Pastels and Watercolors (and a few other art media)

[SquarePeg]

Finished it! Maybe. Open to suggestions. Should I do a background? I’m scared.

 

[SquarePeg]

I decided this didn’t have enough contrast so I tried to darken the values on the shadows and petal curls. Also added some white highlights. Maybe better. I think I’m going to let it sit before doing a background. I may just leave it as is. If I do a background it will likely be pale yellow. Thoughts?

 

[terri]

Tried some more birds yesterday. I hoped having some of them leaning forward would give them some movement but haven’t quite gotten it right. I think it’s the heads and of course they are all well fed lol. The third one came out looking like a chicken.

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Practice makes perfect - these are progressively better and better, IMO. Birds are hard - all so different. Some are small and plump while others are long and elegant. I really like your hummingbirds. All so colorful, too.

Fun exercise!

 

[terri]

I decided this didn’t have enough contrast so I tried to darken the values on the shadows and petal curls. Also added some white highlights. Maybe better. I think I’m going to let it sit before doing a background. I may just leave it as is. If I do a background it will likely be pale yellow. Thoughts?

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Wow! I loved the first one but these little tweaks really elevates it. Gorgeous!

One thing I learned about backgrounds while painting with oil pastels: it's a decision best made in advance - and painted or at least blocked out. For me it was a PITA to add a background later. I always worried that I'd mess up my main subject.

But that's just me, and a completely different medium.

What did you have in mind with the yellow watercolors? A wash? That would look good. But you could mount it by itself in a frame with a square-cut mat board and it would be beautiful, too.

 

[SquarePeg]

Wow! I loved the first one but these little tweaks really elevates it. Gorgeous!

One thing I learned about backgrounds while painting with oil pastels: it's a decision best made in advance - and painted or at least blocked out. For me it was a PITA to add a background later. I always worried that I'd mess up my main subject.

But that's just me, and a completely different medium.

What did you have in mind with the yellow watercolors? A wash? That would look good. But you could mount it by itself in a frame with a square-cut mat board and it would be beautiful, too.

I tried out a few background colors on my practice petals and didn’t like any so I think I’m going to hold off on that for now. I’ll probably paint this again on better paper and do a background wash first. This was done on cheapish paper that I bought for practice (only 25% cotton) so the paint really didn’t move the way it should and the paper was so thirsty I’m not sure I could keep a wet edge and get the whole background done!

Speaking of that paper, the minute I started painting the dahlia, I knew that my next painting, that I had already drawn on the same paper, was going to be a mess. I drew this lavender field that I wanted to do a really soft loose look with wet on wet painting techniques and there’s no way this paper could handle that. I painted it anyway and it’s not what I had in mind, but it was fun. It’s a bit of a mash up of several tutorials I watched recently. It’s got a lot of hard edges and some muddy colors but viewed from a few feet away it’s pretty. I read somewhere that watercolors should always be viewed from a few feet away… I like that rule.

 

[terri]

Those colors are phenomenal! I bet this was fun to paint.

 

[SquarePeg]

Those colors are phenomenal! I bet this was fun to paint.

I was worried that the colors would totally fade into that thirsty paper but they survived the full drying out. I softened the hard edges a bit with a damp q-tip and added some highlights and shadows. It’s done. Still planning on painting this again on better paper but I’m happy with the way this first one turned out.

 

[terri]

I was worried that the colors would totally fade into that thirsty paper but they survived the full drying out. I softened the hard edges a bit with a damp q-tip and added some highlights and shadows. It’s done. Still planning on painting this again on better paper but I’m happy with the way this first one turned out.

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The quality of the paper always matters. That's the conundrum! Who wants to waste good paper when trying something new? But cheaper stuff can make the work harder by not responding well to the medium. Oil pastels will just not flow smoothly or blend well on sketchbook quality paper, but I sure hated pulling out Arches oil paper until I was sure of what I was doing.

I like this scene and look forward to seeing the next one.

 

[snowbear]

The same thing with student vs. artist level paints. Student paints are fine for learning, but contain less pigment, so the saturation isn't as much as an artist paint.

MLSIL is staying home this weekend, so I'm going to try and get the studio area "set up." I plan on getting the corner cleared out, move the small cabinets in, then get the drawing table out of storage. I also have a paper cabinet that MLW's uncle made, but that may have to wait a little longer. I need to get a decent chair / stool for the drawing table. I haven't priced them yet, but I expect they aren't cheap. I can't retire this week!

 

[SquarePeg]

WIP as I’ve had to stop so this can dry before I paint in the cliffs and the next wash on the water. Also I now realize that I haven’t a clue how to paint water for this sort of scene so I will watch a few YouTube’s about it tonight and finish it tomorrow after work. So far I like how it’s turning out so I hope I don’t screw it up!!

My sketch. It’s a combination of a few different photos.

 

[terri]

Nice sketch, and this one is coming along great! I see that horizon there, and so far I think the water looks fine - like a reflection of the sky.

Great job on all the little details on top of the cliff.

 

[SquarePeg]

Nice sketch, and this one is coming along great! I see that horizon there, and so far I think the water looks fine - like a reflection of the sky.

Great job on all the little details on top of the cliff.

I ended up finishing this on my lunch break today. I wanted to get to it while the water tutorials were still fresh in my head. It wasn’t hard to find a couple that had similar components. I’m pretty happy with the way this one turned out. Not sure about the wildflowers in the foreground but o felt like it needed a little something in that area. As always, open to suggestions and constructive feedback.

 

[terri]

I’m pretty happy with the way this one turned out.

You should be! This is good solid work, and you're showing real command of those watercolors.

I think you made a good decision with the foreground flowers. It's just a small thing but if you hadn't added this detail, it would leave a large empty foreground area. Also, good job on both the water colors and the waves.

About the only thing that seems a bit off is the cliff wall. One or two of the lines aren't as vertical as you had in your sketch. You mentioned combining a couple of ref pictures, so maybe that's true to them? I think the overall palette is lovely with the reddish browns and greens.

If I'd done this, I'd be thrilled and ready to tackle another one!

 

[SquarePeg]

You should be! This is good solid work, and you're showing real command of those watercolors.

I think you made a good decision with the foreground flowers. It's just a small thing but if you hadn't added this detail, it would leave a large empty foreground area. Also, good job on both the water colors and the waves.

About the only thing that seems a bit off is the cliff wall. One or two of the lines aren't as vertical as you had in your sketch. You mentioned combining a couple of ref pictures, so maybe that's true to them? I think the overall palette is lovely with the reddish browns and greens.

If I'd done this, I'd be thrilled and ready to tackle another one!

Thanks Terri. The cliff wall sort of got off track from the sketch with that grassy slope getting way too low. the sort of concave cliff wall was from a different photo. I may try this again and try to stay truer to the sketch which I like. Maybe instead of a lighthouse I'll put a cottage or Croft with some sheep!

 

[SquarePeg]

If I'd done this, I'd be thrilled and ready to tackle another one!

Speaking of which.. I’ve been on quite a spree lately. Really I’m dieting and unless someone wants to feed me chips while I’m painting, this is my preferred distraction.

Which of these do you prefer? I thought the lighthouse was too fussy looking for the crazy water so I messed around with it then added the beams. I may paint over them. I can’t decide. In the end it doesn’t matter, it was just for fun!