I chose a new challenge for myself to go out plein air painting with watercolours, and it turned into a pastel painting that I'm really pleased with! I haven't used watercolour much, and feel pretty lost with it because the paint is translucent, and colors can not be lightened by overlaying them. So this requires very different thinking and approach than oils or pastels. Here's the finished pastel.
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| Alice Kelsey 'Light After Rain,' Pastel, 12" X 17" |
I felt clumsy while making the watercolour sketch, yet in the process of painting, I noticed more about the scene. This site is about half a mile from my house, where I often hike or ride horses. I decided to make a pastel of this painting since I liked the atmosphere of the scene so much. The sketch was just enough to remind me in the studio of the colors and composition.
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| Initial watercolour field sketch |
This photo shows me reviewing the painting with my husband, when it was nearly finished. The area where I'm pointing ended up being the place that I felt a need to put in a darker line which I felt the work needed to be complete. Compare this image with the final image above, and particularly note the space where I'm pointing, and to its right. Without a darker line there, the parts just didn't feel like they connected to me. When I'm completing a painting, I look for the overall balance in the work, and I feel free to adjust the scene to achieve this sense of the parts fitting together as a whole- It is a bit difficult to describe this process, but it has a lot to do with how my eye circulates throughout the painting, without becoming stuck in one spot (or leaving the image).
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| Reviewing in-progress work in the studio |
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