Redbud Tree Along the Road
11x14 inches
pastel on 140# w/c paper with Golden pumice ground
I started this later in the afternoon, and worked on it for a few hours. If nothing else, it was a good exercise in blocking in shapes and drawing trees. The background? Completely made up, evolving as things went along. The original reference had a house and some other building maybe 50 ft. behind the tree, which wasn't at all what the painting is about, so they had to go.
Simplifying it into a large meadow seems to work to keep the detail on the tree, and even more - its shadow. I'm fascinated by the shadows cast by trees - they are always intriguing abstract shapes that are fun to look at and always a challenge to paint. The road just got extended from a totally uninteresting driveway to something that perhaps leads to...the beach? You, the viewer, get to decide where you go from here.
I used warm, saturated vs. cool, grayed greens to manipulate the sense of distance here - one of the beauties of working in pastel is the scumbling and layering one can employ to obtain such effects.
Tomorrow, the road traveled will be a radical departure from this: we are heading out early morning on an overnight trip in Bluff, UT. Destination: Butler Wash and Cedar Mesa - to spend 2 solid days hiking the area and see a tiny sampling of the hundreds of Anasazi cliff dwellings and rock art panels in the region. One could literally spend a lifetime exploring the area, which is remote and literally off the beaten path. This is a special trip, and I'm hauling my tripod along, which I normally don't do.
Hopefully, I'll be able to get back to posting on Sunday. Everyone enjoy your weekend!
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Last night's sunset; photos taken approximately 3 min. apart:
Glorious redbud tree and sunset!
ReplyDeleteLove the shadows of that tree!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful sunset, too.
You did a really fine job on the color composition, here.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have perfect weather for your hike.
I'm playing catch-up, been in a bit of a funk. These small studies you've been doing are very dynamic in contrast and color. They're great on their own, but I see lots of possibilities for more larger versions.
ReplyDeleteBack from our trip; replies before I get lost in the 300+ photo download...
ReplyDeleteThanks much, Helen!
Hi Debbie - welcome, and thanks so much for stopping in and commenting. Glad you like the shadow; it was the key to the success of the painting, I think.
Thanks, Casey. These bright greens and pinks are so far out of my normal "comfort zone", if you will, that I wasn't even sure if they worked.
Dan - thanks, I appreciate your thoughts. I love how those colors look on the black paper; the contrast is much greater than on this w/c paper. I know for sure I'm going to do the barn/cherry tree on a larger size, and perhaps the others. Your new pieces of spring and blooming trees both inspire and intimidate me, you know ;). The funk...yeah, it comes to us all. I now accept it as a part of the process, just plow through it, and eventually beat it back.