More Skies

After a couple of quick pastel sketches 

of a rather moody day at Presquile P.P.

I decided to look at one of the masters of sky painting 

 Edward Seago.

 

 These  2 pastels are done on smooth grey pastel paper.

 I like the ability to easily create a soft blending of colours.

I also like to see the base colour showing through, 

a detail not evident in the photos.

Exploring Skies in Pastel

One of the best places to study skies 

(in my heavily wooded environment) 

means going to the lakeshore.

Last summer I took many photos 

of these skies 

in a variety of climate conditions.

Warm spring weather has yet to arrive 
so the spectacular sunsets 
have a special appeal for study!

  

After doing a few watercolour sketches 

I combined the brilliance of the second photo

 with the sweeping clouds of the first.

The actual composition was found

 by zooming in and then cropping the first photo.

Do feel the warmth?

Spring run off

At last... a sign of spring!

Spring Runoff  - Pastel

 

Lots of limestone out croppings on my favourite walking trail 

 force the spring melt through openings in the rocky face.

Spring Nostalgia

While doing a little pre-spring cleanup in the studio

 I came across an archive of my old work - watercolours.

This narcissus peaking through a snow storm 

could have been painted this year.

We'll have to wait a bit longer for the fosythia to bloom!

I have a 2-3 foot rock wall in my garden 

which is still completely buried in snow and ice!

Change of Pace

As this Ontario winter drags on

 I return to one of my favourite subjects.

Taking a break from pastels 

to work in watercolour.

These two aging trees 

caught my eye last fall 

as they struggled for survival 

amidst a mass of youthful greenery.

A certain amount of symbolism there I suspect!

Beach Scene

Having enjoyed working

with the blues

 of the previous post 

I decided to try my hand 

at a more subdued water scene.

This may be a  less dramatic

composition and colour scheme

 but portraying the light 

flickering across the water 

was an interesting challenge.

I altered 

the arrangement of foreground rocks

in order to emphasize 

the diagonal sweep of  waves.

The source of light (sun) 

is not seen 

but implied 

by a brightness in the cloudy sky.

Two Studies

This first pastel

(Sheffield Conservation area )

was the result of an early autumn trip.

It was a joy to work on 

and although the photographed pastel

 is slightly darker than the original 

I think it does capture a certain

freshness.

 This second study 

 an old bridge(Bonnechere P.P.) 

is less successful. 

I struggled with the composition 

and the result is a bit awkward.

It was my first attempt at this subject matter 

so perhaps next time

 I can achieve a more natural effect!