Paint Your Garden
Supplies needed:
soft pastels
water
brushes
paper towel
pencil-if you want to sketch out your drawing first
Watercolor paper
Q-tips
There are various techniques to use with soft pastels. Give it a try before you start your painting to understand what the techniques can do for your painting.
Dry Pastel on Dry Paper- take a dry pastel and mark it on the paper, notice the dust from it, you can take a brush and remove the dust, or you can use a Q-tip, or your finger to smudge it. There will be some residue from the dust particles on the paper
Dry Pastel on Wet Paper- take a brush and wet it with water and brush the water on the paper, then take the dry pastel and mark over the wet area of the paper. You will notice it is thicker and more like paint.
Wet Pastel on Wet Paper- take a wet brush and paint the water onto the paper, then take a wet pastel (dip it in water) and mark onto of the wet area of the paper.
Dry Pastel on Dry Paper with a Wet Brush- Take a dry pastel and mark it on the dry area of the paper, then take a brush dip it in water and go over the dry pastel. It now resembles a watercolor look.
Art Task Directive:
Think about a garden that is a metaphor for your life. What would you plant in the garden? Are there weeds? Are you planting seeds? Think about how you want to maintain it. In contrast think about how the garden resembles your life. What are you growing in your life? Is there anything you want to weed out, let go of? Are there any seeds (new things) you want to plant? How are you coping with life (maintaining your garden)?
Take the soft pastels and try a few of the techniques in the painting. Explore your thoughts while you paint, think about the questions above. Don’t be concerned if the garden looks realistic. Allow yourself to be mindful and let yourself enjoy the painting.
Reflection: Afterthe art task, we would explore more about the art techniques, how you liked or did not like the soft pastels, and more about the metaphor of the garden of your life and steps to improve it.
Email me if you tried it, I would like to know how it was for you.