New Materials

Receiving a new online order

 is like getting a Christmas present.

I was happy to find a new source

 of a favourite sketching paper.

It's not fancy, very similar to brown paper bags.

It has the perfect grab for pastel and pastel pencil.

I also expanded my collection of pastel pencils.

A colourful subject was in order.....

based on one of my autumn photos.

Autumn Lane 2019 Leslie Snider

 

Yellow

Pure, bright yellow

 is not a colour I use very often 

but it has been on my mind recently.

As I watched and studied 

many sunsets over the winter

I was surprised to discover

how often yellows dominanted

 against the grey wintry light.

Although not a winter sky

sketches from a trip to the Gaspe 

formed the basis for this study in yellow.

I used various yellows to tint the base layer.

(set with water and allowed to air dry)

I then layered mauves, blues, and turquoise

over that base.

Using a light touch I was surprised

 at the level of transparency

that could be achieved.

Pastel is an opaque medium

 and used with a heavy hand

obliterates what's beneath.....

(which is a good thing sometimes)

but not here!

Yellow Light  - Leslie Snider

Not winter....Not Spring....somewhere in between

A couple of pastel sketches 

while we wait for the frost to disappear

 and warmth to bring spring colour. 

Although the landscape
 has a certain starkness 
at this time of year,
the textures and 
muted colour relationships
 can be interesting.

Kingston Area Marsh in Early Spring

Pastel Study Valley of Óbánya

Snow Day

Snow Day 2019

Patiently waiting for spring

but winter has one last gasp!

Exploring Abstraction

     All pictures are to some degree

 abstractions.

I mean the picture elements

 can be reduced

 to simple shapes, line colour etc.

As seen from my previous post

 I begin very abstractly 

with bold but basic shapes and colour blocks.

I then slowly refine the composition,

bringing the scene into focus,

by adding layers 

of colour and detail. 

But what if I left it out of focus?

In some ways 

that is what the Impressionists 

were trying to accomplish, 

taking into account atmospheric effects

 and losing the edges.

Blue Green Marsh - Leslie Snider

As an inveterate detailer

 I find this very difficult 

but know it is worth pursuing.

How often have you heard,

"Leave something for the viewer's imagination."

This pastel is loosely based on one of my photos

that I have spent many hours studying

and thinking about.

What do you think?

Presquile Marsh

Golden Sky

I'm surprised to find

morning and evening skies this time of year 

can be widely varied with

 a variety of golds,yellows and oranges.

Revisiting a photo from  2016,

I'm pushing the colour 

with more intensity

reminiscent of those observations. 

Bonnechere 2019 - Leslie Snider

Using uart 400 sanded paper

I begin with a black tonal underpainting.

The second step is to begin boldly applying colour.

Finally over many revisions

 I slowly bring the picture into focus,

building up layers

and softening edges.

Bonnechere Dawn -  Leslie Snider

Limited Colour palette

 

Bonnechere Early Morning

I usually post new pictures on Instagram.

This gives me a quick check as to whether 

I think it makes an interesting online visual.

Often pics look great in real life

 but fail to come alive online.

This is one of those examples.

It elicited very little response.

Bonnechere Point 2019

Alas, it is one of my favourite pastels.....

 trying to capture the quality of mist

 rising from the river

was a tricky one. 

It is also one of my favourite 

camping locations

so that might influence my feelings!