February Sketches

Summer Sketch - pastel - Leslie Snider

Summer Sketch - pastel - Leslie Snider

Working my way 

through photos and ideas

 from last summer.

October Landscape Studies

Out my studio window

there is one of those

light and fluffy
Christmas card snowfalls.

So here's a little nostalgia

 for that change of season

just past.

Two pastels

describing the beginning

 of winter.

First Snow

Our first snow was early and arrived 

before the autumn colour had faded. 

The contrast

gave me a chance 

to highlight the juxtaposition

of warm/cool colours.

A wind storm then stripped the trees

 of their warm hues

 and the whole atmosphere

cooled my color palette.

Early Snow

Finally a couple of field sketches

on black drawing paper (Canson).

It was an experiment

 to see if the black /white contrast 

captured that quality of a dusting of first snow.

 

Sunrise Variation

This latest sunrise pastel

went through some small

 but important tweaks.

Marsh Dawn - Leslie Snider 

I was interested in capturing

 the colour range from warm to cool

  as the sun rose behind a strong line of trees.

The slowly rising sun created

 subtle effects on the marsh and water.

But having finished this piece

 and hanging it in the studio,

 I continued to study it daily.

(This is a good practice as over time 

you see your art with fresh eyes.)

Marsh Dawn -  Edit - Leslie Snider 

Although I liked the effects of light

  I found the line of trees

 too uniform in size, shape and colour.

More variation was needed

 to incorporate the trees

 into the composition.

Otherwise the trees become the focal point.

I also heightened the warm colours

to emphasize the light. 

 

The Battle for Supremacy

After the calm control of my last post

I decide to let loose with this pastel sketch

based on the autumn activity

 in my garden. 

As the weather turns frosty 

the virginia creeper turns bright red.

This sets up a colourful contrast 

with the vivid greens of the wild grape. 

Both have run rampant along my fenceline

engaging in a violent battle for supremacy....

who will win????

VC vs GV - Leslie Snider

A little about my process....

Usually I begin with black and white sketches 

to establish composition and colour values.

Here I was more spontaneous

allowing my reaction to the emerging shapes

 and colour relationships to dictate the composition. 

Finally the colour palette,

the majority Richeson pastels.

 

Landscape Demo - part 02

Step 01

I like to begin boldly and freely....

there is lots of time to get down to detail.

Although I've used the body 

(or main) colour of rocks and trees, 

you'll notice very dark greens 

and bright orange of the background. 

This is the underneath colour 

which will only be hints in the final.

This broad approach gives me an idea 

how the eye will travel through the picture.

I make adjustments 

to get a comfortable flow throughout. 

Step 02

I've got my darks and lights 

so now I can begin to pull those two together 

with some middle values. 

Here I use my all time favourite Rembrandt violet 536.3

It's a great shadow colour for the greens and grays.

If you can't see it that's good! 

I'm also working on the shapes of the trees and rocks 

but most importantly edges.

 I want some lost and found edges,

pushing (softening the away edges)

and pulling  (sharpening the forward edges). 

This is what gives the picture a sense of space

 or 3 dimensionality.

Step 03

Here I'm adding some highlights and details

 to the trees, rocks and water. 

Everyone loves this bit  

but it is a good thing

I was photographing the process

 as it quickly became clear 

that less is more!

Landscape Demo - part 01

This demo is as much for you as it for me!

Hidden Cottages  -  Leslie Snider

In order to explain my process first I must

 be clear about what it is I want to say.

That takes some analysis of how an idea develops.

This is an important step for me 

as I like to work intuitively 

and only resort to analysis 

when things go awry!

This landscape began 

while having a boat ride

on one of the many lakes 

in southern Ontario.

A quick black and white sketch

pinned down the main elements.

This is not the exact location

but you can see some of the main elements, 

rocks, blue green pines, blue green water,

 hints of reddish brown earth

and that elusive cottage.

Rocky Shoreline Series part 02

Rocky Shoreline 03

I could have called this series

 "experimenting with pastel paper" 

or "how ideas develop"

This example is on my favourite paper, 

a 1000 grit automotive sandpaper.

But back to the process......

Wandering around the shoreline 

I began to notice little quiet areas 

where the water gently swirled 

and you could see patterns

 through the clear water. 

I stood in the water

(up to my ankles)

and took many more photos,

(mostly guess work) 

as I couldn't really see

 through the tiny camera lens.

Back in the studio

I studied these, found

a few with interesting possibilities

and this is the result!

I surprised myself with the 

abstractness of the design 

and think it's an idea 

worth developing.