Monday, June 08, 2009

Two unfinished pastels






I worked on these Saturday afternoon but I now see that I have to go back and work on more contrast. I also made the mistake of spraying fixative over them to transport back home and it seems that quite a bit of the pastel blew away.

11 comments:

E-J said...

Intriguing beginnings - I look forward to seeing how they progress! Love that twisty tree.

Mary said...

Thank you, pastel is not my usual medium and am learning a technique from my mentor, Michael Newberry. I do enjoy it but find it a little challenging at times.

Virginia Wieringa said...

I love the simplicity of the bottom one. It doesn't need much more of anything IMHO.

Mary said...

Thank you Virginia, I'm glad you liked it, since these are from real life it is hard to capture the same light if I don't finish them.

José Brito said...

Dear Mary,

Congratulations for your work.
This is a good job well constructed and features a harmonious color.
There are questions of detail to overcome but that comes with practice.
In a design, light and shade are elements that define and characterize the volume of the object.
The volume is directly related to the light it receives and, consequently, of the shadows it produces.
If we want to highlight an object in a certain context, a neutral background, helps reinforce the same object.
The way is made walking so good job.

Regards,
Yours, José Brito

Mary said...

Thank you Jose, I agree the way is made walking but also buy good and honest critiques one can learn from. Thank you again for your feedback.

Anonymous said...
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Unknown said...

I love the warm tones in the second one. Both are beautiful beginnings!

Lesly said...

Hello dear Mary ... I like these pastels, particularly the use of the brick red/orange. This is a colour I use a lot as an underpainting for my own pastels. I look forward to seeing these when completely finished - altho I like them both as they are.

Transporting pastels is always a problem while unframed. I usually cover them with baking parchment or similar and place them between pages in a drawing pad.

And I never spray mine - I firstly stand them upright and tap them hard so that the loose pastel dust fall off. Then I cover them with a piece of baking paper and roller them in each direction with a (small width) DIY soft roller (similar to those one uses for wall-paper pasting).

You may find these methods useful or you may not!

Carry on with the pastels though ... they are a lovely medium. xx

Anonymous said...

It has almost been a year Ms Mary since you last posted. I think it is about time you showed us what you have been up to. I do know first hand that you have been busy.
Share please. At least show us how the children have grown.

Mary said...

You are right Robin. I promis to have an update with what I have done during the year and I would like to give the blog a fresh look. Thank you for visiting.