The Color of Light: An Artist's Blog

Sometimes a painting just doesn't come together the way you hoped. I had walked out of my studio a week or so ago and came upon this amazing gladioli in full bloom, probably the last one of the season. I snapped a photo and got to painting.

I was happy with my background but started getting mired down in details as I was working on the flowers, and it showed. I didn't want a scientific depiction of this gladioli, I wanted an impression of it. So after a couple hours of frustration as I continually worked this and it only got worse, I took it outside with a big bristle brush and got rid of as much pigment in the flower as I could. 

When I started painting again, I used large marks and didn't worry about getting in all the detail. I'm quite happy with how this piece turned out. I think the initial marks actually helped create depth in the flower and show through slightly in the final piece, so in actuality the "failed"  flowers added to the beauty of the painting.

Here is the reference photo and the "failed" stage of my flowers.

I wanted to paint this lovely bouquet of black-eyed Susans but really didn't like the background. It was, well, boring. Usually when I'm working with a still life piece I enjoy keeping the background muted so the main subject can shine. But yesterday I felt like experimenting and playing with some bright color. 

I keep a little jar of broken pastel bits because I don't like to let them go to waste. I looked in there and noticed a lovely piece of teal just waiting to be used. And this background was born. Experimenting is a great way to keep things fresh and keep the creative juices flowing.

I've had a stash of Somerset printmaking paper in my filing cabinet for quite some time but only recently got around to giving it a try. There are so many different types of papers for a pastellist to choose from these days and I love most of them! Many of them are sanded so that they grip the pastel, but it's also fun to use unsanded papers. 

This printmaking paper is really interesting when pastel is applied. It's very soft and supple, and held an initial alcohol wash quite well, although it did warp just slightly (nothing I couldn't deal with). It held a surprising amount of of layers. And I especially love how I'm able to so easily rub things out that I don't like and reapply pastel in those areas, somthing that isn't quite as easy to do on other papers. I'll definitely be using up my stash of this and will be ordering more. 

I created this still life painting yesterday, from a bouquet my dad brought me. I worked on Somerset and I'm happy with the results.