"Into the Mist" is a 9 x 12 in. pastel painting and the 30th daily painting of September 2017. I did this painting only using the Jack Richeson soft handmade landscape pastels on the Richeson paper. This was my experience with this product.

I won a $100 Jack Richeson certificate in a plein air event. I asked the company for the largest set of their half stick soft handmade pastels that I could get for that price. They sent a 46 set of landscape pastels and an introductory set with a sample of their three types of pastels from hard to very soft. They graciously added some paper and a panel.

I decided to do a painting only using these materials. The paper is their "clay" color and it has a white edge around the 9 x 12 in. surface so I could use the edge to tape the paper to foam core. Of course, when you are done, you might have to cut the edge off before framing. The paper has an even tooth but it is very coarse.

The value on a scale of 1-10 is between a 7 and an 8 so I knew that I didn't have to go much darker than this. Most of my pastel application would be lighter. I thought this would be a nice color under a landscape with a lot of greens and blues.

Here is my photo reference. I picked something that was familiar to me. Then I started to put down pastel in the major shapes.

The paper is supposed to take liquids so I started by using water in the sky and distant shapes. I was very surprised that it was difficult to dissolve the pastel. The pastel was an unusual texture, sort of gummy when water was added. And, it was not easy to spread.

Maybe there is something peculiar to the light pastels. So, on a test sheet of UART paper I put some dark colors and added water. The pastel almost felt water resistant at first. With persistence and pressure I got some of it to dissolve but it did not move evenly on the surface. I have never experienced this before.

So, I took a risk with the other shapes and used 70% rubbing alcohol. This worked nicely. The paper could take the alcohol and the pastel dissolved. This is a picture of the wet under-painting and a closeup after it dried. I was very pleased that the paper did not buckle with liquids. I like some of the red paper color showing through.

Now that the background is fixed, I added the main shape of the tree that is the closest. I used alcohol again to liquefy the pastel.

When the surface was dry, I started to develop the shapes by adding pastel working from dark to light.

I continued to refine the major shapes adjusting by comparing value and temperature. I found that a foam brush or fan brush could easily remove enough pastel to make adjustments.

Almost done. My gloved or ungloved finger was not helpful to blend small areas. I had to use a tool like a foam pad or a rubber shaper. Before I could blend even an edge, I had to lay down a lot of pastel.

And done. I was pleased with the outcome. I was able to cover the paper color in the sky where I did not want texture but it took a lot of pastel to cover this dark color. I was able to keep the paper color and texture for the middle ground and foreground where I wanted it.

Summary

I found the Richeson pastels to be rich in color and very soft but not fragile. The landscape set had a nice selection of colors for my part of the country, the Midwest United States. The paper was durable and did not buckle but pastel does not physically blend with ease. If you are a blender you might not like it. The paper does accept a lot of layers of pastel for optical blending. The Richeson company also carries other paper colors. Remember, this paper is coarse. If you like a fine tooth, you might not like this surface. Other than the problem with adding water, I was pleased with the pastels and paper. I would recommend it.

Sue and Suzy, the artist with a split personality

How do I paint 30 paintings in 30 days? Preparation and organization is key but it is not very different than the system required to be a working artist.

A working artist should always have the materials necessary to paint: papers, canvases, pastels, paints, etc. Keep an on-going shopping list. When you run out of something, put it on the list for your next trip to the store.

An artist should also have the materials necessary for shipping art. Organization requires an easy way to photograph your work,  a computer program to adjust the photographs to accurately represent your art, a place for storing work, an inventory, and browser book marks to quickly post the art on your website, social media and Pinterest.

Thirty paintings in thirty days requires a little more planning in certain areas. The first is to have several ideas for painting so that you can start each day with a plan. I look through photos on my computer and some that I have in boxes. Books and magazines are inspirational. I have an "idea" table. Some plein air painting was also in the plan.

The next thing is to organize your studio so that you can have several things in progress. This is particularly important when you have to allow for drying time. Since I was working in pastel, oil, and acrylic, I had different "stations" for each medium as well as a drying area for wet canvases.

Now that I have some ideas for paintings, I prepared some papers and canvases before the start date. Here are some canvases with black gesso and others with acrylic paint, pastes and pumice. This is important because of the time required for drying. I also cut some pastel paper and taped it to a board. The first time I painted 30 paintings in 30 days, I kept the paintings very small like 5 x 7 in. Now, I am painting faster so I can prepare for larger pieces.

Finally, I would recommend that you have a couple of completed paintings before the start date. That is not cheating. It is just planning ahead. This allows you to relax and enjoy the process because the pressure is off. Let's face it. Life can get in the way. If you miss a day, the earth will not stop rotating on its axis. It is not the end of the world.

I hope this is helpful and I encourage all artists to give it a try. It keeps you disciplined and in the studio. It is a lot of fun and a good time to experiment. Ready? Get set. Go!

Sue and Suzy, the artist with the split personality.

www.sueflanagan.com

I am finding that pouring acrylic paint is fun and a good way to start an abstract painting.

My first experiments were on 5 x 5 in. canvases. Then I went to 10 x 10 in. The drip off was easy to contain on freezer paper or by using aluminum foil roasting pans. However, I wanted to move on to 16 x 20 in. and 18 x24 in. paintings. Now what can I do to contain a huge mess?

I went to large hardware stores and nurseries thinking I would find something that would work. The closest I came was to buy a plastic swimming pool but I couldn't get that in my car. It was a little overkill anyway.

After a couple of hours, I almost went home but decided to stop at a small ACE Hardware store. I wandered up and down every aisle trying to stay open minded to possibilities. I almost walked past this metal pan thinking it was the end of the aisle display. But no, it was an oil drip pan in the automotive section! Isn't it beautiful? It cost about $15. It is ~2ft. by 3ft. and 2 inches deep. And, it is not heavy. I bought these two sticks to bridge the pan.

Here is the canvas on the sticks. You can see the canvas is elevated to allow for the paint to drip off onto the pan. Before I used this set up, I lined the pan with aluminum foil to make clean up easy.

What I like about this is that I can put the pan with the canvas on my table to work in comfort. I don't have to work on the floor. After I have finished pouring, I can lift the pan with the canvas and put it on the floor in my drying area that has a dehumidifier and a fan. Now my table is free for another project. This is my drying area.

This has been a great system for me but I am always open for suggestions. What has worked for you? What should I do if I want to go to a larger canvas?

Sue and Suzy, the artist with the split personality

www.sueflanagan.com