Summer Skies

There is rarely a day that goes by this summer 

without rain in the forecast.....

this makes for lush greens

 and ever changing skies.

Two new pastel studies... 

a new discovery "Hoople Island"

 and an old haunt 

"Marsh along the K&P trail."

Hoople Island - pastel - Leslie Snider

K&P Marsh - pastel  - Leslie Snider

 

Pastel Demo Recap

In this last post of the series
 I'm comparing
 the original photo to my finished work.

It's an opportunity to assess my design choices.

I softened the transition from deep shadow
to sunlit trees as I found it too abrupt.

Although I like the tallest pine on the right

I chose to interrupt it's reflection 

as I found it was too dominant. 

The sharp eyed might notice
 I've re-cropped the final  pastel.

As I compared it with the photo 

I realized the design 
had become to evenly balanced.
Being slightly off center 
creates a more interesting balance
between the tall pine on the right 
and the bright trees on the left.
 

So doing a demo has proved helpful to me as well!

Pastel Demo part 03

Pastel Demo part 04

This close up illustrates the work I've done along the skyline. 

Using sky colours I shape the trees 

and transition into the sky

I start with the palest shade behind the trees 

as I want the effect of a morning glow.

 I then add pales hades of blue over pink, 

white over blue, greyish white over blue etc.

This give the sky more variation and sense of depth.

(Hard to see I know!) 

Pastel Demo part 05

Moving forward I add the bright oranges, 

yellows and yellow greens

where the morning sun is hitting the upper trees.

(Sorry for the colour shift - the lighting conditions changed.) 

Finally I work on the water and reflections.

Matching the brights in the water

and adding some horizontal strokes 

to give a sense of the water surface.

 

 

Pastel Demo part 02

Step 02

Now the fun begins!

I block in the local colours 

like greens for trees and blues for water

but I use  stronger values than I intend to see at the end

This gives me somewhere to go.

In other versions I might use complementary colours 

as the under layer for an added glow.

Step 03

Believe it or not. .. the only thing I've done here is to soften/blend the colours.

Step 03a

It may seem obvious but always blend 

keeping in mind the texture of the sky,trees, water,etc.

I am very careful in the transition area 

between sky and trees or water and shadow. 

I like to see some soft edges in the final piece

so here's an opportunity to create them.

e.g Distant trees along the skyline.  

I circled my focal point 

as I usually pick one area in which to begin.

This sets the tone (level of detail) for the whole.

 

Pastel Demo - Step by Step

Bonnechere Demo

I thought it might be fun/useful/interesting

 to describe my process.

I found pastel  to be a difficult medium

and it takes time

 to develop techniques that work for each artist. 

Having chosen your subject

it's important to do

 a few sketches/ thumbnails.

It helps to clarify in your mind 

what elements of the scene

 you want to concentrate on.

Like making a shopping list ...

even if you leave it behind 

you can see it in your mind's eye!

In this scene 

I wanted to concentrate on the strong contrasts 

of light and shadow, and of dramatic shapes. 

Step 01

Step 01

Keep it simple.

I first establish the main darks.as

I like to work from dark to light

 and back to front as much as possible.