"early spring " 12"x12" pastel on Uart 320
After a break from painting for a week or so, I have been back in my studio for the last two days. I thought I would share with you the progression for this painting. Spring was bursting out in Connecticut last week. The daffodils , forsythia and rhododendrons were in full bloom. In one week the forsythia blooms were gone. I took a lot of photos and did a lot of observation. I have tried to paint forsythia before with out much success, but I wanted to try again!.
I started in my sketch book with some drawings from the photos. I was out for a drive with my sister and the red barn and forsythia caught my eye. It was right on the side of the road so we drove back so I could take some photos and take in the scene. I made some mental notes for painting. I had brought along some UART pastel paper and decided to do some simple sketches with Nupastel and washed them in with a brush and alcohol.
a page from sketchbook and some of those underpainting on the pastel paper.
Back in my studio, I pulled out the underpaintings and added some pastel thinking about using complimentary colors to make the painting pop in the barn scene.
5"x5" pastel study
I used neutral colors for this marsh scene, because I wanted it to be more moody. I will work on a larger version on the study at another time, possibly with some more texture.....
5"x7" pastel study
I really was feeling connected with the barn scene. The red barn next to the golden forsythia , and the sky was overcast with a lavender glow. I chose the UART 320 grit pastel Paper, as I have said before, I love the roughness of the paper. I chose a brown Nupastel and did a sketch on the paper and then washed it in with a brush and some rubbing alcohol.
nupastel sketch
blended in with a brush and some rubbing alcohol
I did not want to get carried away with putting too much into the Forsythia branches. I wanted it to be light and airy and soften the structure of the red barn to create a balance of the hard structure and the softness of the bush. The light violet in the sky, I think, created the pop for the painting. I'm leaving it sit on my easel for a bit, to be sure I'm satisfied with calling it finished.
