rembrandt’s light...smudge or rub off easily. 6. now i’m going to start drawing the portrait ......
TRANSCRIPT
Let’s Face It 2018 – Main Lesson by Juna Biagioni
Rembrandt’s Light
Welcome to my main lesson for Let’s Face It 2018! My name is Juna Biagioni, I’m a mixed media artist & online art teacher from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and I’m very
excited to be teaching in Let’s Face It this year! This will be the third year and every time it has been a wonderful experience.
For my main lesson I have chosen the famous Dutch master Rembrandt as my artist. What I love about Rembrandt’s work are his innovative techniques, the way he painted his subjects, so lively and so real, and the masterful way that he could paint and suggest materials and textures, such as the various textiles of clothing. But what inspires me most in Rembrandts work, is his use of dark and light and strong dramatic contrasts.
That’s why in this lesson we’re going to draw a portrait using a specific lighting that
Rembrandt often used for his portraits. We’re going to work with pastel in a monochromatic color, using a variety of techniques.
In this PDF you will find the list of supplies for this lesson (page 3), a step-by-step overview of the lesson process itself (page 4), the final image of my portrait (page 8), the reference photo that I’ve used for the lesson (page 9 and 10) and an image of Rembrandt’s painting that I used as a reference for the lighting (page 11). On the last page (page 12) I’d like to say goodbye and show you where you can find me on the internet and on social media. I’d love to stay in touch! :-)
I really had a great time making this lesson, and I hope that you’ll love it too. Have fun, and I look forward to seeing your work in the Facebook group!
Hello and welcome!
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List of Supplies
• Watercolor paper, preferably hot pressed, or another type of smooth paper that is suited for pastels.
I’m using watercolor paper The Langton by Daler Rowney, 140 lb. (300 gsm), 12 x 16 inch (30,5 x 40,6 cm).
• Hard pastels: one in a color of your choice and one white.
I am using hard pastels from the Polychromos series by Faber-Castell in the colors caput mortuum violet (263) and white (101).
• Pastel pencil (optional) to use for the initial sketch. If you prefer you can use a different pencil, or work with your hard pastel.
I’m using a CarbOthello pastel pencil in the color caput mortuum red (1400/645).
• Brushes: use one or more brushes that you already have.
I’m using an old 2 inch flat bristle brush, and a soft 1 inch flat wash from the Graduate series by Daler Rowney.
• Kneaded eraser.
• Plate or something else to collect your pastel scrapings.
• Knife (or razor blade) and sand paper to sharpen your pastel pencil and hard pastel.
• Paper towels.
• Q-tips. In the lesson you also see me working with a mahlstick to stabilize my hand, and with a pastel holder (mine is from the brand Koh-I-Noor, no. 5343). Both tools are completely optional and not essential for the lesson. Just watch the videos and see if you want to use them or not.
Below you can find an overview of the supplies that I have used for this lesson, with some additional info and alternatives for certain supplies.
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The ProcessBelow you can find a step-by-step description of the process of this lesson.
1. I start by creating the initial sketch, using my pastel pencil. If you prefer you can use a different pencil, or work with your hard pastel.
In this stage I decide about the size of the portrait and where I want to place it on the paper. Every now and then I take a step back, to see the overall portrait better and to check the proportions.
2. In this lesson I’m going to create the actual drawing using hard pastels, so I’d like to tell you a bit about this type of crayon. Hard pastels come in all sorts of colors. They are different from wax crayons like Neocolor II or oil pastels, because they contain no wax or oil. They are made of dry pigments with some binder to keep them in a stick shape.
Hard pastels most often have a rectangular shape, and you can use them like a normal crayon, but you can also sharpen the tip for more drawing precision. That’s how I use my hard pastels in this lesson as well. I sharpen the tips using a utility knife, but you can also use a razor blade if you prefer. And don’t worry about waste: in the next
step we’re going to use the scrapings as pigment to apply with a brush.
3. Now I’m going to lay down the initial values for the portrait. I use the scrapings that I collected when I sharpened my hard pastel and apply them using a 2 inch flat brush. You can use any brush you like, just experiment and create a few test pieces first to see what your brush marks will look like.
Make sure to protect your work surface. I have put some paper towels below my paper to catch any pigment falling down.
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I start on a safe spot, for instance the hair, so I don’t apply too much pigment too soon. You can easily add more pigment to make it darker, but it’s not really possible to make it lighter. So just build up your values gradually, going step-by-step from light to dark.
4. I use my big brush mainly for the background and the hair, and to give the rest of the paper a light value. I also work with a smaller and softer brush, which I mainly use for the smaller value shapes, for instance in the face.
5. Next I use a paper towel to really work the pigment into the paper, so that it’s fixed and won’t smudge or rub off easily.
6. Now I’m going to start drawing the portrait using my brown-red hard pastel. I keep my lines
very light, not applying any pressure at all. This way I can build up and darken the values slowly, making changes when necessary.
I use a pastel holder because my hard pastel has broken, and I rest my wrist on a mahlstick for extra support. However, these tools are totally optional. They are not essential for this lesson, so you don’t have to go out and buy them just for this lesson.
7. I focus mainly on creating the value shapes: the shapes of the light and dark patterns that form the portrait. I first apply the pigment by drawing the shapes with my hard pastel, and then smooth it out using a paper towel. This softens the lines and helps to create smooth shadows. And since the pigment is worked into the paper, it’s not really necessary to use any fixative for this portrait.
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8. I use my kneaded eraser to remove the pigment and create light values, and also to make any corrections if necessary.
9. Then I begin drawing the neck and upper body, using my hard pastel.
And I take a break every now and then. I take a few steps back and check my portrait from a further distance. This helps me to see the portrait with fresh eyes and gives me an idea of what the portrait as a whole looks like.
10. I use a piece of hard pastel on its side to mass in larger shadow shapes, mainly for the hair. And again: I apply it without using any pressure at all.
11. Then I smooth it out using a paper towel.
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12. I keep working this way, using my hard pastel to draw the more detailed shapes, and smoothing out the lines to keep them soft and create shadows. And I use my brush to apply pastel scrapings when I want to create larger, soft value shapes.
13. I use a Q-tip to smooth out smaller shapes.
14. In the later stages of the portrait I start using my white hard pastel to create more detailed light shapes.
15. And then I create the triangle of light just below the eye at the dark side of the face. I use my kneaded eraser to make this shape lighter, and use my hard pastel to make the shadows around it darker. I use my photo of Rembrandt’s painting as a reference to see what this light patch looks like.
I continue working this way, following my own pace, until I’m happy with the result and the portrait is finished.
Now, one last word regarding preservation: I don’t use any fixative to protect this portrait, since I’ve rubbed in a lot of the pastel and it’s not going to smudge easily. I just protect it with a sheet of glassine paper (you can also use tracing paper) or frame it behind glass.
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Rembrandt’s PaintingYoung Woman in Fantasy Costume, oil on panel, 1633
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Thank you so much for doing this lesson with me! I hope you enjoyed it and are inspired to try out these techniques for yourself.
If you have any questions, feel free to drop me a message through the Facebook group or contact me via my website or social media.
On my website you can also find the online art courses that I have available, such as my mixed media portrait course Drawing in the Soul. You can also sign up for my newsletter, to keep in touch and which gives you access to a free downloadable portrait tutorial as well.
On my YouTube channel I have several short portrait tutorials for you to watch and I love to connect with you on Facebook or other social media. :-)
Where to find me
www.junabiagioni.com