River Gallery - Pastel Painting - Artist

Jill Stefani Wagner

About My Process

For me, working in pastel is very much an “additive” process, starting with small tentative marks and slowly expanding to rich, layered, creamy strokes that very much emulate painting with oils. Unlike my other favorite medium, watercolor, pastels are very forgiving and allow adjusting and repainting if necessary.

I usually begin with a substrate (either paper or board) which is covered with a sanded surface similar to pumice. This type of gritty surface allows the pastel to adhere and can often accept up to twenty layers of pigment. I prefer a solid colored background to begin with, and like to see that color peek through the strokes of the final piece. I often choose a background color that is the exact opposite of the predominant hue of the subject matter. (ie. A terra cotta background for a green meadow scene.) This creates a rich vibrating effect in the artwork.

I roughly sketch in the main objects in the composition, using a dark, hard pastel, often a NuPastel. I slowly and roughly block in all of the darkest areas. Usually, I spray workable fixative over the whole piece at this point to make the dark areas more permanent.

Little by little I add the medium tones using slightly softer pastels. At this point I am not worried about exact color, but am trying to capture the appropriate relational values. Sometimes I use hues that have nothing to do with the actual local color of the objects. (ie. A pink morning sky, instead of blue.) But if the value is correct, the overall painting will read fine.

At this point I often go back in and restate the darks, using softer pastels. I adjust the colors and rearrange objects as I go, until I reach the vision that I am working toward.

Then the fun part! I bring in the lighter values that really make the painting sing. Using my very softest, creamiest pastels, I highlight the areas that I want to pop off the paper.

I rarely blend the pastels with my fingers. I prefer to layer the color and build vibrancy with each stroke. I often “live” with the painting for a few weeks, making subtle changes until I feel there is nothing I can do that will improve it.

Jill Wagner, Artist, River Gallery Fine Art, Chelsea, MI
Jill Wagner, "Arancia", Pastel, 36.5" x 22.5"

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