Impressionist Oil Pastel Landscapes

“For me, a landscape does not exist in its own right, since its appearance changes at every moment; but the surrounding atmosphere brings it to life—the light and the air which vary continually. For me, it is only the surrounding atmosphere which gives subjects their true value.”

-Claude Monet

Assignment

Your assignment is to create an oil pastel drawing of a landscape in an Impressionist style.

I can create a dynamic composition using foreground, middle ground, and background.

I can blend oil pastels.

I can mix colors using oil pastels.

I can layer oil pastels.

Oil Pastel Landscape Drawing Examples

Student Examples:

Nyla L. 2023

Navaya W. 2023

Shanyla M. 2023

Olivia G. 2023

What is Impressionism?

Impressionism is a movement of art that emerged in 1870s France. Rejecting the rigid rules of the beaux-arts (“fine arts”), Impressionist artists showcased a new way to observe and depict the world in their work, foregoing realistic portrayals for fleeting impressions of their surroundings—which, often, were found outside.

“This resulted in a greater awareness of light and color and the shifting pattern of the natural scene. Brushwork became rapid and broken into separate dabs in order to render the fleeting quality of light.”

Defining Characteristics

-painterly brushwork

-distinctive colors

-depictions of common subject matter

-a focus on light

-compositions inspired by photography.

How Impressionism Changed the Art World and Continues to Inspire Us TodayImpressionism was a movement led by innovative artists. Find out how these creative thinkers and doers changed the art world.

Impressionist Artist Examples:

Claude Monet 1840-1926

“Impression, Sunrise,” 1872

“The Japanese Bridge (The Water-Lily Pond),” 1897-1899

“Water Lilies,” 1906

“Grainstacks in the Sunlight, Morning Effect,” 1890

Edgar Degas 1834-1917

‘The Rehearsal of the Ballet Onstage' (c. 1784)

‘The Star' (1878)

Pierre-Auguste Renoir 1841-1919

‘Luncheon of the Boating Party' (1880-1881)

‘Lunch at the Restaurant Fournaise, The Rowers' Lunch,' (1875)

'In the Woods' (c. 1880)

'By the Water or Near the Lake' (c 1880)

Vincent Van Gogh

"Fishing in Spring, the Pont de Clichy" (1887)

Landscape with Olive Trees, 1889

In Class Practice

Drawing en plein air #1(20 points)

En plein air- French term for "outdoors"

Assignment:

Take your sketchbook and/or drawing board outside and create a 30 minute drawing of a landscape. Do not look at a photo.

Use your drawing pencils- add in value to capture the light and textures.

Try not to erase, allow yourself movement.

It may be a more cropped composition than the Monet example here, however, the focus is on the whole space. Do not just draw one part of the landscape but also consider background space.

Drawing en plein air #2 (20 points)

Assignment:

Take your sketchbook and/or drawing board outside and create a 30 minute drawing of a landscape. Do not look at a photo.

Use your oil pastels- focus on using color to capture light.

Experiment with layering color and NOT blending. Allow your marks to show.

It may be a zoomed in composition , however, the focus is on the whole space. Do not just draw one part of the landscape but also consider background space.

Planning Composition (20 points)

Step 1: Thumbnail Sketches

Walk around the park, take photos and look for inspiration
Create two sets of thumbnail sketches. See example for specifics
Find something interesting, photograph and sketch it in a landscape orientation, portrait orientation, and zoomed in. Repeat this process with another area of inspiration

Step 2: Create a full page sketch

It can be a rough drawing but the focus is on placement of light and composition.
Consider your light source and placement of value.
Experiment!

Composition Strategies

The following are several strategies for creating a more dynamic composition:

1. Rule of Thirds

2. Balance of positive and negative space

3. Leading lines

4. Diagonals

5. Fill the frame

6. Patterns and repetition

Rule of Thirds

To use the "rule of thirds," imagine your frame is divided into thirds- both horizontally and vertically- making a grid. When you decide where to place your subject- or the most important element(s) in your composition- place them on one of these imaginary lines- or even better yet- on a "power point" where the grid lines intersect.

Use of Space: Foreground, middle ground, and background

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Oil Pastel Practice Techniques

Complete the following worksheet- 10 points

Oil Pastel Practice Worksheet

Demonstration Video:

oilpastelpractice.wmv

Process: Final Oil Pastel Landscape

Step 1: Preparing Pastel Paper

If you choose to, trim your paper down a bit. I went with 15x18 in which I feel is a good size.. not too small, not too big. MAKE SURE YOU USE A RULER TO CUT THE PAPER STRAIGHT.
Tape the boarder carefully ideally using painters tape but if you have masking tape, that could work too. This step is optional if you do not have these materials.

Step 2: Block in space and shapes with layer 1 of oil pastel

Think of this step like a layout sketch. This is only later 1 of the oil pastel and mistakes can be covered up. Think about shapes and main colors, without necessarily thinking about value.

Draw in foreground, middle ground, and background.

Step 3: Fill in space with color

Block in the space with color. This is still an early stage so matching value is not precise right now. This is still figuring out the space.

Step 4: Begin layering color and value

This is the stage that you layer in values. Layer your highlights and shadows. Think about what colors maybe make up that hue. If your shading in a green for example, green is made with yellow and blue, blues can also be used for shadows and yellows for highlights. Do not blend the colors for more of an impressionist style.

Step 5: Find large areas of solid color and add variety.

If you have a large space filled with only one color or value, can you add variety to it?