Three steps to creating a painting

Under normal circumstances I follow a simple three step procedure to create a painting as I have done for the present soft pastel painting from a Coorg Photograph.

1. I select a photograph from my collection, mainly looking for a good composition.
    For the painting as below I selected a photograph which we took while we were on our
    Coorg holidays ( Karnataka).Then I cropped the photograph as I liked only a part of the
   photograph, ie the vertical section in one corner. This painting will now replace an old
   painting in a ready frame.                

2. Next I create a small thumbnail sketch or study sketch with soft pastels just to get an idea
    as to where I would be putting in my colours and how the painting would eventually look.
    Main purpose is to get the composition right and to get satisfied with the values.
    This takes roughly about five to ten minutes and I do not do any details.

Thumbnail sketch

Size 3" X 5"

3. When satisfied, I cut out my required sheet which in this case was a dark grey coloured 

    Canson Mi Tentes paper. Then following the photograph I first sketch the painting using

    a white pastel pencil. Then step by step I put in the colours, concentrating on the values. 

    After adding the first layer of colours and a bit of details I normally photgraph it with my 

    mobile and then analyse it for further corrections. Sometimes I just keep it at a distance and 

    view it several times and it helps in doing the finishing touches. But it always happens that 

    after I have framed the painting I feel, " Wish I had added a little green here and so on.....". 

Reaching the skies

Soft pastel painting on Canson paper

Size 8" X 13"

Recycling an old frame by changing the painting inside

Frames for paintings don't come cheap. Hence if I am unhappy with some old painting of mine, I simply create another one of the same size and replace it with the old one. The painting below sized 8" X 13" created on Canson Mi Tentes paper will fit in one of my long Frames made of fibreboard.
The frame is made of fibreboard and is lightweight and durable.

The painting below is of a tree view from Matheran, a hill station close to Mumbai. I have done the same tree close up in soft pastels earlier. But this particular photograph with the foliage around it also seemed like a good composition and moreover it was going to fit well in my old frame, so I decided to go ahead with this once again.

Matheran 

Size 8" X 13"

Soft Pastel painting on Canson paper

Painting with brown mountboard around it

To be fitted in old frame as shown below

I normally do the framing myself which is not a very difficult task. Someday I will blog about it.

The "Flowers in vase" painting which I removed from the old frame is stored in safe place as of now and some day I may do a little touch up on it to give it a fresh lease of life. 

Plein air painting - a new beginning

"En Plein Air" is a French expression which means "in the open air". 

Charcoal painting of a tree as seen at Kharghar Central Park during a morning walk. Part sketching done in the open air and details completed at home using the reference photograph. 

I have used Fabriano Academia paper to create this sketch. 

A morning at the Park

Charcoal sketching on Fabriano paper

Size 5" X 7"

Plein air sketching using charcoal medium was fairly a good and comfortable experience as I had to carry just my Charcoal tool box and a Fabriano sketch book. But if I have to do the same with my Pastel set to create a landscape, I will need to organise myself a bit. A limited palette in pastels to begin with do just fine.

Niagara Falls, in charcoal medium

“Drawing is like making an expressive gesture, with the advantage of permanence.” Henri Matisse

I finally completed my charcoal painting of Niagara Falls which has taken a long number of hours. It is sized 16" X 16" and is done on FAVINI paper. I framed it with black mountboard around it and a 1.5" thickness black frame made of fibreboard. When I started this particular work I was using Camel and KOH-I-NOOR charcoal pencil. Later in the final layers I have used Conte A Paris and General charcoal pencil too. I did not use any fixative as I did not feel the requirement. The painting is framed under the glass for protection and long durability.

Niagara Fall

Charcoal painting on FAVINI paper

Size 20" X 20" ( Including the frame )

Framed painting of Niagara Falls

For any inquiry related to my paintings you can write to me at manjupanchal@hotmail.com

If you wish to see some of my latest artworks you can visit my Instagram site wherein I post my works more regularly. Thank you for browsing through my blog. 🙏

Charcoal sketching on Canson paper

Created this tree trunk on coloured Canson Mi Tentes paper using charcoal pencil and white pastel pencil. The upper part of the tree trunk was in shadow created by the foliage, and the lower part was exposed to the bright sunlight. Came across this tree during one of my morning nature trails. 

Tree trunk in the wild

Size 5" X 7"

Charcoal sketching on Canson paper

My art works can also be viewed on my facebook page

www.facebook.com/charcoalspastelsandmore

Small study work in water colours

Created a very small study work using water colour medium, wet on wet technique.

Used wax ( water resistant ) to create reflections on the water. The paints used are Camel Artist quality water colour tubes.

Sunrise ( Study work )

Water colour painting on Indian hand made paper

Size 3" X 4.5"

Soft pastel painting of snow covered mountains

Having created a lot of forest landscapes in soft pastels, I decided to do a small piece of work with mountains as my subject. Therefore I selected a photograph from my HOLIDAY COLLECTION ie The snow covered mountains of Kunzum Pass in Spiti valley of Himachal Pradesh. ( 4551 m above sea level ). We visited Spiti valley in June 2013 and the scenic beauty all along the way was mesmerising. 

The Soft pastel painting has been created on Canson Mi Tentes paper using Mungyo and Koh-I-Noor soft pastels.

Kunzum Pass

Soft pastel painting on Canson paper

Size 5" X 7"

My paintings can also be seen on my facebook page

www.facebook.com/charcoalspastelsandmore

Getting back to paintings after a long break.

After a long break of holidays and other commitments, getting back to paintings and sketchings takes a little effort. However once you get started it feels good. 

I recently installed the latest version of Adobe photoshop and am editing some of my old works done using water colour medium. 

I am slowly uploading my works one at a time on my Facebook page which I created recently

www.facebook.com/charcoalspastelsandmore

The water colour paintings of seascapes as below are works done by me in the past using Camel water colour tubes and Winsor and Newton cakes. 

Water colour paintings

Early morning at Matheran - Soft pastel painting

A morning walk through the muddy pathways of Matheran ( Hill station close to Mumbai ), the sunlight diffusing through the dense foliage, lighting up some parts of the forest floor.

The more I paint NATURE, the more it inspires me. Everything out there seems so perfect. Since vehicles are not allowed in this hill station, there are no permanent roads and everytime one sets out, one has to walk through some muddy pathway which has trees lined up all around. In addition there are rocks, slopes, twigs broken branches which all add up to make for a good composition.

Somewhere beyond

Size 8" X 12"

©Manju Panchal

Painting under progress - Niagara Falls in charcoal

I have been working on a charcoal painting of NIAGARA FALLS since a long time and it is nearing completion. The paper used for this work is FAVINI paper and is sized 16" X 16". This painting has been a great learning experience for me and I am eagerly waiting to complete it and frame it. As the year 2014 comes to an end this is probably one of my first resolutions of the year ie to focus and complete a pending project.

Niagara Falls

Work in Progress

Charcoal painting on Favini Paper

When I am working on my charcoal paintings, it normally takes much longer time to complete than my works in other mediums. Moreover it is one of my favourite mediums.

Soft pastel painting of a Landscape at Karnala Bird Sanctuary

Some time back I created a quick charcoal study of Karnala Bird Sancturary landscape using willow charcoal. Referring to the same photograph I decided to do a soft pastel painting. The light piercing through the bushes and the shadow of the trees cast on the road tempted me to do it in colours.

I have used Fabriano Tiziano black paper which comes in a pad of 24 sheets. Flipkart sells these so it can be purchased online.My Fabriano pad has sheets sized 12" X 16". Presently for a few works I will be using half the sheet, hence the landscape below is sized approx 12" X 8".

After the first layer of blocking in the colours I used Winsor and Newton fixative spray on the painting. However I avoid spraying in the end. Lifting the painting, I lightly tap it on the floor or base to dust off the loose pastel particles and it is ready for framing.

Casting shadows

Soft Pastel painting on Fabriano Tizano paper

Size 8" X 12"

I have started with another soft pastel painting from one of my Matheran photographs. Will be posting the image once it is complete. My artworks can also be viewed on my facebook page ie www.facebook.com/charcoalspastelsandmore

Editing photographs of paintings using Adobe photoshop

Adobe Photoshop for editing paintings

I started my painting BLOG somewhere in January, inspired by all the other artists of the world who have been so active. Some of them paint and blog almost everyday. It has been a great learning experience for me as well. As I move forward taking one step at a time, I realise there is so much more to be done and the art journey goes on.

I recently started My facebook page ie www.facebook.com/charcoalspastelsandmore . Therefore had to repost my new as well as old works on the site. Adobe Photoshop was on mind for long but I was just avoiding to use it but once I got into using it I have realised that it is not really that difficult or time consuming. Its just a matter of time and one gets used to it.

Posted below are my wet on wet water colour painitngs done some months back on Indian hand made paper. Both are small works and are done using reference photographs given by my friend who visited LADAKH. I want to do more of water colour paintings too but as of now am into doing soft pastel landscapes. Hence do not want to break the rhythm. 

Two water colour paintings of Ladakh Landscape

on Indian hand made paper
©Manju Panchal

My paintings can be seen on my facebook page www.facebook.com/charcoalspastelsandmore 

and if you like my work then you can share my facebook page with friends.

Exposed roots of a tree - in charcoal and white pastel

I was to start a soft pastel painting of a landscape but at times due to personal commitments it is not always possible to devote sufficient time to art. But since I am a lot addicted to painting/sketching everyday, the next best option that I find very relaxing is doing a small study work. It takes roughly an hour or so and the feeling of having done some art work is absolutely great.

Today being one such day, I decided to do a tree study on beige coloured Canson mi tentes paper using charcoal pencil and white GENERAL soft pastel pencil. The beige colour of the paper acts as the midtone. Willow charcoal too has been used at places in the initial layers.

Small study work done in an hour

Exposed roots of a tree sketched on Canson Mi Tentes paper

©Manju Panchal

Edited photographs to be used as references for next few soft pastel paintings

The first step to creating a painting is selection of the next subject. The selection gets more complicated when there is a huge collection of photographs at your disposal. Hence I normally sit at night some day when I am not tired and then I go through my folder of different photographs. As a general rule I select four to five at a time and then get on to edit them.

Once editing is done as per the composition and light/contrast ratio that I want I save the images on my i pad for future use. Many a times it so happens that do not really use all the edited versions of my photographs. If I find something more meaningful and interesting then I suddenly change my mind. Its all upon the mood.

Most of these photographs as below are taken during our holiday trip to Matheran, a beautiful hill station.

One of them is from Karnala Bird Sanctuary.

Few edited photographs for future use as reference to

create soft pastel paintings.

When I use my own photos as reference it helps a lot as I have been to these places and I can relate to them. I know exactly the atmosphere as it was on that particular day and it helps to manage the colours well even if they have not been captured well by the camera. Its what I have seen that I want to paint. Nature is one of the most inspiring factors in my present art creations.