Pastel painting

This is a pastel painting which I worked from a book, 'Painting the Landscape in Pastel' by Albert Handell. This is an excellent book, showing a loose impressionist style of painting which I love. I don't usually work from books, preferring my own photographs whenever possible, however, I am a novice when it comes to using pastels, and need all the help I can get.  I think this is a good beginning, and I intend to work more pastel paintings in the near future.

Pastel painting 12 x 12 inch

I made the ground for this painting by first painting heavy watercolour paper with blue acrylic, making sure the brush marks were random and in different directions.  When that was dry I added a thin coating of Golden Acrylics Micaceous Iron Oxide which has a gritty texture, but is fairly transparent if applied thinly.  When dry this gave a good surface for the pastels.

The Esk in autumn

This painting was worked from a photograph I took almost thirty years ago.  I feel that I have taken a retrograde step with this painting, it's tight and not the way I like to paint these days.  I'm not sure why it went the way it did, but I'm not happy with it.

The Esk river, acrylic, 14 x 18 inch

I prepped up a load of canvasses this afternoon with tissue paper, clear gesso, and molding paste, ready to do some very loose paintings.  I am out tomorrow afternoon, but hopefully I will have time in the morning to paint the next layer on some of them, using.acrylic inks.

Making lemonade

Another collage, this time a still life.  I really enjoyed doing this one.  It has a lot of painted tissue papers in it, which gives it a transparency that unfortunately doesn't show up in the photograph.  I use fluid acrylics to paint the tissue as it's so fragile.

Making lemonade, acrylic mixed media, 12 x 16 inch

I used to love homemade lemonade, making it with my mother on hot summer days.  I lovely memory.

Venice, washday

Here is another collage, worked on a crumpled tissue base.  This picture also had light molding paste and some clear gesso applied on top of the tissue, using a brayer.  This, with the tissue texture, gave a great representation of crumbling plaster walls.  The washing was added last, each individual garment being cut out of collage papers.

I have had an offer for this painting already, but I'm not sure if it's finished and I need to live with it for a while before I sell it.  It's one of the best I've done for a while,  I think the water is particularly good.

Venice, Washday, acrylic mixed media, 16 x 16 inch

I really enjoy doing this type of work, both the technique and the subject matter feels right for me.  That doesn't mean that I won't keep trying other subjects, techniques and materials, but it's nice to feel that I have found one thing I really enjoy doing and can go back to any time.

Harbour Street

I love doing collage, and I love doing harbour scenes. This one has worked out particularly well.  The background is dressmakers tissue which I had coloured with streaks of acrylic inks, when dry it was screwed up and then flattened out and glued to the board with acrylic medium.  It's a great way to get texture, and the dressmakers tissue is particularly good because it's quite tough.

I painted the scene with acrylic paints, inks and technical pen.

Harbour Street, acrylic mixed media, 12 x 14 inch

My shoulder is feeling a lot better now, and I am eager to get lots of work done.  I had a lovely break at Cober Hill, feeling recharged.

Whitby

Came back yesterday from Cober Hill, tired but had a lovely time.  This painting is one I did about ten years ago.  I like the mistiness of the background, but it needs something else in the foreground. Perhaps more boats?

Whitby, acrylic 14 x 18 inch

Daily Observational drawing

Another daily drawing, this time using 3b pencil.  I was quite tired when I did this, so the shading is a bit scribbly.

Daily Observational drawing No.4

And here is another of the 'use a ruler' school of painting.  I think this one must have been a perspective challenge.