Discussions with Mark Norseth

This pastel is finally finished, except for the signature which will be added after placing the picture into the frame.  I decided that I’d try painting it on a soft Rives printmaking paper, with a very satisfying middle value olive-beige tone. It worked well.  The paper took the color very nicely, and allowed for sufficient repeat applications of pastel.  Just a touch of fixative was introduced in the darkest darks and developed lights.

Divers at Halona Cove pastel  14 x18″

The subject itself is one I’ve been working with for years, and  the challenges are tremendous for a plein-air approach.  Most everything is in movement, and the surges of water and sometimes wind can be  powerful and unpredictable. Because of this, the wave effects have to be determined  in advance, and then simplified.  Also, it’s very easy to overplay the already beautiful colors of  the water, so I prefer to make a point of following nature’s lead closely  by revealing the wonderful combinations of colors already presented  as truthfully as I can.

Preliminary 9 x 12″

The first days I had on this piece were remarkable for the clarity of the light…as with so many things in life, good weather seems like it should last indefinitely, though of course I knew it wouldn’t. We eventually were locked down by heavy rains for many days after the first few afternoons, so the final picture was eventually adjusted indoors, from memory.

This is an example of something that I think I’ll be doing more often…a redrawing from a failed piece.

The story, briefly told, is that I had a good start and a dismal failure on a drawing from the model,  done in a drawing group I attend. When I stepped well back from the drawing, a three hour pose, I realized that there were some mighty awful passages that I’d allowed to get by. In the interest of moving quickly and with overconfidence in my skills,  I’d ignored some of the most basic fundamentals by working almost horizontally, working sitting, not stepping back frequently, ending up with distortions, picky handling, and a piecemeal drawing.  It was awful, and I was surprised…I’d  thought that I had something much better.

You won’t see  a post of that drawing here.  It was abysmal, and I need to help make the world a better place but not showing bad things.

Humbled but not wishing to give up entirely, I decided that the solution was to make a redrawing, using the bad piece as a model and setting up the new piece alongside it, literally on the same drawing board, and then sort of sight-sizing a new version in my studio, away from the model. After  all,  I liked the look of the subject, and the image of her posing was fresh enough in my mind that, in a couple hours, I managed the piece you see here, which is one that I can live with.   Truth be told, I already have an appropriate handmade frame for this portrait, one  which is crying for a red chalk drawing, and part of the motivation for this was to have a new portrait sketch to show.   Through it all, I guess it’s healthy to pick up from a little disaster and make something out of it that’s better.

I have yet another portrait drawing, one that I’m already happy with, which received some water damage, and I may do the same redrawing process with it.

A quick post from a favorite location.  I’m at day two on this pastel painted on the beach at Halona Cove, also known locally as Eternity Beach. It is, as I’ve said, something like trying to paint the inside of a washing machine, but so beautiful that you simply give it your best.

We’ve had the finest three days of weather imaginable, and I’m loaded and ready to go back to work on this today at 2:30.  The light drops off quickly down here after it passes behind Koko Crater, and there’s a lot to do on this yet.

My goal  is to keep this painting fresh and  true…my relationship with pastel is changing some, I’m after a broader look and more energy these days, though I’m uncertain how it’s going to play out.  I want to do with a couple strokes what used to take many, which is perhaps impossible.  Going to try, anyway.

untitled     14 x 18″  pastel on paper

I’ll see about getting some work in  progress shots today.

Coming across this beautiful old plaster cast kindled the desire to revisit the discipline of cast drawing. It’s a training exercise for refining one’s ability to see  truthfully. The cast itself is a large one from the old days, over three feet across, and molded originally from the South Frieze of the Parthenon, if I’m not mistaken.

Parthenon cast, oil  22 x 24″

I  haven’t really touched anything like this in many years, but I do enjoy the discipline and so happily devoted a number of Friday afternoons at the Honolulu Academy school to making this study, for me  a rare opportunity. Tall windows cast daylight on the cast and my canvas, which was a good 12′ or more away from my vantage point.  The softness of the daylight, as opposed to the hardness of artificial light, comes across in the painting I think.

I decided to approach this as I’d paint any other subjects, because I wanted to see what I’d learned since the early nineties (when I last did this) so I allowed myself to be selective to the degree of “finish” in the study.  The background is appropriately sketchy, and the paint is handled as I would in a landscape or portrait, with a varied handling reflecting my effort to capture the true, big look of the object in space.

Well worth the time.

Back in the days when I was searching for my direction as an artist, I began to visit the collection of the Portland Art Museum, which my school at the time, the Museum Art School, was conveniently attached to.  Among the pieces that caught my eye were two beautiful pastels by the French master who would  become among my favorites in the medium, Léon Augustin L’hermitte.

The Man

I trace my interest in the pastel medium back to that very pair of pictures. There is a richness of color, sophistication of composition, and tenderness of touch in his pastels, many painted before nature, that I admire more now than ever, and my one existing color catalog of his works is sadly worn because of this.

With all of this in mind, imagine my recent excitement when a friend  called and mentioned  a recent acquisition … a pastel set from France, from what appears to be  L’hermitte’s own time, the mid-to-late nineteenth century.

The first thing that has surprised me is the size and the beautiful colors. Sharpened, I suppose, by the prior user, they are firm in consistency, rather like a Cont’e crayon.  The markings don’t give an indication of an actual manufacturer, just some references in French to two Paris Exhibitions of the century.  And my generous friend has allowed me to borrow the set and paint some pictures using it. More on that when I get something worth showing done.  A portrait sketch of his wife is already intended.

And that led me to a bit of a quandry…how wise am I  to actually use them?  It’s a bit like when some scientists found a frozen Mastodon, and then ate it.  You get a once-in-a -lifetime experience, but at a price.  Thoughts?