Out for a Sail

Out for a Sail

pastel on paper, ~ 5"x5"

This is my first attempt at "marker boats". I loved the way Tony Allain created a crowd of people using marker pens and pastels, and I wanted to try it with boats. So I took some pictures of backlit boats crowded together and used one as a reference. Only two boats here, but you get the idea. The boat and land silhouettes were put in with a marker, and pastel was applied over the top. I think I kind of mixed it up, by using the values of the backlit photo, but with my limited gray pastels, using too much color in the boats and shore. It will be fun to try again.

Islands

Islands
8"x10" pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord

This may seem strange, but despite the tonalist approach to skies that I'm currently studying, I really love color and abstraction. So here's a little escape into that world, loosely based on an oil painting of the islands in Maquoit Bay.

"Broad Cove Sunset"

"Broad Cove Sunset"

5.5"x4.5" pastel on paper

$75

My first effort at a plein air pastel sunset.

"Janette Lamson in Fog"

"Janette Lamson in Fog"

7"x8.5" pastel on paper

$150

The Janette Lamson lives in Camden, Maine. We were moored near her on our recent trip. It was very foggy when I took the photo for this painting.

"Sunshine on the Marsh"

 "Sunshine on the Marsh"

9"x12"

pastel on paper

Have you ever tried a scene in more than one medium? It's such fun. Here's the marsh in the Rachel Carson preserve again, but this time in pastel. What do you think?

Fun with Pastels

 Dry pastel on black sanded paper
6"x8"

 Pastel over watercolor

6"x8"

 Watercolor underpainting on Belgian Mist Wallis paper

Pastel over alcohol/pastel 

6"x8"

 Pastel underpainting with alcohol wash 

Pastel underpainting before alcohol wash on Belgian Mist Wallis paper

Yesterday I attended a pastel workshop taught by Joelle Feldman. We all had so much fun! I'd never really tried pastel before, but someone had given me a wonderful box of Schmincke pastels and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a workshop with Joelle. She's a marvelous teacher, everyone in the class left with beautiful paintings and a smile on their face. We each did our painting three times; first on black sanded paper, which I wasn't too enthused about at first, but I very much like the result. We prepared two underpaintings, one with watercolor and one with a light pastel block in, washed over with alcohol. After those dried we worked with our pastels on top of them. Value was key, and it took a while for me to realize that I could go kind of crazy with the color as long as the values were good. A good exercise and lots of fun.