Fun Using Watercolour Paints, Sennelier Soft Pastels & NuPastels on Canson Mi-Teintes Velvet Paper

[@creativeartwellbeing]

Helen your work just gets better and better …. I absolutely love this painting and shows the details beautifully xxx❤

[@helencryer]

That's really very kind of you!

[@annaolsson5319]

Wow really beautiful, love the mix of softer blended parts with the more expressive marks. It feels very alive.

[@helencryer]

Thanks so much!

[@angelaschredl9245]

I love your piece of art, Helen ❤ I was stunned to see how it turned from two Dimensions to three Dimensions 🤩 It's so wonderful!!

[@helencryer]

Thank you! 🙂

[@PaulaScardamalia]

That bank of clouds is incredible. Really has so much depth and glows. Can't believe you did it in an hour! Thanks for sharing.

[@helencryer]

Thank you!

[@SharBeing]

I am learning so much watching your videos. Thank you 🙂

[@helencryer]

That's lovely - thanks so much!

[@janemcgrath9615]

I love it all,but that sky is something else,just beautiful.

[@helencryer]

Thank you ☺️

[@beedee4427]

This is such a beautiful piece Helen. I absolutely love the way in which you abstracted the original photo, really clever. The watercolour on the pastel paper was fascinating. Very different to watercolour paper but I loved the way it behaved. It would be interesting to see how the QoR paints moved on this paper. I also think that the first layer of watercolour was a massive player in the final outcome of the piece. And I loved that you used the structure of the pastels for mark marking. I'm going to have to copy this idea 😆 if you don't mind! You definitely need to get on to the print thing because that is how you make money. One painting sold umpteen times 👍🏻. I'm currently teaching myself how to turn my artworks into prints. Learning the whole photoshop business 🤔🤓 And finally, I do hope you got those Sennellier pastels on a good special. If they're anything near as pricey as their oil pastels - ouch! Cheers x

[@helencryer]

Thanks ever so much! It was great fun! I'd love here your feedback if you give it a go! I have had prints and cards made of a few of my paintings, but I always feel like it's a risk, because I like to have them printed as giclee prints on beautiful paper, and it's not cheap to get them done. I definitely having got a clue about Photoshop! I just drop mine off at the printers! Sennelier soft pastels in this set works out loads cheaper than the oil pastels.

[@teekierudite5108]

Lovely artwork, how you capture the coastline, you can smell the ocean just by looking at your painting. The painting came out gorgeous, working on the pastel paper really worked out for the better. Keep up the amazing work!

[@helencryer]

Thanks - that's so nice of you!

[@thefrostedblueberryart]

This really is magnificent, Helen. It's like an old master's painting of Cornwall 🥰 It's so soft but still dramatic, I just love it. Please put a high price tag on the original if you sell it, it's worth it!

[@helencryer]

Thanks - that's so lovely!

[@jessicastrideart]

Oh Helen you make it look so easy but I find landscapes the most difficult especially skies! This is so beautiful!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@helencryer]

Whereas I'm scared of painting people!! Thanks!

[@jessicastrideart]

@@helencryer 😂😘

[@awatercolourist]

I really like the sky and clouds.

[@helencryer]

Thanks!

[@Artstudiovaneijk]

Pastelmat works 👌 for watercolor and pastel

[@helencryer]

Thanks!

[@suzannemarshall7458]

Beautiful work and congrats on al the sales I'm sure people loved these lovely bright works.

[@helencryer]

Thank you!!

[@pastelsgirl]

And we enjoyed very much watching you producing this exquisite piece of art ❤️ Thank you, Helen! 😊

[@helencryer]

Thanks so much!

[@snowpony001]

That is just beautiful, Helen. So much depth. The sky is amazing and the sense of movement in the sea is fantastic. Thanks for

[@helencryer]

Thank you!!

[@diannedupuis2960]

Very inspiring!

[@NavyAssassinOnBLAST]

UK has some breathtaking beaches. Europe in general is gorgeous. Italy, France, England, Switzerland, etc. I hope I get to see it in person. Thank you for sharing your artistic perspective 😊

[@helencryer]

Thank you! I'm very happy to have moved to Cornwall, where we have quite a few, and agree - there's so much beauty everywhere!

[@liz-anna2365]

I love this method! Thank you for sharing.

[@helencryer]

Thanks!

[@zenlife1200]

Very enjoyable. Just the break I needed after rearranging our art space 😊

[@annferguson3581]

Beautiful paintings, Helen. I wish I lived in England - I would have loved to go to that market!

[@helencryer]

Thank you!!

[@KatherineWithaK16]

This is so beautiful! Thank you for sharing your process.

[@helencryer]

Thank you!!

[@twisteddyekitchenmyfiberjo4577]

Congratulation for selling so many pieces at your show! Validating your artistic efforts. I too love this watercolor and pastel technique. Some day soon I will give this a chance...Great video!

[@helencryer]

Thanks ever so much!

[@lisaharner3720]

Wow, Helen! This is a stunning work! I so liked how the pastels filled in where the watercolor left off. Love the sky and water on this! Thanks for sharing your work!

[@helencryer]

Thank you!!

[@myrarucker7953]

Just lovely

[@helencryer]

Thank you!

[@susanorban3059]

Helen this is just gorgeous! To see your processes Just a treat! The sky and water my fave parts. But really the whole thing just fabulous!!🎉❤❤❤

[@helencryer]

Thanks so much!

[@cmumford1477]

Lovely. The pastels are so rich and lush. I really enjoyed seeing your works that were available for your market. Wonderful.

[@helencryer]

Thank you!

[@TheRealLauraB]

So enjoyable to watch you paint. Excellent

[@helencryer]

I'm glad! Thanks!

[@rosaliemaguire]

Stunning painting.

[@helencryer]

Thanks!

[@WilmaBadenhorst-i8u]

Lovely painting ❤

[@helencryer]

Thank you!

[@SMCCRADY2]

So Lovely!

[@helencryer]

Thank you!

[@jude6752]

Fab clouds Helen - lovely piece 🥰

[@helencryer]

Thanks!

[@myrarucker7953]

I love the piano music. Who is it? Especially as you did your beautiful work with pastel over watercolor

[@helencryer]

My music is from Uppbeat: uppbeat.io/t/holly-jones/getting-it-right

[@SAP64]

I was also wondering how much of the watercolour is covered by the pastels. For an experiment you could place a piece of velum or lightweight tissue paper on top of the watercolour. Something that wouldn’t obscure the watercolour. Then continue using the pastels to finish the painting. When finished, lift off the velum and you’ll see just how much is being covered. I really like the sky and the ocean in this painting the most. There is such an expression in the way you have portrayed them.

[@helencryer]

Thank you for the suggestion, but do you mean do the pastel part of the picture actually onto the vellum/tissue? I think that would defeat the point of using expensive pastel paper though - the soft pastel wouldn't be able to grip on it. I think I'm happy enough not knowing!

[@SAP64]

Yes use the pastels on the velum, I believe one side has a tooth that the pastels would grip onto. You could still use the pastel paper for the first step in the experiment as the second step would be using the velum which isn’t attached permanently and therefore the watercolour portion can preserved if the pastels don’t grip very well. This was just a suggestion for ‘research & development’ and curiosity. You would only have to do it once if you are really curious. You could also take a picture of the finished watercolour portion before using pastels and another one when you’re finished the painting. Then compare them to each other to see how much was added after the watercolour.

[@Samantha_tookey197]

It’s so beautiful ❤

[@helencryer]

Thank you!

[@TheSporkFactory]

Very lovely:)

[@helencryer]

Thank you!

[@beejayem42]

🐨👍

[@FaithAnnNB]

I love how this piece turned out… beautiful! Congrats on your successful sale weekend!! I bought a set of Unison 18 half-stick soft pastels last weekend, but I’m waiting until I’m on Christmas break to play with them when I’ll have more time. I need to get something for blending, because I can’t rub my finger on paper 😅.

[@helencryer]

Thanks! I can't believe you bought soft pastels though! I'm so excited you're going to be trying them out! Which set did you get?

[@FaithAnnNB]

@ Ha, you’re not as shocked as I am that I bought a set 😂. Unison had an introductory colour set with 18 half sticks, so I thought that would be a good place to start. If my local store had the landscape set, I would have picked up those instead, but their selection was limited.

[@helencryer]

I'm so pleased!

[@jlm517rocks]

Wow, helen... yr eye for color & detail is superb & invites the viewer into each scene... quite lovely... ii'm not the mom, but ii am very proud of you...

[@helencryer]

Awww, thank you!!!

[@mjpete27]

Hullo Helen, There are some truly amazing artworks being made with this new Velvet paper from Canson! You made it look so easy in this video! Thanks for sharing your experience with us. A truly lovely painting! I enjoy using watercolors to "block in" my colors before starting work with pastels and I have a set of brushes that I have set aside s some pastel papers can be quite hard on brushes and you do not want to lose your best brushes to a rough surface that could "eat" them up! I have even been warned that watercolor brushes are not for use on canvas! So user beware! I would hate to see someone's $125.00 or more priced brush lose its tip to a harsh surface. Yeah that is a real price for 1 #12 sable brush and it will cost more if you pay tax and shipping too!

[@helencryer]

Thank you! I think it's comparable to Pastelmat, though I haven't seen it being used much. (I actually rarely watch KZbin nowadays!) Good to hear it is though! Yes - very sensible advice regarding brushes.

[@SistahRev]

I am new to your channel, new to watercolor painting, and new to oil pastels, and I THOROUGHLY enjoyed this!! I clicked on the video because I had not heard of using watercolor & pastels together, and I do love mixing different media, so was glad to tune in and learn something. As the pastels came together in your picture, I was wondering (and planning to ask) what is the use of watercoloring first if it all gets covered up anyway… and then you so helpfully talked through your own thoughts on the matter! But before you began to explain, my question made me look out my window and around my room to see if I could discern hidden shades under the more obvious surface colors in the sky and in the objects around me- and paying attention to this made me see that, YES, indeed, when we look carefully the eye CAN see more layers of “hidden” color even if the mind sort of ignores them! So your watercolors may be covered by the pastel work, but perhaps on some level, at least in some spots, the watercolors are still contributing some visual support and information that our brains may not be able to exactly pinpoint. (I hope that all makes sense… please forgive the ramblings of this crass beginner, but this was a fascinating and “eye opening” process for me!😂) Thank you SO much for sharing your incredible skills, and this absolutely lovely picture!🤗🌹🌹🌹

[@helencryer]

Thanks so much for watching and commenting - I enjoyed your thoughts! I've recently been playing with using totally different background colours for underpainting acrylics and letting some peek through (not a new technique, just new to me), and it's so exciting the subtle changes it brings! I hope you have a lovely art journey!

[@racechick2033]

First. Mwahahaha. Beautiful MM piece - stunning. ❤😊

[@helencryer]

🥇😂 Hi Panda! Thank you!

[@awatercolourist]

NOOOOOOO (cue in dramatic music). But still: 🥇 🍫

[@awatercolourist]

@@racechick2033 You know what, you also deserve a trophy, so here you go: 🏆✨

[@carolfowler7637]

These are absolutely stunning! I may have missed it, but do you seal these pretty prints?

[@helencryer]

Thanks! I haven't sealed it, be sure it will go behind glass, but I still need to find the best way to do it.

[@triciabennetts6578]

‘Quite happy’ - it’s beautiful Helen! ❤ All those satisfying bright colours and textures 😊 Great idea to use the watercolour first on the pastel mat - I know a lot of pastel artists start with an alcohol wash of colour first, but I prefer the idea of this - feeling inspired! - May not use my best watercolour brushes though 🤔 Thankyou 😊 Would you fix this or just put in a frame under glass?

[@helencryer]

Thanks! Oo - not heard of the use of alcohol inks with pastel before! Interesting! I'd probably use another brush next time, yes - it was pretty rough (but I kind of feel that way about using Arches watercolour paper too!)

[@triciabennetts6578]

@ Sorry, the alcohol wash tends to be pastel laid down first and then brush or spray alcohol on top and let it dry - I’m guessing this way, you also get to lay down colour, or tone/value, without ‘filling’ the tooth of the paper - but I could be wrong 😬 Can get some nice ‘drippy’ effects too. Do you fix this kind of mixed media painting?

[@helencryer]

That sounds interesting too! No - I did this piece to go under glass, and maybe take prints from, but I don't know enough about fixing yet.

[@LeesChannel]

Helen, how much does your average watercolor painting go for at the craft market?

[@helencryer]

£40 on the craft market, but £100 in gallery.

[@LeesChannel]

​@@helencryerThank you so much for enlightening me Helen!

[@AndreaVanKleef-qs8gn]

Lovely video ❤ Did you spray it afterwards with anything to fix the pastels?

[@helencryer]

Thanks! No I haven't sprayed it - it will just go under glass. I need to do some research on spraying soft pastels, as the last one I sprayed on Pastelmat didn't go well - it left the pastel looking kind of damp.

[@berolinastrassmann]

This is stunning, Helen! I really enjoyed watching you shape this picture and build every corner of it. Congratulations on a successful market day too! Do you use fixatives tonseal this? I ❤ this colour palette and everything about this painting. Thanks!

[@helencryer]

Thanks ever so much! I haven't used fixatives on it. I need to do more research on fixing soft pastels, as I changed the look of the pastel when I tried it.

[@berolinastrassmann]

the dilemma of fixing vs not fixing is what keeps me away from using more pastels. Especially if I want to sell something, I am worried the pastel will somehow fall off the paper. It seems the velvet paper you used does the trick, though. Thanks @helencryer

[@ShadowoftheDude]

I think if I were to try this I would pre-wet the paper before painting. Seems really frustrating otherwise.

[@helencryer]

That would make it easier to lay down, but you wouldn't get any edges at all.

[@ShadowoftheDude]

@ If you wet everything at once. You can wet in sections.