Watercolour sketch of Llyn Gwynant

Below is the demonstration painting that I did for Sandpiper Studio last weekend. This event was organised by owner Julie McLean who also teaches painting. The subject of the demonstration was water and reflections so I chose this view of Llyn Gwynant which I had sketched on a damp day. (Above) You can see the speckles where the rain has fallen on the sketch whilst the wash was still wet. I quite like painting watercolour sketches in the rain. It keeps the washes fluid and prevents you fussing about with the detail. I emphasised to the audience the importance of sketching to capture mood and atmosphere. Something that is difficult to capture in a photograph.

Llyn Gwynant, pastel by Jenny Keal

The painting was done with Unison Pastels on Fisher 400 Art paper, which is an abrasive surface and extremely good for creating mood and atmosphere and for portraying reflections. The distant mountain was kept cooler in colour, lighter in tone and without any detail. These three tips will help with the illusion of recession. The autumn colours on the foreground trees also help with this illusion, as their bright, warm colours  and stronger tones stand out well against the soft blue grey background. 

If you are anywhere near Llandrindod Wells this week please come along to Art in the Park on Wednesday 22nd August where I will be demonstrating in pastel and on Thursday 23rd August where David will be demonstrating in watercolour. You can even join in and do your own painting of the Rock Park for the exhibition at the weekend.

Pastel Painting Demonstrations

'River Wye above Erwood', Pastel by Jenny Keal,
painted as a demonstration at the Summer of Great Events in 2011

August is a busy month this year. I will be doing three demonstrations, two of which are free. 

1. 11th August at Erwood Station Craft Centre and Gallery near Builth Wells, as part of the Summer of Great Events. I will be at the station most of the day, demonstrating in pastel and leading a walk to the River Wye to sketch the scene above. This event is free.
2. 17 August at The Sandpiper Studio on the Wirral. An afternoon in Julie McLean's lovely studio learning how to portray water in pastel. I will be sharing my secrets on how to achieve atmosphere and recession in your landscape paintings. There is a charge for this session.
3. 22 August at Art in the Park in Llandrindod Wells as part of their Victorian Festival. You are invited to come and watch me sketch and paint in the Rock Park and to try your hand at producing your own painting. Materials will be provided. This event is free of charge.
   
   If you want to improve your painting, or if you just want to get started, then come along to one of the above events and join in the fun.  The painting above was a demonstration at last year's Summer of Great Events at Erwood Station Craft Centre and Gallery. We had a lovely sunny day last year, let's hope it is fine again this year.
   
   

   

   Demonstrating at Erwood Station last year.

    
   
   

Sketching on Marloes Beach, Pembrokeshire

Marloes Beach, Pembrokeshire

Here I am again harping on about the advantages of sketching in front of your subject over taking a photograph.

Well I make no apologies, these two images illustrate the point perfectly. In the photograph the intense light has reduced the headlands and rocks on the beach to silhouettes. The photograph was taken with a small digital camera and unless you are very familiar with all the functions of your camera this is the most likely result you will get.

Sketch Marloes Beach

Luckily I had time to sit and sketch the scene as well as take the photograph and as you can see the eye can discern much more detail than a camera. I moved the rocks around a little to lead the eye along the shoreline and sketched the figures on the side of the sketch so that I could place them in the most advantageous position in the resulting painting.

Pembrokeshire is my favourite area of the UK for sketching. There is so much variety of unspoilt coastal and rural scenery that there is always something exciting to sketch whatever the season or the weather. One of our most popular courses takes place in St David's at the Warpool Court Hotel overlooking St Non's Bay.  The good news is that due to the economic climate we have negotiated a considerable reduction in the price of the course this year. You can find details here. Do come and join us, you can paint in watercolour or pastel as both David and I will be tutoring this course.

How to cheat with your composition

If you travel down to St David's and explore the countryside below Carn Llidi you will find this lovely old farm called Treleddyd Fawr. However you cannot see it the way I have painted it. I have used a lot of artistic licence with this one.

I like to paint buildings so that they are part of the landscape rather than dominating it and this view of the building is mostly obscured from this distance. To see the view like this I would have had to cut down a mass of overgrown hedgerows, several small trees and demolish a stone wall. I would also have had to hover about 100 feet up in the air to get the crag in this position.

I sketched the building from several angles from close quarters and the roof and chimneys from a 100 yards back (this being all I could see from that distance). I then drew a lot of thumbnail sketches to work out the positions, angles and perspective until I was happy with the composition.

Making the landscape suit your ideas is what makes painting so exciting, so don't be reluctant to change things to how you would like them to be.

This painting is from my new book Painting with Pastels, signed copies are available from the website with a DVD of the same name is also available. Save £5 on the book/dvd offer