Two more challenge paintings

Final two pastel paintings for this weeks' challenge:

Moonrise after sunset

soft pastel on Canson Mi-Tientes paper, 6x8".

The sky, moon and foreground colors were based on a photo I took a few months ago on our trip back to the southwest, along Hwy 180, just north of Flagstaff.  I really like the original photo, and plan on using it as the basis for a full painting some day.  This was a useful study for colors to use (and not to use). 

Split complementary study

pastel on Mi-Tientes sienna paper, 6x8"

For this, I chose purple as my starting color, and used colors adjacent to its complement (yellow) on the color wheel:  yellow-green and yellow-orange.  I like the palette, but I'm not keen on the final result.  There are many things I'd change if I did this again.  Despite various post-processing attempts, I was unable to get color accuracy for the purple used on the right side of the mountain; it is not maroon, but a darker blue-violet purple. 

Paint the same scene - week 2

Here are three of the five "challenge" paintings for this week.  Very different!  Have a favorite?  I'd love to hear what you think.

#4 - Winter, after storm

pastel on Mi-Tientes creme paper, smooth side.  6x8".

#5 - High-chroma palette

pastel on 400-grit sandpaper. 5.5x8"

#6 - Purples and earth-oranges

pastel on sienna-colored Mi-Tientes paper, 6x8"

I've always admired artists that were able to break free of traditional "paint what you see" conventions and use bold, unexpected colors, or interpret the landscape as an abstracted form - both of which are much harder than one would think.  An exercise such as this - re-creating the same scene from a simplified b/w photo or value study sketch - is a great way to help break free of those creative constraints.  Even after this particular challenge is over, I'll definitely do this again with other subjects. 

Photos of fall - the small things

Fall is well upon us here in CT; the air is cool and dry and the days are rapidly growing shorter.  Mystic actually gets a pretty decent showing as far as fall colors go, so I went on a photo shoot yesterday afternoon.  While most people think of the "big picture" fall landscape, I'm also drawn to the smaller happenings of fall and nature - things that I suspect most people never see.  Here are a select few photos from around my neighborhood.  All shots are hand-held and using auto settings (macro and landscape):

Seed release

f/8, ISO 360

The seeds of a spent vine await their turn to ride the breeze.

Last of the season

f/5.6, ISO 560

Normally a mid-summer flowering plant, this roadside chicory flower adds a small splash of blue to the fall.

Fall grass solo

f/5.6 , ISO 560

B/w conversion and pleasing bokah turn the terminal end of a strand of fall grass into a study of curves and reflected light, making it seem anything but ordinary.

Fall reflections

f/8, ISO 400

Perfectly still water gives a hint of the bright leaf colors from the tree above.

Berry branch

f/8  ISO 200

The colors and soft shapes in the background offer a nice frame for this strand of berries lit by late afternoon sun.

Maple leaf understudy

f/8, ISO 250

The underside of this maple leaf takes on an abstract form that is enhanced by the bright green background.

Paint the same scene challenge

Recently, pastel artist Deborah Secor suggested a painting challenge in the WC pastel forum, inspired by artist Marla Baggetta.  Ms. Baggetta did a series of 100 paintings of the same scene that was a featured article in the most recent issue of The Pastel Journal.  The idea sounded great; it's been 10 years since I've worked in pastel, and I found myself unsure about what was the best way to get back into them again.  After thinking about it, I realized it was ideal for me:  using the same subject repeatedly would allow me to experiment with papers, endless color schemes and themes, practice and experiment with different techniques and be able to put them side by side for comparison.  It is easy to see what works and what doesn't.  So, I signed up. 

First, I chose a reference photo to use - in this case, a crop of a photo of Hermosa Creek north of Durango, CO this summer.  The photo itself was pretty unremarkable; shot in late afternoon sun, the sky was completely blown out.  But, when cropped, it suddenly had more appeal.  So, I went with it.  To distill it into more simple shapes and values, I first posterized it.  And while the original photo has been cropped of all sky, I decided to convert the upper middle part (mountains IRL) to sky.  It works.

Here is the "digital notan" version:

Challenge notan/value study

I decided on a size of approx 6x8" and allotted 30 min. for each study, in order to keep them loose and not make them too "precious".  I am going to do 5 per week, for basically as long as I am getting value from the challenge.  I am keeping a notebook of the materials, time, and notes about each of the studies.  As I state in my "about me" section, I promised to post the wins *and* the fails.  We learn from our mistakes and failures. 

Challenge #1 - monochromatic study in green

soft pastel on neutral grey Mi-Tientes paper, 6x8"

This went quickly and I was pleased with the end result.  This shows that if you've got the correct values, the colors really don't matter so much.  Completed 10/5

Challenge #2 - spring colors

soft pastel on 400-grit sandpaper.  5.5x8"

The surface is wet/dry sandpaper available at your hardware store.  It has the advantage of being:  1) inexpensive; 2) readily available.  I don't mind tossing it out if things don't work.  The pastels lay down nicely on the surface, and it has enough tooth to hold a few layers.  I didn't spend as much time choosing colors, and we've got warm and cool going on.  At least I did keep the cooler ones confined to the distance. 

Challenge #4 - fall colors

soft pastel on MT creme paper, smooth side.  6x8".

This is awful.  I didn't take the time to choose proper values or colors that harmonize well with each other, and it shows.  Plus, the pastel would not lay down well on the paper.  I don't mind seeing some paper through the pastel, but it wasn't my intent in this case.  I might keep it for a while as a reminder of "what not to do again" before I throw it out.  The fact that I was really tired and had a headache didn't help.

I will continue to post these as I go, but may begin to select the more interesting ones as time goes on.  This is a great exercise and I will undoubtedly do it again with different subjects and with oils as well.

Nelson as poster art

Digital image, full size - 20" x 8"

I'm one of the 38 million+ people in the US who is a personal servant to a domestic feline.  I've owned several cats over the past 23 years, but none were quite as special as Nelson, my 8-year old grey tuxedo DSH.  He is a special cat for many reasons, and as a reflection of my ongoing adoration of him, he is frequently a photography subject.  Most are snapshot type photos, given his lack of interest in posing or staying still for very long.  But, occasionally, one turns out better than expected. 

I had fun coming up with various colorized versions of this cropped, posterized photo using custom gradient filters.  I will continue to pay homage to my beloved feline companion in future drawings, paintings and perhaps a sculpture...and of course - photos!

A splash of color

Anna's Hummingbird with Hummingbird Sage

graphite and colored pencil on 300 series smooth Bristol, 9x12 in. 

Just finished this morning, this is several "firsts" for me:  first time working on Bristol paper; first time drawing a bird; first time I've ever incorporated elements from different sources to form a drawing.  The reference photo for the bird was one of the subjects on WC's "weekly drawing thread", and I knew I just had to draw him.  I also knew that a standard graphite drawing wasn't going to be particularly eye-catching, so I decided to add just a splash of color using a few layers of Prismacolors to bring attention to his glorious throat feathers.  I also did some quick charcoal sketches of a zebra and koala that I posted there, but aren't worth posting here.  

After I finished the bird, I was quite pleased with the way it turned out; it's by far the most detailed drawing I've done in over 15 years.  However, it was just a "bird on paper", and essentially nothing more than an illustration.  The photo was superb; tack-sharp and with excellent bokeh (artistically pleasing background blur in a photo), but I felt that wouldn't translate so well to the drawing, as it would likely obscure the wing detail and shape.  So, this morning, I decided that adding a botanical food source of the species might be fun and add some interest to the drawing - in this case, "hummingbird sage" [Salvia spathacea].  It is a composite drawing; I had one photo that I used for the actual plant; another to make sure the plant was in scale to the bird, and another to use for lighting.   Looking at the photo of the drawing, I think I need to go in and darken up the foliage a bit.

Other neat facts about Anna's hummingbird:

- habitat is all along the west coast, including AK, and as far east as southern NM

- eats insects as well as nectar

- can be mistaken for ruby-throated hummingbird; the white splash behind the eye is indicative

- males perform a singing and dramatic diving ritual to attract a mate

Equine bas-relief pieces

I have been working on these on and off for a while now, and finally declared that they were finished:

"Bjorn" - Fjord pony bas-relief sculpture.  Artist oils on resincast sculpture.  Approx 4x4 in.

Original sculpture done from Chavant NSP medium, and was the first soft clay sculpture I did.  It was also my first experience with making a silicone mold and doing my own castings - quite a learning experience!  This piece was done in a variation of the common brown/bay dun [aka "brunblaak"] that this breed comes in, with darker facial masking.  Available for purchase. 

"Buster" - resculpted version of "Bjorn" bas-relief sculpture.  Artist oils on cast resin.  Approx. 4x4 in.

#2/9 limited-edition resincast.

"Buster" was a re-worked version of the "Bjorn" clay original that I did for an article on sculpting, molding and casting bas-relief pieces for the RESS Technique Booklet IV.  The mold was actually made from a tube of silicone kitchen caulk available at your local Walmart.  I wanted a generic-breed pony with a slightly whimsical edge - hence, the tongue and teeth.  I purposely left the base/background as a blank "canvas", primarily as I have begun to incorporate more landscape elements into my bas-relief pieces when I can.

I probably should title this piece "Pictures don't lie", because it wasn't until I took this photo and looked at it in PS that I noticed the problem with it:  the cloud line is tilted!  I honestly am not sure how I missed this, but I did.  The pony was done as an Icelandic in red silver dapple [a very common color in this breed]  and the mountains, foothills and foreground meadow were loosely based on photos of Iceland that I had in some reference books.  I really love clouds, so I had to add a patch of cumulis to the mini-landscape.  I clearly was not using the bottom edge of the base for a reference when painting the clouds (and the foothills could stand to be a bit more level as well).  This is a reminder to me to be more mindful of such things.   After I do the requisite touch-ups, this piece will also be available for purchase.