Pastel Painting Step-by-Step - Landscape How-To with Bethany Fields

I thought I'd try a little different style with my time-lapse today! I've gotten questions about how to work if you don't have an easel. This is a simple, quick tutorial with a lovely lush field of grass and artistic trees. This was done on some scrap trimmed paper! I hope you enjoy and please check out my other videos and subscribe. :)
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[@Jancass5]

Wow! Today I was struggling with sky holes. The use of a palette knife? Brilliant! And I love the use of a small brush for the edges of the background trees to soften them a bit and push them back. Off to my studio!! (And thanks so much!)

[@BethanyFields]

Thank you! Necessity is the mother of invention and that palette knife trick has become invaluable to me. Thank you for watching! :)

[@dominiqueproulx9241]

Thanks Bethany, this is so appreciated, more helpful than a time-lapse as i am just beginning to learn pastels. Could you do more full length tutorials? take care!

[@BethanyFields]

I have several full length lessons here and also on my patreon channel! :) patreon.com/bethanyfields

[@janeannerobertson9368]

Lovely thank you - was looking for some inspiration to get back into my pastels after my relocation!

[@BethanyFields]

So glad I could help! ;) Thank you for watching!

[@sumithasundaram5437]

the best part of your work.. is your choice of colors.. very inspiring.. !!

[@BethanyFields]

Thank you Sumitha!

[@claygreen4723]

Just got some pastels and this is EXACTLY what I want to learn! Beautiful stuff.

[@BethanyFields]

Glad to hear this Clay! Thank you!

[@1DaTJo]

Clay Green you have a wonderful name for an artist!

[@craftydegrasse3679]

So lovely! Thanks so much for sharing! Hope to see more!💜😄

[@BethanyFields]

Thank you so much! I will have some new videos out soon! :)

[@paulbirchak1498]

A great artist and instructor.

[@BethanyFields]

Thank you for watching Paul!

[@mak001_]

Magic!!!! Thank you!!!

[@BethanyFields]

Thank you Jane! :)

[@soniabrickell4268]

Loved watching you . I'm new to pastels been using watercolours in the past .looking forward to experimenting . Great idea using the palette knife to bring texture into the painting.look forward to watching more of your videos .Brilliant work .

[@BethanyFields]

Thank you so much for the sweet comment Sonia! So glad this video was helpful! :)

[@wendymace4951]

That's all new to me, I've done a few pastels but use only fingers, you don't seem to blend as much a I do your methods look fantastic. Even though I've done a few pastels I guess I'm doing it wrong lol. I'm going to have to try what you are doing. I gave away my hard pastels because they were too hard to blend......I'm sort of self taught but didn't have the ideas you have . Thank you wendy

[@BethanyFields]

No, you'r not doing it wrong! Many people blend and it's a personal choice. Hard pastels are hard to blend and that's why I use rubbing alcohol to wash it in sometimes. It tones the paper. Of course, alcohol only works on papers that can handle wet media. So glad this gave you so me new ideas Wendy! :)

[@staguk1]

Ha, When I saw that brush I thought you were about to paint that door you very cleverly made into a great desk. :)

[@BethanyFields]

Haha! I love my door/desk. With the glass top it's very easy to clean off pastel dust! ;) Thank you for watching!

[@staguk1]

Doors aren't just for going in and out of :P

[@Linda-qq5mg]

This is so pretty! Thank you so much.

[@Kitten49able]

Very nice, thank you!

[@BethanyFields]

Thank you!

[@385lidia]

Love your work.

[@valeriegriner5644]

This was a fantastic video...very, very INSPIRING! I love your choice of colors and your technique. Thanks for sharing! I am a watercolor artist, but I have done a few pastels and would like to do more.

[@BethanyFields]

Thank you Valerie!! :D Glad you're here!

[@altasomolivsage]

I would love to have this on Patreon. The colors are awesome.

[@BethanyFields]

Alta, thank you! Maybe I'll do something similar!

[@magistra137]

Love it!

[@BethanyFields]

Thank you Beth!

[@artmadebydi]

This is beautiful

[@BethanyFields]

Diana, thank you!

[@sumithasundaram5437]

so so yummy.. thank you !

[@BethanyFields]

Thank you !

[@jpna8223]

You deserve mo likes and subscribers:)

[@jpna8223]

more*

[@BethanyFields]

Thank you! :)

[@reneekroyer5104]

Hi Bethany. I saw on one of your videos a while ago, that you purchased a roll of sanded paper (I think Uart). I'd like to purchase a roll too but I made a huge mistake and purchased a giant-sized roll of paper (I didn't read the description right) and I want to be sure I don't make the same mistake. Could you tell me where/what brand, etc you purchase your sanded pastel paper?

[@gerriekaychurch658]

Really pretty! What is a good pastel paper to start with that is expensive? Also did yu use reference photo here? Thank you for any help you are able to provide!

[@jeffboyce1]

Really awesome! when are you going to start teaching online classes? You are so good!

[@BethanyFields]

Maybe soon! We'll see! :)

[@billhansen2008]

If any of your online classes will be applicable to beginners, I'd love to take them. At this early stage (just about sic weeks into pastels) I need tutorials which are recorded in "real time" rather than double or triple speed, and have some audible narration to them.

[@BethanyFields]

Bill and Jeff - well it's two years later but I've finally started online lessons over here: www.patreon.com/bethanyfields - would love to have you join!

[@georginastulen9911]

Hi Bethany I do love your work! Could you tell me the color of the Acrylic ink you use for the shadows? The darkest I could find is Ultramarine but it comes across as a quite light color blue. Thank you 🙏

[@BethanyFields]

It is Indigo! It's this one: amzn.to/325zsn3 :) Hope this helps you!

[@thestar22]

very nice .

[@BethanyFields]

Thank you for watching! :)

[@lgraham5867]

Bethany Fields love your art! How do you decide which color of paper to use?

[@salbarracca2291]

Hi Bethany, Love your work and just discovered your channel. I have painted with acrylics and oils and wanted to try pastels but stopped short because of the cost of framing knowing that a mat, glass and frame are needed which makes it very costly. Do you spray a fixative after the piece is completed?

[@BethanyFields]

Hi Sal! No, I don't. I tap the back of the painting gently to remove excess pastel dust (usually outside) and frame as you said, behind glass. Fixative can darken and sink the colors making some transparent so I avoid it as a final spray. I do sometimes use it as a technique in the middle of a painting! Many pastel artists are framing without a mat now. We use "spacers" that hold the glass up and off the painting. When you use very good glass, you can hardly tell there is glass at all! Thank you so much for watching and commenting! :)

[@elsevandergoot5491]

hello I love your tutorials and demos. could you do one demo of painting a rooster please ? thanks in advance.

[@BethanyFields]

I don't paint wildlife, but thank you for the suggestion!

[@renzo6490]

“Now begin to layer on lighter values for shadows”. 3. Minutes Lighter for shadows? Do you apply a barrier cream to your hands?

[@BethanyFields]

I probably just misspoke :) Yes I do!

[@terrilynnstalvey1416]

Love your videos. The sky was just so lovely. Like carving of trees. Can ask about palette knife? I've seen you use as spoon? 🌺🌵😀

[@BethanyFields]

The "spoon" you see is my wide and flat palette knife - it helps carve in branches and trunks and removes pastel I don't like. :)

[@wendyadams3754]

Hi, Bethany! First, thanks once again for your wonderful videos. I have a question. I noticed in your vids that you always paint right to the edge. I have been doing this too and have sold several recently. I showed a pastel to my mother in law yesterday. For many years she was a professional photog. Her first question to me was: why don't you leave a border? Won't that make it harder for people to frame? Honestly, I had never thought about it. Has this been a problem for you? What do you tell patrons if they ask about it? Thank you in advance! :)

[@BethanyFields]

That's a great question! I don't always use a mat in my framing and so any additional edge would show. Also, I dislike taping the edges on most pieces as the tape is just wasted and thrown away. Unless I'm plein air painting, I don't tape my edges down. If I decide to mat a piece with no edges, the framer only needs a quarter of an inch and this doesn't crop the pieces in too tightly. Thank you for asking and for watching! I appreciate it!

[@wendyadams3754]

Thanks for replying!

[@kushmandinigupta6493]

I wanted to ask that can we use anything else than rubbing alcohol? Please tell I'm a beginner at this my first set of pastels arrived yesterday plz suggest me what to do and how to blend I'm a watercolor artist and underage i don't think my mum will let me use alcohol and it's really hard to blend the colors just sit over each other

[@emayhewlackey]

Love this video- so helpful. Is that little painting for sale? It's so pretty. Thanks for sharing!

[@BethanyFields]

Hi Emily! It is! :) bethanyfields.com/workszoom/2109242

[@altasomolivsage]

The price is not listed. Could you list prices so I can consider if it is in my price range? It’s beautiful.

[@400audio2]

I love the work you do. I oil paint mostly. But I fins landscapes in pastels to be so attractive. How do you go about choosing q reference photo?

[@BethanyFields]

Hi Anthony! This painting didn't come from a reference photo, just my artist brain. :) I take a lot of photos though and mostly look for different shapes in the landscape and pleasing arrangements of trees and other elements. I use the references as a catalyst to inspire and then often change color, lighting, temperature, compositional lines, etc. Thank you for watching and commenting! I appreciate it.

[@renzo6490]

Bethany Fields ..can you see how using and showing a reference photo as you work could benefit your viewers ? It would be helpful to see the reference as you add lighter values to model the bushes and trees with a lighter green. 4 min. 17 sec. I’m wondering where the light source is.The left sides of the upright foliage are lighted, but the shadows they cast look as if the light was coming from directly above. And could you keep the text up on the screen a bit longer for people whose mother language is not English or who need a bit more time to read?

[@BethanyFields]

Hi Renzo - This piece didn't come from a reference photo but thanks for asking! I am teaching over at patreon.com/bethanyfields now and am sharing the references and paintings. I would love to be able to add more subtitles. Thank you for watching!

[@doreenlorenzo2501]

It's beautiful.Why do you under paint?

[@BethanyFields]

For many reasons! I like the painterly quality it adds, it covers the paper color, and helps me form a good value map from the beginning. :)

[@jeremyespinosa9065]

Hello my friend how are you today

[@BethanyFields]

HI Jeremy!

[@cmkartist03]

Lovely videos and art! What kind of paper do you use?

[@BethanyFields]

HI Chantel! Thank you! This is sanded paper by Uart. :)

[@cmkartist03]

Thanks so much Bethany! Happy Painting :)

[@shoon53]

Why doesnt the alcohol work for me? Doesn't seem to melt the pastel as it does with you. What could I be doing wrong?

[@BethanyFields]

Hmmm...not sure Sherry. Are you using sanded papers?

[@javierdelacruzazor5736]

Hi Bethany, I love your thecnique with pastel: I have a question, What kind of Rubbing Alcohol you applied in your tecnique, I come from Spain and I am not sure what kind of Alcohol I have to ask similar. Thank you for your videos.

[@BethanyFields]

Hi Javier! Thank you for watching! Some in the UK call it "surgical spirits" - it is used for medical reasons (cleaning wounds, etc.) here in the USA. It dries very quickly and doesn't remove the grit from the paper I use. (Uart papers). Test your paper before using to make sure it passes the test! Thank you for watching and commenting!

[@tundehegyaljai7603]

Whath kind of paper do you USE for this pastel picture? Thanks Tünde

[@katforscience]

how did you learn all of the techniques you use? I love pastels but I am a very new beginner and can't seem to find a good place to start /:

[@katforscience]

also, what brand pastels do you enjoy the most

[@BethanyFields]

Hi Loki! It was hard to discover my own methods. I am self-taught and studied and painted a painting everyday! Lots of trial and error! I started this channel to try to pass on knowledge to beginners and experienced pastelists. :) Thank you for watching and please let me know of any questions you have that you'd like me to cover!

[@BethanyFields]

I use mainly Nupastel, Terry Ludwig, Unison, Girault, Great American, and Rembrandt....each has a different use and softness. I often put the materials used at the end of the videos if you're curious about a certain one. :)

[@georgeslesur1259]

est ce que l'alcool fonctionne sur pastel mat ou canson mi touch? merci

[@derickelsner9006]

will india ink work instead of acrylic ink?

[@BethanyFields]

It should! I use white india ink sometimes. Try it on a small scrap piece of your paper first to be safe. :)

[@altasomolivsage]

Please list the price for this painting. If prices are listed it allows the buyer to know right from the start if it is within a price range that is affordable to that particular buyer.

[@BethanyFields]

This one is sold, thank you though!