This looks like a tropical lagoon as seen from a plane window and this shot does put me in mind of flying if I was a bird. I have had dreams of flying places and being high up in the sky or floating in the air above trees and water. I used cooler tones and tried to capture the early morning light to give this a soft slightly moody quality. I used Unison and Terry Ludwig pastels on Wallis Pro White Paper, 12×18”.
Flight Over the Harbor, Pastel on Paper, 12×18″
There is something about castles that appeal to me, perhaps is their antiquity then there is the romantic concept too. Sometimes I think that I’ve lived in a castle in a past life and can almost remember these old stone walls and stairways. I found a picture of Stalker Castle which is located in Scotland and just had to paint it although I don’t usually paint buildings. The land around the castle is lovely too with a kind of haunting serenity that calls to me. I used Terry Ludwig and Unison pastels on Wallis Pro White Paper in the 12×18 size.
Scotland’s Stalker Castle,
Pastel on Paper, 12×18″
I decided that I wanted to paint something with a little more color so this one fits the bill even if I am doing an autumn painting in the spring. I love the dark red of the tree contrasted with the browns, greens and golds around it. I don’t usually paint buildings but sort of liked this one so opted to include it, I probably need to practice painting buildings a little more but this is so far away and it’s festooned in foliage that I can overlook it. I used Ludwigs and Unisons on Colorfix Suede Paper. I couldn’t get the camera to co-operate with the lighting so the picture is a little dark and the colors are a little dull.
Rustic Woodland Cabin, soft pastel on paper, 14×18″
Lakeside by Twilight, pastel on paper, 14×18″
There is something that is so beautiful and tranquil about sunsets, I can’t help to paint them every now and then. I’m not really sure where this is but it reminds me of the lake I live near so I decided that this was good subject matter. I also really liked the warm pink and violet tones in the sky and tried to reflect and cool them in the water. I also liked the combination of the rock and shrubbery in the foreground and tried to bring a little detail into the picture. I used my usual combination of Unison’s and Ludwig’s on Colorfix Suede paper, which I’m starting to like better despite the lack of tooth to this paper.
Early spring mornings are a time of peace and tranquility at least I think it is in this misty scene. I like the combination of and cool pink, violets, grays and greens that I used in this landscape painting. I also like the softening effect the foggy atmosphere has on the trees and path.
Dappled Shadows, pastel on paper, 9×12″
There’s something magical about moonlight especially the way it illuminates this tree as the fog drifts about. I don’t paint many night time scenes and wanted to give moonlight a try and really liked the way the moon seemed to bring out the soft and subtle greens, yellows, pinks and mauve’s in the tree foliage. I used my usual Ludwig, Unison and Girault pastels on Pastelmat.
Tree by Moonlight, Pastel on Paper, 12×15″
This painting started out as an autumn scene that I did back in September and forgot to write about it, but the pink colors remind me more of spring then fall therefore I calling this a spring scene. I really liked the pink tones in the photo that I was working from and wanted to convey a soft ethereal quality suggesting a light mist or fog. I was working a Pastelmat too which doesn’t take as many layers of color although I’m learning how to get more out of the paper, the Ludwig’s especially allow me to build on them since the layers of pastel seem to stick to themselves. In some places I managed to build up three of four layers which is better than my two to three layers originally. I also wanted to give the viewer the sense that it might have just rained so everything has wet shimmery, wet quality.
Pink Haze, Pastel on Pastelmat, 12×15”
Ever since childhood, Wales UK has always held a certain appeal to me, something that I can’t easily explain but it’s always been there nevertheless. My mother’s family may have come from there originally but my own research points more in the direction of Yorkshire, England than Wales but the family migrated to Canada back in the colonial days so the history has probably gotten a little muddled. I watched BBC video about the old Megalithic standing stones of the UK and when the host started talking about the Welsh history and showing the exceptionally hauntingly beautiful and lonely landscape I knew I had to get a few stills and work from those.
This painting was based on Cerrig Duon in mid Wales and I left the standing stones out since I was more interested in capturing the feeling of the landscape and the beautiful sky at sunrise. Adding the rainfall over the hills was artistic license at work since I don’t believe that it was raining in the documentary; however, I’ve heard that it rains a good deal in that part of the UK so I’m probably not far from the truth. I used a fairly cool and low-key value system in the hopes of capturing the eerie feeling that I was picking up from the video. One day I’ll have to visit this place!
Rain Along the Hills at Sunrise, 12 x 18”, Soft Pastel on Wallis Pro White Paper
Growing orchids happens to be one of my favorite past-times so when I picked up painting again; slipper orchids where one of my first subjects. Back then I mostly used colored pencil but when bad shoulder problems started to manifest I knew it was time to find another medium. Now I work primarily with soft pastel since it’s the most direct of mediums that requires less preparation and cleanup than oil paint which is my other preferred medium especially for larger landscapes.
Phragmipedium Geralda was my first orchid and has been with me the longest and has to be one of the easiest to grow so naturally it had to be one of the first orchids that I had to complete in pastel. Actually this is the second orchid portrait since I did complete a small portrait of the Star of Bethlehem orchid last year on Ampersand Pastelbord; however, I do seem to prefer the Wallis Professional White paper over the Pastelbord since it holds more pastel and is less likely to smudge while I’m working with it thereby making details easier to render. I’m also finding that the Wallis paper works wonderfully to create a soft and airy quality that I just couldn’t achieve in colored pencil. I used my usual Terry Ludwig, Unison and Faber Castell pastel pencils.
A Portrait of Phragmipedium Geralda, 18×12″ Pastel on Wallis Paper
I’m happy to announce that I have two pastel landscape paintings that have been included in Curry’s Charitable Art Auction benefiting Dystonia to be held at the Liberty Grand in Toronto on October 25, 2011.
Springtime Reflected
Late Afternoon Along the Grand River
The whole story can be read here:
http://www.mississauga.com/what%27s%20on/article/1219086–art-auction-celebrates-100-years
You can see the other excellent artists who have been selected here:
https://www.currys.com/generic.htm?ECINFO=AUCTIONPREVIEW1
As well as the online art gallery:
Earth Whisper 