I chose to do mine on cream coloured 160g Canson paper. There's no especial reason for the make or the weight of it, it's just that that's what was available.

The pastels I used are from a selection box of Marie's soft pastels. But they are actually quite hard. A 64 selection box of Boldmere pastels which are very soft and some Schminke pastels which are also very soft. I also used some Derwent pastel pencils.

1. Deep Cadmium
2. Geranium Lake
3. Crimson Lake
4. Brown Ochre
5. Zinc Yellow
6. Orange Earth
7. Burnt Carmine

I also used some pencils which are not in the photograph. These are: French Grey, Terracota and White

Transfer the drawing to the paper. If you click on the image it will take you to a large version.

You may have noticed that I've altered the position of the boat and removed the land from the right side.

I draw with a pastel pencil as this gives me more control and will also blend into the painting.

I viewed the photograph at 200% and then in an editing program, drew the basic outline in the finest pencil in black. I outlined the land, the boat and the clouds. From this it's easier to understand and then I drew freehand, the details onto the paper itself. If you're a little unsure about freehand drawing, then you could always get a print of the photo and then have it blown up to double the size on a photocopier. As an indication my actual drawing area is 24cm in width and 35.2cm in height. Also I have a 5cm border on the top and sides and a 6.4cm border at the bottom, to give room for the mount card.

On your photocopy, rub over the back of the paper with a graphite pencil or something soft enough for tracing. Then position this onto your pastel paper and using a pencil draw over the outline again and it should come off onto your pastel paper. Experiment on a small piece that doesn't matter if you like first.

As you can see I haven't drawn the cloud formations onto mine. You can please yourself. Now that job's done it's on to the painting!

First we'll do the base layer or underpainting. Remembering to use paler colours or lighter tones near the horizon and darker in the sea near the foreground. Likewise the sky, darker at the top than near the horizon. This will add some depth to your picture.

Have your photograph (on screen or printed) handy for reference. If you to view the photo on the computer you can view it at 200% and see the details a bit better.

All advice would be to start with the sky and work your way downwards, so as not to rest on the bottom half of the picture and smudge it, nor to let the pastel fall down from the sky all over your sea. Advice is always good if you remember to use it, however, I had my eye set on the sea and overlooked the advice.

For the sea, look at the photograph and your colours and try to decide which colours you can see in the sea and see if any of your colours resemble them. Have a piece of paper by your side so that you can put some marks down to see what the colour looks like when it's on paper. They usually look darker. If you look at the photograph of the pastels above you can see the pastels I chose. I used the oranges and purple/browns and yellows. Keeping an eye on the photograph to see where to lay in the colours, I used the pastels flat on their sides with horizontal strokes to block in areas. Lighter near the horizon and getting darker towards the bottom

Here is the rough base layer. You can view this on a larger scale if you click on the photo.

 

I like to smudge and blend my pastels. If you do this the pastel will go into the tooth of the paper and give a better colour coverage.

This shows the pastel just newly laid onto the paper.

Then next you can see the pastel sitting in the 'tooth' of the paper after smudging.

If you compare this to the photo above you can see that it's smoothed out the harsh lines. I thought that the sea was a little dark towards the horizon, so I removed some pastel with the putty rubber.

Click image for larger view

Now for the sky

I didn't put the lines for the clouds onto my drawing, but I have provided them on the main line sketch to help you if you prefer to use them. If not, just keep your eye on the formation and put the grey colour first, then I add those little bits of blue that sit just over the clouds.(Click image for larger view)

Here I've added some purple, just roughly drag the pastel on its side, or use its edge for small areas. Bear in mind that you don't have to cover all of the surface paper. You can use the colour of the paper to work for you.

Then I've added a pale yellow and followed with some orange strokes. Near the horizon I've used some of the same colour as was in the sea, but I've left a white band above the horizon. If your colour looks too dark you can add some white over the top to knock it back a little.

Before blending the sky I've added some warm grey (which looks brown) to the land. You can leave this fairly rough looking, as we want it to look a bit rocky. (Click image for larger view)

Smudge in sideways motions with your finger. Try to flatten out your finger to do this. When you go over a different colour, remember to wipe your fingers first, or you'll end up making it look muddy. I tend to smudge all the areas of the same colour and then change to another. Although sometimes you do need to smudge the bands together on the edges to blend them in.

When you reach the cloud edges, you can push the pastel with your fingertip to make it look like it has fluffy edges. You need to push outwards from the colour you are blending.

If you've gone over your lines for your sail wires don't worry as we'll add them at the end. I tried not to cover the main mast though. You're working well!

Maybe you would like your coffee break now.

When you are painting, at any time if you feel a little tired, or unsure, or it's not going as you wish, it's always better to have a break. Leave the room or turn the painting away from you. There's no need to feel that you have to complete the picture in one session. For example: yesterday I made the underpainting for the sea and carried on with the sky this morning.

If you do take breaks, or leave off for a day, remember to put your putty rubber back in its box so that it doesn't dry out and go hard.When you want to use it again (even if it has pastel on it) you can just knead it with your fingertips and the warmth from your fingers will make it tacky and good for pulling of pastel.

Now I've added some white over most of the areas to knock the purple back. Then I've blended it and added more white to emphasise the cloud edges. Next I've added some Schminke neutral grey light to blend into the purple a bit more. (click image for larger view)

 

The overall look of the painting at the moment.

(Remember photos are for a guideline and you don't have to make an exact replica) Also we want to keep the picture balanced, so you need to work on all of the areas. (Click image for larger view)

OK. I'm splitting this tutorial into parts as it's quite long.

Please join me for PART 2.