Saturday, November 30, 2013

Revisiting a favourite painting location

Backlit Cedar Ridge in Pastel on Canson
Although I take hundreds of photos 
there are certain subjects 
which keep drawing me back.
Here is a re-visit to that group of old cedars 
(near the marsh) at Presqu'ile Provincial Park.






Friday, November 15, 2013

Inspired by Van Gogh

As the temperature hovers near freezing in southern Ontario,
 I'm organizing 
(in the coziness of the studio)
that huge stock of photos 
I've accumulated over the last few months.
This springtime snap reminded me of a Van Gogh oil....

It is the pattern of filtered light and dark shadows
 that drew me to the composition.
I thought I could make the dark trunk balance with the bright whites of the trilliums 
scattered in the shadows at the base of the tree.
Trilliums are most abundant  in the rich composted soil 
at the base of mature deciduous trees.
 

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Pastel Study - Ferns and Rocks

In this example I revisit a study from 2012. 


In the original pencil crayon
 I explored the textural differences of rocks, grasses and ferns.


In the pastel I eliminated the grasses 
in order to concentrate on the contrast 
between feathery  ferns and angular rocks.

In the process I discovered 
(much to my surprise!)

that I could get transparency 
with a lighter touch 
and layering pastel colour.



Marsh Scenes