I've finally taken the opportunity to try out the new pastel sets I bought this year: Sennelier's Seaside Set (30 colors, half stick) and Great American's 'On the Terrace' (60 colors, half stick). Can you believe I hadn't really used them yet?!?!? The experience -- a painting for each set -- can be boiled down to two words: So. Nice.
Going through some photos from early Fall, I found the perfect chance to use the Sennelier Seaside set. My reference materials is a shot of the North River meeting the ocean. I tend to struggle with landscapes, but this one had everything I needed to have an easy go at a painting: large easy shapes, good composition and distinct values. And with the Sennelier set, my palette and color choices were made for me. Bonus! The only thing left for me to do was actually paint. I grabbed a scrap of mat board that was prepped with clear gesso and started to play.
With all that extraneous work out of the way, my head was clear to interpret my reference photo. Marsh grasses, a clear sky and the ocean bearing down in the distance. The piece came together easily and quickly! After just an hour I had all the major parts of the landscape established and was starting in on the finish details.
In terms of flexing creative muscles that don't get much use -- the lady who paints dogs tackling the occasional landscape -- this piece was a great success. Of course, working small helps immensely. As did my familiarity with Sennelier's super-consistent and user-friendly half stick pastel form.
Going through some photos from early Fall, I found the perfect chance to use the Sennelier Seaside set. My reference materials is a shot of the North River meeting the ocean. I tend to struggle with landscapes, but this one had everything I needed to have an easy go at a painting: large easy shapes, good composition and distinct values. And with the Sennelier set, my palette and color choices were made for me. Bonus! The only thing left for me to do was actually paint. I grabbed a scrap of mat board that was prepped with clear gesso and started to play.
With all that extraneous work out of the way, my head was clear to interpret my reference photo. Marsh grasses, a clear sky and the ocean bearing down in the distance. The piece came together easily and quickly! After just an hour I had all the major parts of the landscape established and was starting in on the finish details.
In terms of flexing creative muscles that don't get much use -- the lady who paints dogs tackling the occasional landscape -- this piece was a great success. Of course, working small helps immensely. As did my familiarity with Sennelier's super-consistent and user-friendly half stick pastel form.
Breaking into Great American's On the Terrace set was a similarly successful experience. I haven't previously used any Great American pastels, so there was a learning curve. They are very, VERY soft. But once I got accustomed to how the texture lays on the support and layers with other brands, I found that I very much like them. The colors are dreamy and the half sticks are generously sized. I used them to help me through a skyline scene for my sister, a photo she had taken of the city she now calls home. Counting studies and thumbnails, I painted this landscape a total of seven times before feeling like I had it right. Or right enough. The Great American palette played a big role in that: limiting my color choices for sky, water and clouds; making me focus on value and temperature to make sure the different parts of the image make sense. |
I love the investments I've made in new pastel materials. Never mind that I didn't really need them :) I am glad to have under my belt the experience and knowledge that comes with using different brands and different palettes. Always learning!