Silver Light by the Sea

I was thinking about water, wind and the weather and how it would be great fun to go see the ocean and see how it spoke to me. I liked the silvery morning light and the pink and violet clouds in the sky and the contrast between the rocks and the light on the water. The water seemed fairly calm so I decided to keep the marks smooth and I blended the colors a lot and I tried to capture the movement of the water around the rocks in the foreground. I used the same Terry Ludwig, Unison and Girault Pastel combination I always use on Wallis Pro White Paper.

Silver Light by the Sea, pastels on pastel paper, 12x18"

The Mighty Waterfall

I seemed to have waterfalls on the mind lately and decided to do a little picture research and discovered the majestic Lauterbrunnen Falls in Switzerland and just knew that I had to give it a go. I haven’t actually painted a waterfall in many years or at least not a representational interpretation of one. I decided to revert to a moody downplayed ‘winter’ palette or neutral colors and hope that the composition is strong enough to hold its own; therefore, this piece is more of a value study. I also find rocks and rocks faces to be very challenging since there isn’t a lot of opportunity to create separate forms so I had to rely on texture and value changes to create an interesting surface. Overall I hope it was successful. Water isn’t scary in of itself unless it’s in the form of a multi-tiered falls…I modified it so many times…oh enough said there. Sometime is best to just leave things alone even if they don’t look ‘finished’.

The Mighty Waterfall, Pastel on Wallis, 12x18"
Etsy Listing

I used my usual Unison and Ludwig sets of pastels; I’m thinking it’s time for some fresh sticks. Another Ludwig set, perhaps the Vibrants…those pan Pastels that Johannes Vloothuis speaks so fondly of have also captured my interest. But first maybe those Giraults are calling my name. You know that your artistically stumped when new materials are calling.