case you don't copy it ;)
me encanto te quedo genial
I love Rembrandt! Well done!
Classic!