Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Untitled 98


Pastel on PastelMat, approx. 3" x 4".


I wish I could say this is an enormous oil painting (because that would be very cool too), but in fact it's a small pastel. Nevertheless, I'm very excited because it's the first one I'm showing you in a new series. I've been experimenting for months to try to get a certain, Rothko-style effect using pastel on paper rather than oil on canvas, and I have finally figured it out. I can only get the effect on PastelMat and on UArt400 (slightly different on each, but equally satisfying). 


I'm still using the Sennelier LaCarte for the previous type of effects (the last 30 or however many Untitleds). I love that effect too and I'll keep doing those as well (and I still have a lot of them left to post), but they're very different. Sennelier gives more of a crisp, clear color, whereas with these new ones I've finally figured out how to get the hazy, almost cloudy, luminous, more subtle, yet vibrant color effect I've also been looking for.


The good part about them being small is I can do one in an evening, rather than weeks as for a large oil. Of course, it also makes them much more affordable!


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The Brother has come for a week-long visit and Gadjo is hiding. 

No, just kidding--the animolecules actually love The Brother, even though he doesn't have any animolecules of his own.

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In India.


More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

17 comments:

Sonya Johnson said...

Ooooh! Very cool! It really does have an oil-like quality about it. Great colors, too! I've never tried either PastelMat or UArt, although the next time I can ante up for some pastel supplies, I'd like to try them both.

Cats + bags = fun times!

wv: logshat

Double "D" said...

I like this a lot. I can't think of the artists name,
but this is somewhat like his. I am a little concerned that there are no colored lines running through it.
I hope there are no side effects. lol

Kelley Carey MacDonald said...

Yay Jala! I totally get now what you were trying for. Although I have to say I loved the others, too. This is swEET!

And love the 'cat in the bag'....

Jala Pfaff said...

Sonya - Thanks. All the pastel papers are so different, I think it's great to try a bunch of different ones whenever possible. Even if you try one and don't like it, it's always possible it will end up being the perfect surface for a very different type of effect. Logshat, huh? Lovely. ;)

DD - No side effects yet. ;) I'm sure you're thinking of Rothko. He's one of my favorite artists ever and I like to think maybe this is how he would've worked in pastels.

Hi Kelley- Thanks! I love the others, too; they're just very different. This effect here is something I've been experimenting with here and there for several months. It's not to replace the other kind of effect, but rather to be a new effect in and of itself.

cohen labelle said...

It definitely could be an oil painting but of course it's very lovely as a pastel as are your other pastels!

Ann Gorbett said...

Oooh-I love this. I thought Rothko immediately when I first saw it. Beautifully done.

Fernando Pena said...

Jala, me gusta mucho lo que estás haciendo ultimamente, no importa si es oleo o pastel, grande o chico, el resultado es bueno y eso es lo que importa.
Ah, y como siempre las fotos de tus mascotas me atrapan, esta con la bolsa está muy graciosa.
Saludos

Sheila Vaughan said...

Rich painting Jala with so much positive energy in it. It would lift my spirits every time I passed it if it were on my wall.

Gadjo in a bag is the end. What another great pic.

Casey Klahn said...

I came straight over to see this. Beautiful, and the subtle color shouldn't be lost on anyone. very well done, Jala.

Could you take a high res image of the future ones? I have a feeling that we can sometimes upload 110 dpi or better, instead of the old 72 dpi standard. I could be wrong - not a computer nerd.

Lisa Le Quelenec said...

There's a lovely ambiguity in the push and pull of the different shapes. I like the vibration very much. Fantastic!

Anonymous said...

Jala, I just LOVE the colours in this...they 'pop' and 'sing' all at the same time. Wonderful depth of colour and nice textural effects. I often work quite small and enjoy walking up to a painting rather than being overwhelmed by it. Small has it's place in the art world, and as you said the time difference in painting small rather than large and in pastel rather than in oil makes for a more affordable piece of art. Art purchasing should be for everyone, and a price range which is diverse can only boost your sales.

The Artist Within Us said...

Greetings Jala,

Congratulations of having discovered a satisfactory method of achieving a Rothko look and having successfully accomplished it.

Love the cat in the bag!

Warmest regards,
Egmont

loriann signori said...

Hi Jala, I saw the thumbnail and knew I had to see the painting. Love the vibrating color. Are you using an underpainting?
Surely if Rothko had pastels this would be a method he would love. Can't wait to see what you do on Uart!

Jala Pfaff said...

CL - Thanks very much.

Ann - Glad you like it. I'm deeply and irrevocably influenced by Rothko.

Fernando - Gracias por tu visita y tus comentarios. Sí, el resultado final, que sea bueno, es lo más importante, ?verdad? :) Gadjo te saluda desde su bolsa.

Sheila - Thank you. I feel it is a very uplifting painting as well. It's those spring colors, I suppose...and yellow, I think, is always a color that inherently possesses a buoyant mood. Gadjo says hi from within his paper bag.

Casey - It's always a good sign when The Colorist's eye is immediately taken by a painting. As for the resolution, I think they are higher resolution than 72. Or do you have some way of telling? I looked at the one I just posted, Untitled 99, and I don't remember what the resolution was exactly, but I do remember it was higher than 72.

Hi Lisa - Thanks, glad you like it. One thing I definitely am doing in these new ones is trying to achieve the effect Rothko got, where you can't always tell whether a given shape is on a top layer or a lower layer; they seem to be both at once, if done right, I think.

Hi Maggie - Thank you and you're very right.

Hi Egmont - Nice to see you here, and thanks. The cat is out of the bag!

Loriann - Thanks, glad you find it enjoyable, Madame of the Vibrating Colors herself. I love to think (to flatter myself) that Rothko would've made pastel paintings just like these. I answered your underpainting question in my newer post. And the UArt, frankly I still find it more difficult to work with and don't know if I'll ever completely understand it.

Brian McGurgan said...

Hi Jala, I like these recent Rothko-esque pastels a lot - even better than I like most Rothko's. Beautiful color choices in proportions that work well.

JANE MINTER said...

hi jala ... loved this one on the thumb nail ... you sound really excited ..will look foward to see more

loriann signori said...

Hi Jala, the Uart and Pastel Mat are so different. I love the fact you will use both. Thanks for sharing your process!