Evening Light

I can't remember where I got this photo, but I loved the sky and was itching to have a go at it. I did it on some masonite (hardboard) that we had purchased and cut into smaller sizes, which I then coated with a ground pumice mixture to create a rough surface which is ideal for pastel painting. However, I wasn't happy with this board as I think I should have given it a couple more coats - it was quite difficult to work with especially the area of the grass. It seemed too slick and wouldn't really grab the pastel.

Tulips for Two

This picture was really fun to work on. Usually I don't get to use such bright colors, especially red, which doesn't appear in landscapes too often. There were more people in the photo that I took this from, but two were all I could cope with and I think it may have been too busy with more. I didn't take the photo myself, but it's of some tulip fields in Oregon.

Grand Marais, Minnesota

Some very dear friends of ours live in Grand Marais, on the northern shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota during the summer months and have asked us many times to visit them there, but so far we haven't made it. So when, I came across this photo in the Wet Canvas reference image library I couldn't resist doing this picture. I found it quite challenging particularly when it came to doing the rocks especially as they are so close to the viewer.

I'm not sure where this is but it was a photograph I came across and thought it would be fun to paint. It's 11 x 14 and done on a paper called La Carte which I have never used before. It's a coated surface that cannot under any circumstances get wet. Even sneezing on it will apparently leave holes in the surface. Because of this I have always been afraid of it, but I had a sample piece and decided to give it a go........ I love it...... and would now like to get more, but probably won't because it's expensive and I have a lot of other papers of different types to use up first.

Actually, last weekend we spent quite a bit of time in the garage with a power saw, cutting up a sheet of masonite (hardboard) into sizes to make painting surfaces, and now I have to do the preparation on them which involves coating them with a pumice mixture. I have ordered the pumice on line and hopefully this process won't be too messy or difficult.

This is from a photo of Eilean Conan Castle in Scotland taken by someone else. I have done this picture twice because I was experimenting with a surface that I hadn't tried before and although I enjoyed doing the picture I hated the surface so I did it again on some pastel board that I am familiar with and enjoy using.