Well, I’m going to have to work on #24 because the color should be all purple, not blue. I’m leaving this here right now to show you that I have successfully completed 1/4 of my challenge. I’ll repost the purple one when I fix the color balance.
Category: Landscapes
100 Pastel Challenge – No.23
Just one more tonight and the suggestion of doing a black and white version came from my son (you know, the one who is usually the first to add a comment). I’m not sure whether being an architect or a rabid comic book designer and historian is the reason he chose b&w, but it was really fun to do.
I had done one earlier just using blues and will probably add other monochrome versions as time goes on.
I hope you are enjoying this challenge as much as I am!
Tags: 100 Pastel Challenge, black & white, landscape, pastel
100 Pastels – Nos. 21 & 22
Well, here are numbers 21 and 22!! And to think there are only 78 more to go!!
Enjoy
Tags: 100 Pastel Challenge, Color, landscape, pastel
100 Pastels – Nos. 19 & 20
Here are two more pastels for the 100 challenge. Remember they are the same scene, 5 X 7 and the work has to be completed in 30 minutes. It is starting to get harder and harder to just pick up colors that are so different than what I would do if I were painting a scene for real. But then that’s the whole point..forcing yourself to explore colors and hopefully see new possibilities. I must admit that is it very freeing in many respects.
You can view the previous 18 in earlier posts. And remember you can click on the image and see a larger version (Thanks, Thom)
Tags: 100 Pastel Challenge, Color, landscape, pastel
Big Sur II
The following is a process study of a new pastel called Big Sur II. This painting is based on a photo I took several years ago during a trip Chick and I took up Hwy1. The size is 9 X 12 on Strathmore medium weight pastel paper and using several brands of pastels, including Terry Ludwig, Unison, Girault and Nupastel.
100 Pastel Challenge – #17 & 18
Above are the latest in my loooooooong challenge to paint the same pastel scene 100 times. For those who would rather not scroll down to read the “rules”, these are small paintings done to experience choosing colors that are perhaps not what one would choose on a regular basis….it’s been a great learning experience and I’m only on #18. The rules I chose were to make each painting 5 X 7″, complete (or as much as possible) in 30 minutes and make each one different. I’m hoping to set up a link to a separate page so that you can see them all at once as I progress.
Again, if you would like to see the previous 16, plus the outline drawing and notan (showing value choices), just scroll down. I think I got a little mixed up in my numbering, but I really just have finished 18 at this point. I’ve made a promise to myself to finish in 2011………..
Hope you enjoy!
Tags: 100 Pastel Challenge, Color, landscape, pastel
Kansas Farm in Pastel
This is a 9 X 12 pastel of a farm in Kansas….well, two farms. I took two shots several years ago and combined them for this painting.
And finally……………..
I hope you enjoyed seeing the steps.
Tags: Color, landscape, pastel, process study
Big Sur Spring in Pastel
This is a photo taken from Hwy 1 in the Big Sur area of California. Chick and I took the trip several years ago and loved the views….although as a city boy, he wasn’t crazy about driving so close to cliffs that fell majestically down to rocks and the ocean.
About two years ago, I decided to paint this view using a technique I had been reading about which was to paint the large areas with acrylic and then put the pastel over that. The idea being that some of the color from the acrylic painting would effect the pastel (since pastel is primarily a crystal). Unfortunately, I guess I didn’t read enough. I blocked in the areas with color….pink in the sky yellow and gold for the hills, etc. I painted this on watercolor paper and put a rather heavy layer of acrylic down, totally filling the indentations in the paper and making a slick surface. When I tried to paint over with pastel, it just slid off the acrylic. So, back into the folder of “unfinished paintings” it went.
Since that time, I’ve done a lot more study and taken a demonstration class in using watercolor as the first layer…….thinly, of course. So, a few days ago, I decided to see what I could do with the painting.
Unfortunately, I didn’t take a picture of it before starting, so I don’t have an example of that to show you. I used a spray fixitive make by Lascaux to lay down a surface that the pastel might stay on. It was a bit of a struggle with lots of negotiating, but I finally finished the painting (unless, of course, I decide later to make changes…I do that all the time…..final is not always final. I think you have to live with a painting for awhile to know if you are really done)
The following will show you the painting about 1/4 to 1/3 done from the top down, then about 3/4 done and the probable final version. I hope you enjoy it!
100 Pastels – 2 More!
Two more closer to the goal! These are number 16 & 17, so it’s still going to be awhile before I can present the entire group of 100…..but my aim is to complete them in early 2011….not too bad.
I also thought I’d show you the painting that was the original…so to speak. I completed this 11 X 14 about 2 years ago. I was never happy with it, particularly the trees and their overall shape. But everytime I went to change it, I hesitated completely removing the trees and starting again….which is what I should have done.
I’ve now come to just accept it as is. Time to move on. But you can see from the photo, that I used this painting as the basis of the 100 pastel challenge design. I added a layer of hills and reduced the size of the trees, in effect pulling back the point of reference as though looking from a greater distance.
As I showed in earlier posts, the first step after deciding the size and the time limit for working on each painting was to draw the main features knowing that part of the process would probably include changing some of the angles, etc. The main goal, of course, was to complete 100 completely different paintings, forcing me to choose colors that I wouldn’t normally use. It’s a great way to see how these choices work or don’t work. It’s been fun just doing the first 17, but it’s going to really be a push to come up with another 83 and make them all different.
Tags: 100 Pastel Challenge, Color, landscape, pastel, trees
Blue Lagoon (Again) – Pastel
Well, I’ve been working on some other paintings, but this one was still bothering me. I kept looking at the plant growing in the sand at the bottom of the painting and it kept looking like a 4-legged alien creature lying there in all it’s glory.
So, I filled in the areas between the “branches” and “Voila!” I felt so much better. Check below to see the “before” version.
I think this one I’m going to mat, frame and call DONE! Look for new stuff in the next couple of days…….well, maybe right after turkey day!
Enjoy! (And if you feel like it, you can tell me if you like this version better than the last!)