Pastels by David: August 2010

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Hi Susan,
A bug is preventing me from commenting on my own blog. Sorry!

To answer your comment question, only using Blick pastels...a simple, student-grade 30-color set. I do have some nicer ones on the way though and can't wait to try out some higher quality tools.

The color may seem fluorescent because I tried to leave it pure, un-blended, and used complements instead of local color. (I avoided neutral tones...which is in direct conflict with some instruction techniques I have seen in the past few months.)

The peach/orange lighter values over the field in the distance could be covered with aqua, while the reds in the foreground could be covered with greens. But, I liked the complements in the under-painting and wanted to roll with it.

Deborah Secor stresses value and color, of course--they are elemental to painting. So, I tried to select correct values (highlights on the field, darker browns and deep blues in the shadows) while choosing colors that were complements. Now, I could have covered those complements with local color, creating a more natural, realistic-looking end painting. But...the vibrant, pure chromas in the under-painting created enough interest to earn a permanent place.

I updated the image with a new one, due to a fairly strong compositional change. The long, straight path/road leading directly back into the mountain bothered me, even though it is that way in real life. So, I changed it to lead more to the left, on a gentle curve that would not end so abruptly and hopefully remind the viewer of the other curves in the painting, such as those on the mountain slopes.

It's all an experiment, and part of the reason pastels are so cool. You can make many mistakes, and recover easily. Or, you can feel free to roam off on a wild tangent and still be pleased at the end.

Thanks for looking, Dave