Jill Stefani Wagner: 5 Step Pastel Painting

Discover Techniques from Master Pastelist, Jill Stefani Wagner, who is revealing her brilliant pastel techniques to help you advance your skills.

Inside the video, you’ll discover breakthrough tips like:

• How to plan your next masterpiece with the “Big 5 Steps” (always follow these!) ...
• Layering colors in pastel the RIGHT way (most do this completely wrong) ...
• How to infuse light into your artworks...
• The “hidden” structure behind every painting and how to implement it.
• Tonal underpainting to successfully set your composition...
• Simple tricks you can do when you have bad reference photos...
• Expert insights on how to adjust your photos so the scene looks more like you remember when you photographed it...
• How to skyrocket your results by “painting with intention” (you’ll LOVE this) ...
• How to paint realistic skies during a sunset...
• How to create paintings that radiate with inner light…
• ...and much more!

5 Step Pastel Painting is just what you need to help you lessen your anxiety when starting a new painting, create higher quality work, and lessen your “throw-aways!”

Jill is going to help you with everything from offering the best tips for painting from a photograph to stepping back and calling the piece finished!

She’ll share her Big 5 Steps to plan and create your work so that you know exactly where you’re headed on your current piece of art — no more wondering and straying off from what you intended the drawing or painting to be!

One of the best benefits of studying with Jill via this video is that she is an expert at helping you gain confidence in your work. When you plan ahead using her Big 5 Steps, you’ll have a structure and system to approach each new painting.

You’ll now have what it takes to apply pastels from start to finish!

5 Step Pastel Painting Video Is Perfect for Artists of ALL Levels!

If you’ve ever caught yourself saying things like:

• “It’s so overwhelming! How do I begin?”
• “My photos always look so different from what I remember.” 
• “Do I have to put everything in the photo in my painting?”

...then this video is PERFECT for you, because Jill will show you exactly what to do, and more.

Even if you’re NOT a beginner, you don’t want to miss out on Jill’s “tricks of the trade,” like how to maintain your focus from start to finish.

What you’ll discover in the video will help you find various ways to jump-start your creativity!

Plus, she’s going to show you a step-by-step progression from planning … to transferring your sketch to your substrate ... to creating an underpainting of your composition … to layering several layers of pastel to reach your goal!

So no matter your level of experience, Jill Stefani Wagner’s 5 Step Pastel Painting will have something game-changing for you!

“I started painting again fairly late in life after a career in advertising, and basically had to start from scratch. I’m here to tell you that it IS possible, and you can do it too!” 

— Jill Stefani Wagner

More of what you can expect:

• The Roadmap to Successful Pastel Artwork!
• If there’s ONE lesson you don’t want to miss, it’s this. The “Big 5 Steps” is the roadmap that comes BEFORE you start your painting. 
• Simply follow Jill’s “Big 5 Steps” and you can guarantee that your pastel painting will come out the way you’ve envisioned it to be!
• The Big 5 Steps is the ultimate culmination of Jill’s extensive experience in pastel painting. 
• Just follow her process to create amazing pieces of art that will turn heads — no matter how experienced you are! (You can use the same 5 steps for oil painting too!)
• Capture the Light!

Knowing how to capture the light is an impressive skill to have, one that you can apply to almost ANY of your paintings!

Good news is that Jill’s primary goal in painting is to capture the light — or what she describes as “the feeling of luminescence and atmosphere.” You’ll discover how to do this in great detail inside the course. 

You’ll also discover how to recreate gorgeous effects in your artwork by breaking down sunlight and shadow. This is a skill that few artists know! After watching Jill, you’ll be an expert in no time at all.

See How a Master Pastelist Paints Realistic Skies

Being able to paint realistic skies is one way to grab viewers’ attention. If that’s a skill you’d like to master, then simply watch Jill as she shows you how to paint realistic skies during a sunset — from start to finish in high-definition detail!

You also don’t want to miss Jill’s brilliant tips and insights on how to make your pastel paintings radiate with inner light — what she’s sharing in this video could just transform your paintings into a collectable masterpiece!

BONUS EXTRAS on the VIDEO:

• 2 Ways to Transfer Your Photo to a Painting Surface
• Insights from the Artist--Get to know Jill’s background in art, her thoughts on talent and finding your inspiration and style

Chapter Breakdown 

Introduction

Chapter 1: Materials & Tools 

• What are Pastels? Sticks made of powdered pigments and a very small amount of gum, clay, or resin binder. Since dry pastels have less binder than any other medium, it is like painting with pure color - totally addictive!
• Pastels are NOT chalk. Chalk is made of limestone, shells and calcium carbonate with very little pigment. Pastels are made with TONS of pigment and hardly any binder.
• I highly recommend that you always buy professional grade materials. Student grade pastels are of lesser quality with more binder and less pigment. Some really ARE more like the “chalk” we used on sidewalks as kids. 

CHAPTER 2: A Note on Working From Photos

• Goal for segment: Advantages and disadvantages of working with photos.
• When I’m painting in my studio I use reference photos to inform my work. Photographs are a great tool for the artist. They remind us of scenes we loved and provide important structural and perspective information. But they also have a lot of disadvantages that we need to be aware of.

CHAPTER 3: Planning the Painting: The Big 5 Steps

• Review the business plan that will take us through our painting process.

• Step Number 1 – Love Note   
• Step Number 2 – Focal Point
• Step Number 3 – Composition  
• Step Number 4 -- Values  
• Step Number 5 – Color

CHAPTER 4: Painting Demo: Transfer the Sketch

• Goal for segment: Demonstrate transferring small sketch to substrate. 
• Use rule of thirds to grid sketch with ruler and vine charcoal. 
• Now I have all I need to begin working on my actual painting. I have a road map. 

CHAPTER 5: Painting Demo: The Underpainting

• Goal for segment: Demonstrate creating a value underpainting.  
• Use dark red NuPastel to sketch in values and wash it down with alcohol to make it permanent. Discuss using the complimentary or opposite color to create interest and vibration. Pause to let underpainting dry.

CHAPTER 6: Painting Demo: The First Layer

• Goal for segment:  Demonstrate first very light layer of pastels and fixative application. 
• Go for the closest value, not necessarily the perfect color.

CHAPTER 7: Painting Demo: The Second Layer

• Goal for segment:  Demonstrate next layer of pastels. 
• Which pastels to use for the second layer.
• Shapes or details? 

CHAPTER 8: Painting Demo: Bring in the Soft Pastels

• Goal for segment: Demonstrate next pass of pastels. 
• Find the soft and butterypastels for this step!

CHAPTER 9: Painting Demo: Final Touches

• Goal for segment: Demonstrate the last details and adjustments.
• Discover when to call it done!