I just finished and shipped off this large commissioned painting:
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| "Intersection of Elements" Pastel 24 x 48 |
It was interesting because I was asked to make a larger piece based on a plein air painting I had done earlier this year. The plein air piece was done during the San Luis Obispo Plein Air Festival under very unusual lighting conditions when a layer of fog was undulating in and out right on the edge of the coast. Because of the conditions I never got any decent photos, and because it was painted a few hours away I couldn’t easily return to the site (and the odds of returning and getting comparable weather and lighting were virtually zip).
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| "The Tales They Could Tell", Pastel, 12x16 Painted Plein Air |
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| Lousy reference photo |
Given the relative lack of reference material, I was forced to draw heavily on my visual memories from the day. The size (24”x48”) was also larger than I usually work in pastel (although I used to paint large oils). To top it off, I started with an oil underpainting which is something I have only tried once before.
Turns out changing all these factors made the painting process really enjoyable and I was very happy with the final result.
The light is beautiful and the mood much more interesting than in the photo! Great artistic license!
ReplyDeleteCarolyn - thanks. It was really funny when I was doing the plein air piece because a number of people walked by, stopped, and kept looking back and forth to try to figure out where all the color was coming from. With the fog undulating in and out there were moments of bright color interspersed between longer periods of dull grey. It was amusing to see their perplexed looks.
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