Pastels

Wow, that's cool! Thanks for finding it, colorbook!

OK, that makes sense. (Color on, Color off.)

I really enjoy the subtractive technique. I don't know why, but I have a great time adding and taking away color.


Littlek -- oooooooh, waterlilies too! Those q-tips will come in handy for the petals, I'll bet.

Bob Ross says "... and here, yeah, right here are some happy little plants. I think there are some that live right here."

Hey, I found a Bob Ross-type waterlily:




Colorbook -- Wow, that looks really good. It's amazing how one flows into the other. The colors are so accurate, too. If you squint your eyes, it DOES look like it's all one piece. Neat.

that is gorgeous AND so much more detailed than mine will be/are.

the second round on this image isn't going so well as the first.

Colorbook, that's incredible.

Let us see the final result, littlek?

How bad do you think it is for my scanner that I just put this in there without any fixatif on the second layer?



Please critique!

Terrific! I'll leave the critique to the artists, though.

Can't see any part of it getting into anything on the scanner except the glass. No problem, I mean.

Was just thinking of smudgy glass.

thanks Roger.

Pastels
The background is the best part of the painting, and I like the colors; the slight variations in the lily colors make good spots of brightness without dominating the picture.

I think it's always easier, BTW, to do larger areas when you're working with pastels. It's much more difficult to do small things like the pointed petals and the stems, because pastel sticks are hard to manage when drawing thin lines. For these I have found pastel pencils very useful (although they are much harder which is probably why they can be used for finer lines).

I have some watercolor pencils.... Caran D'Ache supracolour soft water-soluble pencils.

Thanks Tomkitten. I wanted purple in it somewhere and put it in the shadows of the water. I think it might be a bit much. Iguess it depends on the light under which you view the thing.

Very nice, littlek, I like the way you captured the lilly pads. You've inspired me to get my pastels out and start drawing again, I had forgotten how much I enjoyed it.

I didn't copy my picture with my scanner, I took a picture of it with my digital camera.

Tomkitten, fine detail can also be done by sharpening your chalk on an emery board or sandpaper.

I just looked for a sharp edge, or snapped a piece in 2 to get a raw edge.

Colorbook, will you post an image of your drawing here when you're done?

I added some pencil lines and took up some of the purple with the cotton-ball method.

Littlek -- I'm impressed. This is your first try?? I don't have any qualifications for a critique, but I think you've done a great job. You've added more detail to the bushes to the left which I think balances them with the one on the right. That added reflection in the water gives it more depth too, which is good. I think that the plants you've added to the front work well. You've got the gardener's eye. The lilies, of course, are great. Those sedges in the back are also especially nice. I'm not as fond of the rocks in the foreground as those in the back, but I really think rocks are hard to manage, especially up close. If there were anything to be changed, I think it would be to add more detail in the sky. I can't say why, exactly, not being an artist. Maybe I just like clouds.

Thanks Piffka! I remember trying to draw rocks in high school and being very frustrated. I agree - the rocks in back are better. And the rocks at the left front are better than the rocks at the right front. I think for one thing, they are too uniform.

Those plants in back are supposed to be irises not in bloom yet. I keep hearing my mother's landscape designer voice saying "but irises don't bllom at the same time as the (can't even remember the name of the plant in front)s".

I messed with the sky and it looked awefull, so I went back to blue. It has faint streaks of white, but clouds are hard to make too. Maybe i could add a smudge of a bird or 3.

Little K, you are good at this. This unfinished work is quite beautiful. Your color sense is great. The components are all livening up with depth in the background shrubs/trees, etc. I already like it as it is. Next problem, don't kill it. How far to go is a question with a lot of answers (heh).

Oooh, I'd never thought that clouds might be difficult. (See, I'm really not an artist.) Gads, you'd think I'd recognize irises. Are the plants in front water-hyacinths?

I have to say, this is so interesting to see you doing this, littlek. I have just recently purchased some oil paints and a few brushes, with some strange idea to try my hand at it. I feel like I'm sort of going "Vroom, Vroom" in my mind to get me started. It often take me a while to jump in... which is one of the reasons I wanted to try oils. Apparently they take forever to dry. (Since I take forever to begin and to finish, I thought it might be my medium.) Anyway, you and your starting right in with your newly won pastels are an inspiration. Maybe I'll mess with those oils sometime sooner.

Exactly what I was wondering - how far. I've already almost killed it. Thank Craven for typing out the detract-color-method.

I'm trying to find images of birds in flight I can study. If I can pull it off, a blue heron would be perfect.

oh no, piffka, I'm not jumping in! I have watched, listened, looked, learned, thought thought and thought about all types of art forms. Most methods/ideas never get tried. This was just so in my face. The start of the new year, the winning of the pastels. It was to in my face to turn it down. To add to that, I've been down and I have time off. So, voila. There it is.

Go for the painting piffka!