It’s been a while since I really got into pastel work and rather than jump into a serious piece, I thought, Hmmmm, good idea to PLAY first. Since I’ve been itching to try out Canson Touch and since I now had a sheet of it – colour ‘Sand’ – I thought I’d play on that. I decided to go BIG and left it uncut.
This particular sheet was used by participants at my Opus demo (29th March) to test soft pastels. You’ll see their marks in the corner. I figured if the paper worked well that would be terrific as it’s available pretty much worldwide unlike much of the other sanded paper out there (e.g. like the Wallis Paper I primarily use).
Okay, I had the paper, now what?
I’d been listening to the radio about how musicians will take a piece of music by someone else and write ‘variations’ on it e.g. Brahms’ – Variations on a Theme of Paganini. Ahhhhhhh. An idea arose. I had been perusing a book of Richard Diebenkorn’s work and among the many pieces I admired, there was one abstract, Untitled ‘M’, that I was particularly drawn to. I decided to use it (instead of a blank canvas!) as the inspiration for my playing, a Variation on a Theme by Diebenkorn!
So let’s have a look at the original painting:
Using Diebenkorn’s painting as inspiration meant I wasn’t going to copy it exactly. To begin with, you’ll notice that the proportions of my paper are certainly not the same as the painting. Also, I’m working in pastel, he worked in paint.
I was mainly intrigued by the seemingly random black shapes, many of which are at the edge of the canvas. Also, Diebenkorn’s painting is pretty monochromatic except for some colour seen beneath the white/grey paint and the colour along the bottom edge. In the last year or so, I’ve strangely found myself pulled towards doing more work in subdued and greyed colours rather than the bright, saturated and pure chroma I’m known for.
Let’s go!
The thing I realized once I was well into the piece was, where do I go from here? The master’s painting is done and I have essentially made my own variation of it but how in the world can I take it another step? Diebenkorn’s painting is finished and who am I to tinker with it?? I’d painted myself into a corner!
I was curious to compare my pastel with Diebenkorn’s oil painting as seen in black and white. Obviously, the light areas on his work are way lighter than mine! And this lightness keeps you coming back to the centre of the picture. So I went back to mine, found a white pastel (Great American) softer than the one I had been using (Sennelier) and added more lights. And I think I can still add more. The trick will be to retain some of the marks and colouring below.
Here are a couple of close-ups so you can see the colour layering:
And here are the pastels used:
So, what did I learn? First, about the Canson Touch paper:
I wouldn’t call Canson Touch the ‘ultimate’ sanded paper as they say on their website but it’s certainly fine. It’s a smooth sanded surface that won’t eat up your fingers or paper towel. I would say I put on about 3-4 layers in some areas (the first layer being a harder pastel) and it held up pretty well. I think if I was going to add more layers I would need to consider spraying it lightly with fixative (something I rarely do). In another blog post I’ll do a more comprehensive review. (Please let me know if this is something that would be helpful for you.)
And what did I learn about using Diebenkorn’s painting as inspiration?
I’ve always loved seeing the hand of the artist, much of which can be seen by visible pentimenti. Diebenkorn was adamant about leaving changes visible, he never covered up everything so as you go closer to the painting, you can see the changes he made. I don’t know what the original layers looked like but I can get a sense of them from what’s visible beneath the final paint surface (in person, I’m sure much more would be visible) and so I tried to include them in my version. Still, so much is unknown and I was just guessing.
I went from thinking solely about a main figure/subject with its background (even in a non-objective painting like this) to really thinking about the expanse of the whole canvas, thinking about all parts of it, back and forth, negative/positive negative/positive. In Diebenkorn’s ‘M’, there’s much focus on the forms near and on the edge. And so I learnt how useful and relevant these shapes can be. I was surprised by their importance. I became more conscious of what was going on over the whole piece.
Also I learnt to love working with subtle monochromatics – using colour underneath to enliven it. I could do more work like this. I love the way the slash of red makes a statement yet doesn’t dominate. The whole is balanced. How does that work? Much to study!
The thing about copying is that you’re following someone else’s process and art experience rather than having your own. It’s a bit like the way I remember colouring books – it was fun while it lasted but the end feeling was one more of emptiness than the exhilaration that comes from creating your own response to inner or outer impressions. While creating this pastel, I could respond to the formal elements of Diebenkorn’s painting but because I was following a prescription, a template, rather than letting the work itself lead the way as it evolved, it began to feel lifeless with no emotional history of ups and downs that go with art making. That was an unexpected outcome.
Mind you, this piece was done with much less fear than doing my own work – fear of what to do next i.e. what colour to choose, what mark to make, where to make the mark etc – yet there was still some fear around ‘getting it right’.
As I mentioned above, another thing I didn’t realize would happen was the dilemma of how to move on from the original. What else could I add? subtract? What other marks could I make? Sure mine is different from Diebenkorn’s ‘M’ – different medium, different format – but still, it’s an impression of the original and I have a hard time trusting myself to take it elsewhere.
In the end, I found through doing this work that I now want to explore shape and mark making even more. It was a learning experience and I appreciate and like the outcome.
Try copying a piece you like by a master – it’ll open your eyes to new possibilities! Let me know how it goes.
Whew, this was a long one. Are you still here? Well THANK YOU for being such a committed reader and participant. Let me know your thoughts by commenting on the blog or simply reply to this email and I’ll post your comment for you.
~ Until next time,
Gail
PS. Richard Diebenkorn (1922-1993) was born in Portland, Oregon, went to Stanford (the family had relocated to San Francisco) and then completed military service 1943-1945. After the war, he studied at the California School of Fine Arts and soon became a faculty member. In 1950 Diebenkorn enrolled at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. This new environment affected him and resulted in paintings from the Albuquerque Period, his first mature statement.
During the Albuquerque years, Diebenkorn saw the retrospective exhibition of Arshile Gorky at the San Francisco Museum of Art. The impact of this show on him along with his experience viewing the landscape from the perspective of a low-flying plane seems evident in his painting, Untitled ‘M’, which makes me think of an aerial view of a strange landscape.
PPS. Here’s the book I looked through on Richard Diebenkorn (borrowed from the library but just purchased):
![Pastels on black aper: Gail Sibley, "Untitled [at this point], Mount Vision pastels on Sansfix pastel card, 5 1/2 x 7 3/4 in](https://www.howtopastel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/IMG_9649-2-150x150.jpeg)
25 thoughts on “Experimenting with Canson Touch and Richard Diebenkorn”
First off, wow! Really good job on copying! Second, I’m copying a picture by Paul Cezanne and it’s very fun. Since I didn’t want to copy it exactly I changed the ‘color scheme’. Instead of the picture being full of many colors I switched it to only being a few. In this case I only used ‘cool’ colors like yellow, red, and orange. It’s really fun but also a bit hard. I thought you might like to try that if you hadn’t already. It’s very fun. Again, you did a very beautiful job on copying!
Hey Abigail, good to hear from you. How interesting to be copying Cezanne but using a different colour scheme. Good idea. Let us know how it turns out. I am assuming when you say ‘cool’ colours to mean more ‘groovy’ as opposed to the temperature colour yes?
Thanks so much for commenting.
Hi Gail, i just want to drop you a note to say how much i am appreciating your blogs….i’ve been dipping in here off and on for a little while and especially love your vibrant enthusiasm….particularly on your videos! they are great.
i loved this post and i have often copied pieces but more as an exercise in understanding how that particular artist laid down marks etc, which i realise was part of your intent. i believe we can learn so much about our own process by copying anothers work – i feel inspired to do more of that for sure.
i’m primarily a full time potter (on Cape Breton Island) so on the opposite coast from you, but i have been painting off and on for many years. i absolutely love using pastels and i just gobble up all the amazing information put out here by artists like yourself. so, thanks for taking the time and energy to put your thoughts out there!
i’ve just discovered that you are in Victoria B.c., my daughter just moved there last September…..i’m hoping to visit sometime in the next year so i’ll make sure to look you up and maybe we could have a coffee !
Cheers, and thanks for your amazing contribution here.
Linda
Wow Linda, thanks for your enthusiastic comment – ,makes all the effort worthwhile 🙂 How interesting that you are a full time potter (way to go!) and that you are so interested in pastels. I am glad to help.
Be sure to contact me when you make a visit! Is your daughter at UVic or working?
Again, thanks so much for your comment!
Gail, very enjoyable!! I will be trying this today, and I even have two Diebenkorn books and some Touch board! Your links were not there/invisible on my smartphone but no matter — I’m inspired and happy to have “permission” to work from a favorite Diebenkorn. Thank you!
That’s wonderful Catherine! Do let me know how your experiment goes. I am not sure exactly why I chose this piece of Diebenkorn’s. I know there was a reason but beats me what it was at this point. There are sooooooo many wonderful paintings by Diebenkorn to choose from.
Regarding the links, I tend to forget that when the Amazon links go out with the emailer (Mad Mimi) that the links don’t travel as well. So no one received them! Curious to know which Diebenkorn books you have and why.
Great to hear from you 🙂
I read every bit and enjoyed doing so, but tell me does one need water or acrylic underpainting at all?
I use Canson Mi Teintes black or pale colour sheets.
So far have never used underpainting.
Tell me how these are. Thanks and so sorry to ask you to do this.
I am new to pastels and was told I shld use the smooth side not the
textured side as I have done.
Iris
Yes really interesting experiment and the finished colour is more interesting for me than Diebenkorn’s. But I can understand how you began to feel a little lifeless. My problem is that I don’t seem to have the time to experiment always trying to get stuff to the galleries. Will give it a shot. I do like your idea of translating someone’s work to your interpretation. And it is interesting the work you chose.
Make time to experiment!! One of the things that motivated me was doing something so I’d have something to write about in my blog!! And I sure did enjoy doing it and as I said, learnt lots along the way. I look forward to seeing what you do 🙂
In an earlier comment someone was appreciating your enthusiasm for pastels, and I add, sharing. This blog was so important for me as I started my folk art by studying another artist. Of course, her son said mine was nothing like hers! But I learned so much about palette and patterns.
I was so pleased to see an abstract in process. Abstracts are a mystery to me though some draw me in. I want to go back to the abstracts I have saved and do my own rendering after the holiday. And thank you for not overrating the Canson Touch. It is good to know its limits.
Hi Teri, lovely to hear from you.
I’m happy to know that you will go back to abstracts and try your own interpretation. Let us know how it goes!!
Happy Holidays 😀
Gail, I really enjoyed your post about one of my favourite artists. I am always intrigued by Diebenkorn’s paintings and maybe I will copy you by copying one of his artworks. Your making of it looks really interesting and I suppose it must be kind of a master class on “whys?”. Your copy looks great and, even if I understand your feelings at not being really creating (not having to decide all the things that sometimes overwhelms us: shape, values, colours, etc. ) I understand is a great exercise. I have never tried Canson Touch, and wonder if it is too rough.
Thank you for sharing and Merry Christmas!!
Susana, I encourage you to pick one of Diebenkorn’s works (since he’s one of your favourite artists!) and copy it. It’s an amazing process and you learn so much. You can see in mine that I did my copy freehand so it’s not an exact replica. That wasn’t the exercise. It was all about understanding how he could do what he did and make it work!
I look forward to hearing about your own experiments!!
Love your interpretation of the picture. The only downside of sand paper is that they eat pastels at quite a rate but I love the quality and intensity of the colour when they are on.
Thanks Sue!!
Yes, sand paper does have that tendency but as you say, they reveal the vibrant colour and density of pastel!!
Though I’ve never been interested in abstract art I must tell you how much I learned from you about copying. It was so interesting that I might just try an abstract! Thanks so much for sharing your talent.
Your blog is the best ever…all of it………Angela
Angela, I love hearing that you learnt something from this blog. I encourage you to try copying an abstract that appeals to you especially if it’s been done in another medium.
And thank you so much for your very kind words about my blog in general. Such appreciation keeps me going!!
Hi Gail, I find your website and blogs interesting and inspiring. Thank you and for taking the time and for all the juicy suggestions and links. I’m a new artist (in retirement phase of life) and enjoying a drawing class and using pastels, pencil, and charcoal. I love making art!
I hope you and your family are having a wonderful vacation together!
Hi Kaylee, love hearing that you enjoy the blog!! And how wonderful that you are retired and can give full attention to the joys of art-making!
My family had a super time together as you’ll see in my 21 December blog 🙂
Thanks!
Gail, I have long thought about copying a painting as I figured something of the artist’s process would be revealed. Your blog has inspired me to do it next. I am very appreciative of the way you use the blogs to investigate questions you have. What happens if you use only x number of colors? How does one approach a portrait? What to do about mistakes? Following the way you think about and experiment in making art is the perfect instructional method for me. Molto grazie!!
Jody I look forward to hearing about your copying adventures. Please report back!
And thank you for your insight into my blog writing – it’s actually given me more clarity about how approach blog writing and what I have to share. Motto grazie 😀
Hola Gail,
I found this to be a very interesting post. I am currently trying out a full sheet of Mi Teintes Touch for the first time. I quickly reached the same conclusion as you in that it doesn´t hold near as many layers as the sanded papers do. This was a major disappointment to me after all the ´hype´ I had heard about this brand. I think the next painting (I have 4 full sheets to use up!) I will try using only the harder pastels and see if that helps with layering. I love experimenting and fortunately for me, unlike chemistry class, this type of experimentation doesn´t blow up! Lol
I did attempt a version of Van Gogh´s ´Cypress´ painting, mine of course in pastel. At the time all I had was the regular Canson Mi Teintes paper. Despite the texture of the paper it came out fairly well. I will attempt a few more of his works on different paper. I learned so much from that painting, and it really helped me to loosen up a bit.
Keep posts like this coming, they are real eye openers! Sorry this is so long…it´s the excitement!
Cheers, Val
Hola Val!
Thank you for sharing your own experiences with Canson Mi-Teintes ‘Touch’ and also with copying, in a different medium, a master painting. There is so much to learn from those we admire from the past and copying their work is definitely a fabulous way to go more deeply into learning and absorbing what a piece reveals to us.
Loved that you were excited enough to go on about it! Keep them coming 😀
Thank you very much Gail, I’ve just bought a pad of Canson Touch and look forward to following your advice by copying a well known artist with maybe some changes of course. Thank again.
Hi Amina! So glad you came across this post and are inspired to give this exercise a try. It’s really fun to do!