I know this subject is rather old now, but others may find it as I did. Here's another suggestion to try. Coat the watercolor paper with Clear Gesso before painting (you can also tint it with wc). You can still apply wc wash over the Gesso-ed surface. I do several sheets at a time and put White Gesso on the back side and Clear Gesso on the front. By coating both sides I not only have a choice of surfaces (for other mediums) but it also helps eliminate buckling of the paper.
When I was first learning watercolor I ended up with many cheaper papers I can’t stand. I have a set of soft pastels but I have been anguishing over having to buy very expensive paper. So this is absolutely wonderful! Thank you!
Thanks for another enjoyable and informative video Susan. Happy belated birthday. Your birthday sounds like bliss. I love it when it rains and I am safe and dry. Makes me so grateful. I hope that birthday glow stays with you for many days.
You are not only a great artist but also a very humble person. You occasionally mention other artist and give credit with genuine appreciation. You are admirable. Thank you for your generous instruction. Happy birthdays!,
I want to thank you for your videos; I find them VERY informative and useful for my art journey. Plus I LOVE Jackson. I'm a Pug, Boston Terrier, & French Bulldog lover. Jackson is awesome!!! So is your artwork. Thanks again, Wayne
Wonderful Karen! You may also want to join our Facebook group, Monet Cafe' Art Group. There are so many artists of every level growing together and helping each other. So glad you are learning! I hope to have new videos coming soon! :) Happy Painting!
I already have been using Pastel Ground to add grit to some MiTientes paper I inherited from my mother. I'm going to try it on my watercolor paper to see if it will do the same as your gesso. Thanks for the tip.
Happiest of birthdays Susan! I've used the clear gesso on watercolor paper & I really love the soft effect it gives my pastel paintings. Thank you so much ❤ Enjoy your birthday 🎉🎉🎉🎉
Feliz cumpleaños! Me encantan tus pinturas, tienes una visión muy creativa de reunir en forma armónica toda la gama de colores brillantes trasformándolas en flores y abejas! Felicidades!
Happy Birthday Susan, love this! I primarily am a watercolor painter, so I have lots of paper! I am new to pastel,so I will be trying this!! Thanks for this tip.
I just tried you idea of using clear gesso over a watercolor under painting on watercolor paper. Wow!! I loved how that works. The surface was great to work on and being able to use a watercolor as an underpainting was a new technique for me. just had to let you know how much I appreciated the advice. In fact I appreciate all your videos. Thanks so much for taking your time to share your talent, not only as an artist but as a teacher, too.
Mary Beck .... yay!!!! I'm so glad you like the technique! I too was amazed at how well it worked when I first tried it. Keep painting and learning... it's such a fun journey!
Happy Happy Birthday! Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful talent. I am learning so much from you and thanks again for spending time with us on your Birthday! 😊
I do that with my watercolors when I mess them up. I think when I run out of pastel paper I'll only use watercolor paper, then I'll get more watercolor practice in. Thanks for showing so much about pastels. I love the paintings you do!
Happy Birthday Susan! I stumbled onto your channel a few days ago and I love your art. I have been painting with acrylics for a little over a year and I am so drawn to pastels, thank you so much for sharing your techniques. You have encouraged me to try pastels. Again, Happy Birthday !
Thank You so much for the invitation and I will join. I am currently binge watching your videos, trying to make a list of "beginner" supplies and I am having a ball, ready to get my fingers dirty. :)
I have a list of supplies, lol. I was shocked as I looked around and found a couple of Conte' Pastel boxes YAY ! I am taking my son to Tampa for a Doctor appt and will be there a couple of days.... the Hotel room will be my Pastel Studio.... I am so excited about this new art journey. Thank You Susan !!!
MsAngie I have a video where I tour the Mount vision pastel company in Tampa. You may want to pay a visit while you are here. They have some great starter sets.
I'm watching and suddenly appears your gorgeous boy, Jackson! I am a BT lover, having had one named Mickey to own me for 14 years. Just more to love along with your inspirational work and tutorials and the fact that we are sisters in Christ. Thank you, Susan.
Happy birthday and thank you for another great video! I've been applying the clear Liquitex gesso on watercolor paper for about three months now and it works really, really well!! I love it when we discover a technique that works AND saves $$. Soo funny, I'm celebrating my 50th in a couple weeks and also received a Terry Ludwig set ~ my first! Anyway, enjoy your special day.
Tina Boyle oh that's so great to hear you have been using this technique and also enjoying it! How funny that we both got Terry Ludwig pastels for our birthdays! I just turned 53 and I feel like a kid again!
So much fun to watch your videos! There is a product from Brush and Pencil that is a textured fixative made for colored pencils which I tried the other day with pastels and it put more of a texture on the paper than a regular fixative does. Now, the disclaimer is that I am a pastel beginner, so someone who actually knows what they are doing may not like it at all, but for someone (me) who is still filling the tooth of her paper too much and trying to salvage messes it works really well ;-) Happy happy birthday! A set of Terry Ludwigs - what a good hubby!!
Gretchen Dawson .... that is good to know!!! I'll check it out! I know what you mean about first starting pastels. I overworked LOTS of pastel surfaces trying to figure it out! Please feel free to ask any questions and I'll be happy to help 💜❤️👍🏻👍🏻👌🏻
Wow you are so clever, I have just purchased some soft pastel (by accident!) and pastel paper is so expensive in Australia so your tip is fantastic, I will give it a go. Thank you so much for sharing. Marie B
Wow, thank you so much! I am absolutely new to pastels(received some for Christmas and have not used them yet) but have lots of watercolour paper to use :)
Hi Susan, I was given a set of pastels and never worked with them. I work with watercolors. I have previously just gessoed my watercolor paper and worked with watercolors and got a nice effect. Since I don't have the clear gesso I think I will attempt going over my watercolor with the pastels and see what it does. I love to experiment and this should be fun. I'm glad I found you and I am looking forward to a neat experience.
A Murphy ... wonderful! Experimenting is so fun! If you want to learn more about pastels you should find our group on Facebook... Monet Café Art Group. Keep having fun!!
I always leave a border so that there's something to hold onto without disturbing pastel and it's easier for buyers to handle purchased artwork. Love your art, Susan! Could you upload higher resolution videos? Thank you, and Happy Birthday!
Sour_Cherry thank you so much for you comment! 💜 I have a higher resolution camera, that I've used in the past but the videos take so long to load. I'll see what I can do though. I'd love to have the quality better. Happy Painting!!!
watched this again! I have had a super lot going on- not much time for arting. I hope to start a new painting in the next day or so. Just so tapped out! Love from California!
I love my Golden Pastel Ground. I also mix different pigments in it so I can have my personalized tonal paper. I have some UArt and Ampersand. However, I use them for more serious pieces. I love a good Arches rag. I have also used sandpaper believe it or not I have even painted some pieces on sandpaper..LMAO...it actually turned quite beautiful! Thanks for sharing your time with us all.
LeyLey41 wonderful info. I also love Golden pastel ground but I have never toned it. And I’ll have to try that Arches rag👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 I too have painted on hardware store sandpaper and liked the results. I actually think I have a few videos on here of those paintings. Thanks for your great comment and happy painting.
Happy Birthday Susan! This is so sweet of you to share your special day with all of us. I think we must be connected in some way as I to have been playing with water color as an underpainting and thought I would try applying Golden Clear Pumice Gel but I think your gesso idea is far better. Just a suggestion as I was having the same problem with my TL pastels and Rita Kirkman showed me how to score them on all 4 sides and break a small piece off.
Carol Ferguson thank you sweetheart! And I love that suggestion about scoring the pastels to get a smaller section. I love how we're all learning together! It's like one big happy artistic family!
Nice!!!! Give it a try and feel free to join our Facebook group for Monet Cafe' so you can show us your creations. :) Here is the link: facebook.com/groups/136358116934431/
Monet Cafe' with Artist Susan Jenkins ok will do! I usually have been paint watercolours for the last 2 years ears but have only started soft pastels and have fallen in love with the medium
Awwww..... Thanks Annette! That makes my heart so happy! So neat to see so many subscribers from all over the world! I would LOVE to visit Ireland one day!!
Wow! That was amazing! Just discovered your channel and love, love, love it. Thanks for sharing all your ideas and experience! And happy belated....or is it really early birthday for this year. :)
I don't get much darkening at all from Krylon Fine Art fixative fir pastels , it is smelly stuff though , but it also can be used as a working and final permanent fixative. Winks Lisa
I can no way at this point do a bee like that without a pastel pencil, I couldn't see through my hand! Wonderful job!!! I hope to grow and be able to paint as you do! I use Krylon Workable Fixatiff spray- I wonder if there is any difference in the darkening...
Thank you for doing many videos on homemade grounds! Would be interested if you could make your own pumice gel with pumice powder and either matte gel medium or clear gesso... Hmmmm. Might have to play!
Amaya Sinenomine ... Yes! I used to have a recipe using pumice powder to make my own concoction to apply to various surfaces. Now I’ve got to experiment to try this again. Thanks for the reminder 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻💜
@@monetcafe No no, thank YOU for making these videos! I did a ton of research after watching your master budget breakdown, and I've decided I'll probably go with clear gesso + pumice for the summer (learning Plein Air). Using Baltic Birch MDF board that I moisture seal first :) that way it's sturdy and ready to go out the gate, no tape needed, etc... But if the painting doesn't work out, I just wash the board and start fresh :) makes it much less daunting!
Happy Birthday ! Popped into your head , maybe , because I wrote about it in your comments lol You can also mix the clear gesso with the Golden Acrylic Ground for Pastels and then spread it on your blank / white water color paper , makes a really nice white fine grit surface. Works great with the smooth hot press papers. I never tried water colors. You can stretch the water color paper then it won't buckle. Nice videos. Winks Lisa
Hi Sue thank you so much for your videos so informative & real fun to watch. I am a beginner and feel your techniques are so helpful as I love impressionist pastel art work, especially yours!
Oh that is so wonderful Kathy! People like you are exactly why I made this channel. Actually, I should say people like me too, because this is the way that I learned all I know about pastels...... watching videos and learning from other artists online. :) Feel free to join our FB group for Monet Cafe' if you like. Lots of different levels of artists and everyone is so friendly to encourage and share. :) facebook.com/groups/136358116934431/
I was so excited when a banner came across my iPad you had posted! Happy Birthday 🎊🎉🎂 while you were painting you had picked up and started using a color that literally took my breathe away. I'm very new to pastels. But I started my endives by buying a set with panpastels instead of sticks. So trying to use them instead and it was a bit of an expense so I appreciate the watercolor paper and gesso. Especially while I'm trying this new medium Thanks so much you sharing and giving instruction on how to become a little better each day. God bless 😊
Blesdbigod 7 ..... I love your screen name and I too am very blessed by our amazing God! I have a set of pan pastels that I have used and it's a good way to get more familiar with the medium. I have seen some beautiful results with them. Keep learning, but also having fun!!! I hope to have my Monet Café Facebook page ready soon so others (like you) can share their work and get helpful tips. Happy Painting!!!!
Blesdbigod 7 This technique will be too rough on the tools you have to use for panpastels. Art Spectrum makes a new paper called Smooth that is meant to work with them though a bit expensive. Great thing about PanPastels though is they can work on more surfaces than regular soft pastels. Try doing some tests on some paper, watercolor or printmaking or non-sanded pastel papers and see which one you like.
Happy Birthday, Susan. I love your tutorials. Have you tried any iridescent pastels? I've been wondering about them. I hope you enjoy your new pastels (I have not tried Terry Ludwig pastels, as I live in Australia) I always love a new box of pastels........just getting everyone to believe there's no such thing as too many pastels is the tricky thing! Kind regards, Jane Chorlton.
Mark Chorlton .... I haven't tried iridescent pastels, but I have really been wanting to! I've seen them used by other artists and I think they would add a neat little punch to certain paintings. I know what you mean about getting a new box of pastels. There is just something about those beautiful new colors just waiting to be played with! A friend of mine just went to Australia and said it was one of the most beautiful places he had ever been to in his life. How blessed you are to have so much reference material! I hope to have my Monet café Facebook page available soon so that other artists can share their work. I would love to see some of your creations as well! Happy painting!
How fun! It cheered me up a little 😊 Daisies are so happy and friendly! The bees are hard to do but came out good. Used watercolor paper and clear gesso. Yahhh! It worked great! Thanks Will check out the Facebook page 💗
I never used Blair but I find Spectrafix is great because it doesn't darken the pastels at all, only when you first apply it. It dries and the color returns. And no odor.
Good observation, I often don’t blend my pastels but let them blend themselves. I think the color looks more vibrant and fresh. Thanks so much for your comment
Hi. I love this demo as I have a LOT of watercolor paper but want to get into pastels. I love those Terry Ludwig pastels but was wondering -- do you break them in half to work with them, or try to use them whole?
Jim Kroyer awesome... and I actually do both. I have some Terry Ludwigs that I break in half and others I leave whole. Even though they seem large it’s amazing how you can learn to apply just the right marks with practice 👍🏻☺️💜
IDEA...I haven't tried this myself, but seeing you are using clear gesso would it be doable to do a quick wash with food coloring to color the paper?....it could work to help give your work that lovely glow.... I saw an article in a book I read about a lady who does whole paintings with food coloring and she said that there was no fading even after 2 years, so that makes me think it might be useful to you. I am a watercolorist (but still am learning from your lovely tutorials) I did some painting with food coloring a couple of years ago and they are still good, so that makes me think it could be good for y'all. Marylin
Happy Belated Birthday my friend! You and your TH-cam channel are such blessings. I actually added the same clear gesso to Canson MT paper, smooth side, and loved it. Was a bit worried about the warping so I stretched it with blue painter's tape which I use to border my paintings. Loved the sanded surface and layers I was able to accomplish and it is a lot more affordable than purchasing presanded paper and boards. Although for certain uses, the presanded options are still my favorite. Have you tried acrylic inks as underpaintings and for mixed media paintings with soft pastels?
Becky Carey .... hey there my sweet sister! So glad you are experimenting too! 💜💜💜 I have tried the acrylic inks, but just a time or too. Can't wait to do more. You should join our"Monet Café" group on FB. It's a closed group, but you of course will be accepted 😉😉😉😘😘💜
Monet Cafe' with Artist Susan Jenkins I will join your FB group but I have to let you know that I am not on FB much, I find it too distracting and before I know it precious time is stolen from my day😉
!!Susan!! I have just now discovered you and your beautiful art! Thank you so much for creating this wonderful channel and sharing with us your tips, tricks and techniques. I have only just started learning how to create with pastels, having only about 3 months under my belt learning watercolor. So I was deeply emersed in this video and absorbed in your instruction. You have given me inspiration and, more importantly, the confidence to give this a try! So again, thank you Susan, you are such a blessing in ways that you do not even know.
Happy Birthday, great husband 👋 Jackson. Oh, how beautiful. Have Strathmore pre cut 5x7 WC paper. Will try. Blair is a little expensive but worth it on my lust. Excited for your Terry Ludwig plein air, think you pronounced correctly. Happy Birthday. Cannot tell if this is video is older 😳 but I love it and look for your tutorials. Again happy birthday 🌺😀
Susan, I have already viewed your videos and learned through another pastel artist my "pastel" paper was all WRONG. I have tried Uart sanded paper and what a difference!!! With that in mind I have NEVER done watercolor I do oil as well and which watercolor paper do you like to use and is there much of a difference in watercolor paper. I am so THRILLED I found you and trying pastels I already love it -thanks to your videos!!!
Hello Susan, I know this is an old video. I'm new to soft pastels and doing some research on budget friendly surfaces. I love working on watercolor sketchbooks, so I was wondering if I can coat the pages with pastel ground and work on the pages as normal, seal them with fixativ when done. I ask this cause I've seen artists who use Moleskines for oil painting, so the paper should be strong enough to take multiple layers. Thank you!!!
Yes, you can coat watercolor paper with pastel ground or even Clear Gesso like I’ve done here. I wouldn’t recommend spraying fixative at the end of a pastel painting because it darkens the final piece. I protect my finished paintings by keeping them in clear plastic bags that I get from www.clearbags.com. It keeps the paintings fresh and safe until framing.
Karin dogs that's a great question because it would appear that it gets totally covered up. I used to wonder the same thing when I would see artists do an under painting and then start immediately covering it. For me it has more to do with getting an initial layout for the composition and a general color palette. Sometimes I leave more of the underpainting peeking through. I like doing and underpainting in watercolor because it has a soft and dreamy effect, and I am able to keep the luminous quality. Hope that helps and happy painting!
Pastel paper is hard to come by in my area and this has been a very great tip. Thank you! Btw, what's the title of the music? Really nice. I always enjoy watching your videos. I learn so much.
this is the answer for my biggest difficulty with pastels...money to buy paper...thanks for sharing! Your birthday my present😉
Plein air means you're outside . Thank you for this beautiful video. You're a source of inspiration. Merci !
Wow, thank you.... good to know :)
I know this subject is rather old now, but others may find it as I did. Here's another suggestion to try. Coat the watercolor paper with Clear Gesso before painting (you can also tint it with wc). You can still apply wc wash over the Gesso-ed surface. I do several sheets at a time and put White Gesso on the back side and Clear Gesso on the front. By coating both sides I not only have a choice of surfaces (for other mediums) but it also helps eliminate buckling of the paper.
Those are great suggestions! I just love finding new economical ways to make our own surfaces! Thanks so much!
Good idea, thank you!
Excellent tip!
Very Nice Painting. I love the use of purples....so pretty. Thank you again for sharing your talent.
What an authoritative, informative and knowledgeable teacher! I am HOOKED! Thank you.
When I was first learning watercolor I ended up with many cheaper papers I can’t stand. I have a set of soft pastels but I have been anguishing over having to buy very expensive paper. So this is absolutely wonderful! Thank you!
thank you so much for your excellent tutorials and generous tips. you write it Plein air happy birthday
I love learning that I can use clear gesso over watercolor! And also the idea of panting more than just a solid background. Thank you.
Your work is GORGEOUS! I love your pallet! :) So soothing...
Thanks for another enjoyable and informative video Susan. Happy belated birthday. Your birthday sounds like bliss. I love it when it rains and I am safe and dry. Makes me so grateful. I hope that birthday glow stays with you for many days.
I'm loving your style and techniques! Thanks for sharing your talents and gifts!
What a beautiful painterly piece of work. Thanks for sharing!
You are not only a great artist but also a very humble person. You occasionally mention other artist and give credit with genuine appreciation. You are admirable. Thank you for your generous instruction. Happy birthdays!,
jeannie park .... oh sweetheart thank you so much for that beautiful comment. I can't help but stay humble when I have been blessed so much! 🙌🏻🙌🏻💜💜🤗
Happy belated birthday Susan !! And yes, that is a brilliant idea to apply gesso on watercolour paper. Thank you for the tip !
I really love your tutorials. Thank you for teaching and sharing supplies to use.
Thank you! It's beautiful!
I want to thank you for your videos; I find them VERY informative and useful for my art journey. Plus I LOVE Jackson. I'm a Pug, Boston Terrier, & French Bulldog lover. Jackson is awesome!!! So is your artwork. Thanks again, Wayne
Oh that's wonderful! So glad the videos are helping you. I too love Pugs & Frenchies.
Happy birthday Susan. And thank you for another great tutorial.
Amazing! Loved.
I have enjoyed watching these so much. I have been painting oil for about 7 years and decided to try some pastels.... I am learning from you....
Wonderful Karen! You may also want to join our Facebook group, Monet Cafe' Art Group. There are so many artists of every level growing together and helping each other. So glad you are learning! I hope to have new videos coming soon! :) Happy Painting!
Great idea! Now I can use those pastels I have been saving. I love Margulis' work too. You are an inspiration.
I already have been using Pastel Ground to add grit to some MiTientes paper I inherited from my mother. I'm going to try it on my watercolor paper to see if it will do the same as your gesso. Thanks for the tip.
So gorgeous!!
Happiest of birthdays Susan! I've used the clear gesso on watercolor paper & I really love the soft effect it gives my pastel paintings. Thank you so much ❤ Enjoy your birthday 🎉🎉🎉🎉
Feliz cumpleaños! Me encantan tus pinturas, tienes una visión muy creativa de reunir en forma armónica toda la gama de colores brillantes trasformándolas en flores y abejas! Felicidades!
Happy Birthday Susan, love this! I primarily am a watercolor painter, so I have lots of paper! I am new to pastel,so I will be trying this!! Thanks for this tip.
You should try. Don't be afraid to apply all techniques learned in watercolour now of pastels.
Happy Birthday. Love your videos. Thanks for sharing .
I just tried you idea of using clear gesso over a watercolor under painting on watercolor paper. Wow!! I loved how that works. The surface was great to work on and being able to use a watercolor as an underpainting was a new technique for me. just had to let you know how much I appreciated the advice. In fact I appreciate all your videos. Thanks so much for taking your time to share your talent, not only as an artist but as a teacher, too.
Mary Beck .... yay!!!! I'm so glad you like the technique! I too was amazed at how well it worked when I first tried it. Keep painting and learning... it's such a fun journey!
Beautiful painting👍🎨
This is beautiful! I love your color choices. Makes me want to buy some pastels!
Happy Happy Birthday! Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful talent. I am learning so much from you and thanks again for spending time with us on your Birthday! 😊
I do that with my watercolors when I mess them up. I think when I run out of pastel paper I'll only use watercolor paper, then I'll get more watercolor practice in. Thanks for showing so much about pastels. I love the paintings you do!
Happy Birthday Susan! I stumbled onto your channel a few days ago and I love your art. I have been painting with acrylics for a little over a year and I am so drawn to pastels, thank you so much for sharing your techniques. You have encouraged me to try pastels. Again, Happy Birthday !
MsAngie wonderful!!! You should join our Facebook group. It’s called “Monet Café Art Group”.
Thank You so much for the invitation and I will join. I am currently binge watching your videos, trying to make a list of "beginner" supplies and I am having a ball, ready to get my fingers dirty. :)
MsAngie YAY!!! You are going to have a blast! It’s addicting and everyone in our group is so helpful 💜💜
I have a list of supplies, lol. I was shocked as I looked around and found a couple of Conte' Pastel boxes YAY ! I am taking my son to Tampa for a Doctor appt and will be there a couple of days.... the Hotel room will be my Pastel Studio.... I am so excited about this new art journey. Thank You Susan !!!
MsAngie I have a video where I tour the Mount vision pastel company in Tampa. You may want to pay a visit while you are here. They have some great starter sets.
Happy birthday, Susan! I loved your demo with the daisies and the bees! Looking forward to your Facebook page.
Lovely - great ideas!!
Happy Birthday! Thanks for your gift to us. God bless.
this is so good im gonna try it tmr and hope to get a great result thank you so much
I'm watching and suddenly appears your gorgeous boy, Jackson! I am a BT lover, having had one named Mickey to own me for 14 years. Just more to love along with your inspirational work and tutorials and the fact that we are sisters in Christ. Thank you, Susan.
Thank you SO MUCH for all the inspiration you give! Just found your channel.....love it!
Happy birthday and thank you for another great video! I've been applying the clear Liquitex gesso on watercolor paper for about three months now and it works really, really well!! I love it when we discover a technique that works AND saves $$. Soo funny, I'm celebrating my 50th in a couple weeks and also received a Terry Ludwig set ~ my first! Anyway, enjoy your special day.
Tina Boyle oh that's so great to hear you have been using this technique and also enjoying it! How funny that we both got Terry Ludwig pastels for our birthdays! I just turned 53 and I feel like a kid again!
So much fun to watch your videos! There is a product from Brush and Pencil that is a textured fixative made for colored pencils which I tried the other day with pastels and it put more of a texture on the paper than a regular fixative does. Now, the disclaimer is that I am a pastel beginner, so someone who actually knows what they are doing may not like it at all, but for someone (me) who is still filling the tooth of her paper too much and trying to salvage messes it works really well ;-)
Happy happy birthday! A set of Terry Ludwigs - what a good hubby!!
Gretchen Dawson .... that is good to know!!! I'll check it out! I know what you mean about first starting pastels. I overworked LOTS of pastel surfaces trying to figure it out! Please feel free to ask any questions and I'll be happy to help 💜❤️👍🏻👍🏻👌🏻
Wow you are so clever, I have just purchased some soft pastel (by accident!) and pastel paper is so expensive in Australia so your tip is fantastic, I will give it a go. Thank you so much for sharing. Marie B
Obrigada pelo encinamento
Wow, thank you so much! I am absolutely new to pastels(received some for Christmas and have not used them yet) but have lots of watercolour paper to use :)
Beautiful and great technique. Thanks for sharing.
thank you for your video .awesome when people help others
Hi Susan, I was given a set of pastels and never worked with them. I work with watercolors. I have previously just gessoed my watercolor paper and worked with watercolors and got a nice effect. Since I don't have the clear gesso I think I will attempt going over my watercolor with the pastels and see what it does. I love to experiment and this should be fun. I'm glad I found you and I am looking forward to a neat experience.
A Murphy ... wonderful! Experimenting is so fun! If you want to learn more about pastels you should find our group on Facebook... Monet Café Art Group. Keep having fun!!
Happy Birthday! Just found your channel. I live in Lakeland Florida. Gorgeous picture!!!
Love this! How beautiful.
Happy Birthday thank you for the demo on watercolor paper for use in pastel work ...I also love terry's pastels.. wish i could aford more.
Bravissima, molto bello! Fresco solare - trasmette gioia. Complimenti, vedo con piacere i tuoi lavori.
I always leave a border so that there's something to hold onto without disturbing pastel and it's easier for buyers to handle purchased artwork. Love your art, Susan! Could you upload higher resolution videos? Thank you, and Happy Birthday!
Sour_Cherry thank you so much for you comment! 💜
I have a higher resolution camera, that I've used in the past but the videos take so long to load. I'll see what I can do though. I'd love to have the quality better. Happy Painting!!!
Second bee is perfect!
This is awesome! So magical and beautiful! Really, really nice! Keep posting! I'm your new subscriber! Wish you best! Hello from North Macedonia ❤️!
Wonderful! So glad you liked it Vladica!
I wish i could see the reference photo while you are working. That is so helpful! Thank you.
I love your work so much. It speaks to my heart. New sub.
cshula1 you blessed me with your comment 💜💜
Happy birthday! Excellent tutorial and great idea about having a Facebook page.
watched this again! I have had a super lot going on- not much time for arting. I hope to start a new painting in the next day or so. Just so tapped out! Love from California!
Yes, I totally get that. My real life keeps getting in the way of my art! LOL! Enjoy your creative moments when you can sweetheart!
I love my Golden Pastel Ground. I also mix different pigments in it so I can have my personalized tonal paper. I have some UArt and Ampersand. However, I use them for more serious pieces. I love a good Arches rag. I have also used sandpaper believe it or not I have even painted some pieces on sandpaper..LMAO...it actually turned quite beautiful! Thanks for sharing your time with us all.
LeyLey41 wonderful info. I also love Golden pastel ground but I have never toned it. And I’ll have to try that Arches rag👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I too have painted on hardware store sandpaper and liked the results. I actually think I have a few videos on here of those paintings. Thanks for your great comment and happy painting.
Beautiful and a great idea!!!
Happy Birthday. Mine is June 4. Another Gemini person. They have the best personality. Love your tips.
Happy Birthday Susan! This is so sweet of you to share your special day with all of us. I think we must be connected in some way as I to have been playing with water color as an underpainting and thought I would try applying Golden Clear Pumice Gel but I think your gesso idea is far better. Just a suggestion as I was having the same problem with my TL pastels and Rita Kirkman showed me how to score them on all 4 sides and break a small piece off.
Carol Ferguson thank you sweetheart! And I love that suggestion about scoring the pastels to get a smaller section. I love how we're all learning together! It's like one big happy artistic family!
fantastic idea! I was thinking about this today with some water colour paper in my hands
Nice!!!! Give it a try and feel free to join our Facebook group for Monet Cafe' so you can show us your creations. :) Here is the link:
facebook.com/groups/136358116934431/
Monet Cafe' with Artist Susan Jenkins ok will do! I usually have been paint watercolours for the last 2 years ears but have only started soft pastels and have fallen in love with the medium
Loved loved loved it thank you so much. Also love your voice. Annette from Ireland 🇨🇮
Awwww..... Thanks Annette! That makes my heart so happy! So neat to see so many subscribers from all over the world! I would LOVE to visit Ireland one day!!
Happy birthday! I really enjoy your videos! I look forward to hearing more about your Facebook Page!
Happy birthday ! 🥳
Wow! That was amazing! Just discovered your channel and love, love, love it. Thanks for sharing all your ideas and experience! And happy belated....or is it really early birthday for this year. :)
Very helpful.
Beautiful!!!
I don't get much darkening at all from Krylon Fine Art fixative fir pastels , it is smelly stuff though , but it also can be used as a working and final permanent fixative.
Winks
Lisa
I can no way at this point do a bee like that without a pastel pencil, I couldn't see through my hand! Wonderful job!!! I hope to grow and be able to paint as you do! I use Krylon Workable Fixatiff spray- I wonder if there is any difference in the darkening...
Thank you for doing many videos on homemade grounds! Would be interested if you could make your own pumice gel with pumice powder and either matte gel medium or clear gesso... Hmmmm. Might have to play!
Amaya Sinenomine ... Yes! I used to have a recipe using pumice powder to make my own concoction to apply to various surfaces. Now I’ve got to experiment to try this again. Thanks for the reminder 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻💜
@@monetcafe No no, thank YOU for making these videos! I did a ton of research after watching your master budget breakdown, and I've decided I'll probably go with clear gesso + pumice for the summer (learning Plein Air). Using Baltic Birch MDF board that I moisture seal first :) that way it's sturdy and ready to go out the gate, no tape needed, etc... But if the painting doesn't work out, I just wash the board and start fresh :) makes it much less daunting!
Happy Birthday !
Popped into your head , maybe , because I wrote about it in your comments lol
You can also mix the clear gesso with the Golden Acrylic Ground for Pastels and then spread it on your blank / white water color paper , makes a really nice white fine grit surface.
Works great with the smooth hot press papers.
I never tried water colors.
You can stretch the water color paper then it won't buckle.
Nice videos.
Winks
Lisa
Hi Sue thank you so much for your videos so informative & real fun to watch. I am a beginner and feel your techniques are so helpful as I love impressionist pastel art work, especially yours!
Oh that is so wonderful Kathy! People like you are exactly why I made this channel. Actually, I should say people like me too, because this is the way that I learned all I know about pastels...... watching videos and learning from other artists online. :)
Feel free to join our FB group for Monet Cafe' if you like. Lots of different levels of artists and everyone is so friendly to encourage and share. :)
facebook.com/groups/136358116934431/
Wow, this is gorgeous! I have a ginormous bottle of *white* gesso😩.
Cheers😊 and be happy
I was so excited when a banner came across my iPad you had posted! Happy Birthday 🎊🎉🎂 while you were painting you had picked up and started using a color that literally took my breathe away. I'm very new to pastels. But I started my endives by buying a set with panpastels instead of sticks. So trying to use them instead and it was a bit of an expense so I appreciate the watercolor paper and gesso. Especially while I'm trying this new medium Thanks so much you sharing and giving instruction on how to become a little better each day. God bless 😊
Blesdbigod 7 ..... I love your screen name and I too am very blessed by our amazing God!
I have a set of pan pastels that I have used and it's a good way to get more familiar with the medium. I have seen some beautiful results with them.
Keep learning, but also having fun!!! I hope to have my Monet Café Facebook page ready soon so others (like you) can share their work and get helpful tips. Happy Painting!!!!
Blesdbigod 7 This technique will be too rough on the tools you have to use for panpastels. Art Spectrum makes a new paper called Smooth that is meant to work with them though a bit expensive. Great thing about PanPastels though is they can work on more surfaces than regular soft pastels. Try doing some tests on some paper, watercolor or printmaking or non-sanded pastel papers and see which one you like.
Happy Birthday, Susan. I love your tutorials. Have you tried any iridescent pastels? I've been wondering about them. I hope you enjoy your new pastels (I have not tried Terry Ludwig pastels, as I live in Australia) I always love a new box of pastels........just getting everyone to believe there's no such thing as too many pastels is the tricky thing! Kind regards, Jane Chorlton.
Mark Chorlton .... I haven't tried iridescent pastels, but I have really been wanting to! I've seen them used by other artists and I think they would add a neat little punch to certain paintings. I know what you mean about getting a new box of pastels. There is just something about those beautiful new colors just waiting to be played with!
A friend of mine just went to Australia and said it was one of the most beautiful places he had ever been to in his life. How blessed you are to have so much reference material! I hope to have my Monet café Facebook page available soon so that other artists can share their work. I would love to see some of your creations as well! Happy painting!
Happy Birthday 👍
Your painting is perfect and beaitiful👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍👍👍👍👍👍👍🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Sara Rosa YAY!! So glad you liked it!
your bee is awesome!
How fun! It cheered me up a little 😊 Daisies are so happy and friendly! The bees are hard to do but came out good.
Used watercolor paper and clear gesso. Yahhh! It worked great! Thanks
Will check out the Facebook page 💗
Happy Birthday!
Well done!
thank you so much.think thats a great idea
I never used Blair but I find Spectrafix is great because it doesn't darken the pastels at all, only when you first apply it. It dries and the color returns. And no odor.
Awesome, thanks and I’ve got to try it!
@@monetcafe great 👍
Thank you.
Love this!!! I noticed you didn’t blend?
Good observation, I often don’t blend my pastels but let them blend themselves. I think the color looks more vibrant and fresh. Thanks so much for your comment
Hi. I love this demo as I have a LOT of watercolor paper but want to get into pastels. I love those Terry Ludwig pastels but was wondering -- do you break them in half to work with them, or try to use them whole?
Jim Kroyer awesome... and I actually do both. I have some Terry Ludwigs that I break in half and others I leave whole. Even though they seem large it’s amazing how you can learn to apply just the right marks with practice 👍🏻☺️💜
IDEA...I haven't tried this myself, but seeing you are using clear gesso would it be doable to do a quick wash with food coloring to color the paper?....it could work to help give your work that lovely glow.... I saw an article in a book I read about a lady who does whole paintings with food coloring and she said that there was no fading even after 2 years, so that makes me think it might be useful to you. I am a watercolorist (but still am learning from your lovely tutorials) I did some painting with food coloring a couple of years ago and they are still good, so that makes me think it could be good for y'all. Marylin
David Smith what a great idea!! I love experimenting! I'll have to try! Thank you!
Hi! Happy Birthday! Your are art enticing! They do look like Monet's art!
Oh thank you so much :) That was a great compliment.
Happy Belated Birthday my friend! You and your TH-cam channel are such blessings. I actually added the same clear gesso to Canson MT paper, smooth side, and loved it. Was a bit worried about the warping so I stretched it with blue painter's tape which I use to border my paintings. Loved the sanded surface and layers I was able to accomplish and it is a lot more affordable than purchasing presanded paper and boards. Although for certain uses, the presanded options are still my favorite.
Have you tried acrylic inks as underpaintings and for mixed media paintings with soft pastels?
Becky Carey .... hey there my sweet sister! So glad you are experimenting too! 💜💜💜
I have tried the acrylic inks, but just a time or too. Can't wait to do more.
You should join our"Monet Café" group on FB. It's a closed group, but you of course will be accepted 😉😉😉😘😘💜
Monet Cafe' with Artist Susan Jenkins I will join your FB group but I have to let you know that I am not on FB much, I find it too distracting and before I know it precious time is stolen from my day😉
Herrlich und super schön. Liebe Grüße von Maria
!!Susan!! I have just now discovered you and your beautiful art! Thank you so much for creating this wonderful channel and sharing with us your tips, tricks and techniques. I have only just started learning how to create with pastels, having only about 3 months under my belt learning watercolor. So I was deeply emersed in this video and absorbed in your instruction. You have given me inspiration and, more importantly, the confidence to give this a try! So again, thank you Susan, you are such a blessing in ways that you do not even know.
Happy Birthday, great husband 👋 Jackson. Oh, how beautiful. Have Strathmore pre cut 5x7 WC paper. Will try. Blair is a little expensive but worth it on my lust. Excited for your Terry Ludwig plein air, think you pronounced correctly. Happy Birthday. Cannot tell if this is video is older 😳 but I love it and look for your tutorials. Again happy birthday 🌺😀
Susan, I have already viewed your videos and learned through another pastel artist my "pastel" paper was all WRONG. I have tried Uart sanded paper and what a difference!!! With that in mind I have NEVER done watercolor I do oil as well and which watercolor paper do you like to use and is there much of a difference in watercolor paper.
I am so THRILLED I found you and trying pastels I already love it -thanks to your videos!!!
Hello Susan, I know this is an old video. I'm new to soft pastels and doing some research on budget friendly surfaces. I love working on watercolor sketchbooks, so I was wondering if I can coat the pages with pastel ground and work on the pages as normal, seal them with fixativ when done. I ask this cause I've seen artists who use Moleskines for oil painting, so the paper should be strong enough to take multiple layers. Thank you!!!
Yes, you can coat watercolor paper with pastel ground or even Clear Gesso like I’ve done here. I wouldn’t recommend spraying fixative at the end of a pastel painting because it darkens the final piece. I protect my finished paintings by keeping them in clear plastic bags that I get from www.clearbags.com. It keeps the paintings fresh and safe until framing.
Happy Birthday! please tell me why you do the watercolor underneath ?
Karin dogs that's a great question because it would appear that it gets totally covered up. I used to wonder the same thing when I would see artists do an under painting and then start immediately covering it. For me it has more to do with getting an initial layout for the composition and a general color palette. Sometimes I leave more of the underpainting peeking through. I like doing and underpainting in watercolor because it has a soft and dreamy effect, and I am able to keep the luminous quality.
Hope that helps and happy painting!
Pastel paper is hard to come by in my area and this has been a very great tip. Thank you! Btw, what's the title of the music? Really nice. I always enjoy watching your videos. I learn so much.
Hi Susan, love your art work.
My question is did you ever spray water instead of spray Fixative?
Could you use gesso first then a light watercolor and then pastels?
Hmm.... I haven't tried that. It should work though as long as you don't have a real drippy watercolor application. ;)