Timed Study 3 - Two Silos

Timed Study 3 - Two Silos, pastel 6x9

This is my third timed study - 22 minutes with 16 pastels + 1 pastel pencil.  I did this study on UArt 400.

This is another study from the same subject I used before.  I changed the design a little but kept the same concept from some drawings and photos I brought back from my last trip to Iowa. This is the "concept" area with drawings, photos, and the previous painting.

The concept and motive for this study is the pair of old silos that stand unused beside the steal and aluminum grain bins. This is a "between times" in Iowa; some of the fields are still too green to harvest, but other fields are already bare.

Here is the palette of pastels I used for this painting. This selection forced me to make choices based on value and temperature rather than expected hue.

With those colors in mind, I did a drawing on the paper with vine charcoal to test the concept and correct anything that seemed to need more work.  Once I was satisfied, I removed most of the charcoal with a kneeded eraser.

With the preparations finished, I set my timer to 22 minutes, and set to work.  I like the result of this study much better than the previous one, and I may dress it up a little and sign it.

Timed Study 2 - Harvest Begins

Timed Study 2 - Harvest Begins, pastel 15x24 cm. (6x9.5)

This is my second timed study - 22 minutes with 16 pastels + 1 pastel pencil.  I did this study on Pastelmat, a surface that I haven't used for some time.

For this study, I ventured outside my comfort zone of beaches and marshes and returned to my roots. I developed the design and concept for this painting was from some drawings and photos I brought back from my last trip to Iowa.  In addition to the timed study exercise, I wanted to text color and value in this composition for use in a larger work.


The concept and motive for this study is the pair of old silos that stand unused beside the steal and aluminum grain bins. This is a "between times" in Iowa; some of the fields are still too green to harvest, but other fields are already bare.

Here is the palette of pastels I used for this painting. This selection forced me to make choices based on value and temperature rather than expected hue.

   

Mrs. B.'s Yellow House, November

Pastel on self-sanded Arches, 16x20 (Revision, 2015 12 14)

When I first saw this house on a gravel road not far from Harlan, Iowa, I knew I had to paint it.  The house is such a brilliant yellow and sits alone on the corner of country roads.  The November fields were already bare, but the golden and rust of the harvest still remained.  In the mid-morning sun, the long shadows of late fall paint a pattern on the lawn and across the road.

After looking at the 16x20 version for a few days, I decided to crop the painting to 8x20.  This version includes all the important information ans adds the feeling of width and space that I wanted.  The part of the painting I worked the longest and hardest on is the foreground which I could never feel was right.  It seemed to dominate rather than support the image of the house.
 

Pastel on self-sanded Arches, 16x20 (Original Version)

This is the original version - more true to the photograph but "missing something."

 Design Change

Redoing the design with a black and white print and a scissors - removing the bridge and the back ground to do some radical changes to the background.

I dropped the horizon and roughed in the plan for the broad fields and low hill in the background - will work out details of the road and perspective later.

Nishna Greenway, November

Pastel, 14x18 on self-sanded board

In the late afternoon, the sunlight floods between the trees and timber on the old roadway that runs on top of the south levee at Nishna Bend Park near my hometown of Harlan, Iowa.  Almost all the leaves are gone from the trees, and the tall grass has turned to rust and gold, but the short grass on the greenway still blazes with color and life. In this painting I have tried to capture some of the multitude of contrasts for this time of the year - contrasts in color, in value, in temperature, in line, and in direction.

Bottom of the Field, November

Pastel 10x14,  on self-sanded board

November can be a time of beauty and drama in the hidden corners of the empty fields.  The long shadows of late afternoon stretch across the stubble of the harvested corn field.  The grass on the edge of the field is still vibrant green against the dark, leafless trees.  The weather is still not cold, and it's as if in expectation of winter, the bottom land next to the river puts on one last show.
I constructed this surface and design using what I learned from Tom Christopher in his workshop.  Thanks, Tom.

Sketch for Prairie Road

 

 

12 Pastels in 12 Minutes on Richeson, 6x7

I worked this piece from a couple of photos of the road that leads to Dinesen Prairie.  It goes between fields and past a plumb and mulberry thicket to get to the prairie.  This dirt road evokes so many memories with it's loneliness and expectation.

Having done the 12 in 12 sketch, I realize that some things will be needed in a larger work.  The picture has no focal point and the lines all send the eye to the right off the page.  This is the ideal place for one or two figures walking on the road to be the focal point and to keep the eye within the picture.

Fence Row

Pastel 5.5x7 on Richeson White

This is a veiw of a fence row that caught my eye because of the dramatic forms and spaces with the craggy tree and thicket.

This was done with the 12 minutes/12 colors PLUS 2 minutes/2 pastel pencils.  I added the 2 minutes to get the details for a larger work later.

Geen on Green

 

Pastel on Richeson White, 5x7

This is a new effort for me.  Painting in 10 minutes was a good exercise, but I wanted just a little more time, and though I like the limited palette, I felt I needed more than 10 colors.  So I'm trying out 12 colors for 12 minutes.  This is the first effort under those rules.

The photo behind this was all green, but I wanted to experiment with colors other than green.  In this I used purple, mauve, and yellow.  I like the color and values that resulted.

December Road

Pastel on UArt 21x15

This painting won Honorable Mention at the Spring Show - JCVA (Jacksonville Coalition for the Visual Arts).

December Road

Pastel - 21x15 UArt

I signed the work and took another picture in the daylight - outdoors in shadow.

I will leave my previous posts as history of the progress and concept in this painting.

December Road - færdig

Pastel on UArt - 21x15 - mostly Rembrandt Pastels

9:45 pm - put some "final" corrections in and calling this piece finished. I haven't signed it and am holding back on that till I see it in daylight tomorrow. I need to let the work rest for a while, and then I'll make the final determination. If I sign off, I'll take another picture and replace this one with a note of what I've done.

Overall, I do like this very much. I plan to keep this painting for myself.

Winter Road - 12-13-2010

Work-in-progress

This drawing started out as a value sketch for a larger work in pastels - I expected 14x10. As I began working in charcoal, I soon decided that the finished work should be more than just a sketch. I have been working upper-left to lower-right to keep my hands from smearing the charcoal unexpectedly.

There's more work to do, but I wanted to take a picture to mark my progress and get it up for comments.

Spring Road

Pastel on UArt - 27x21

This is a view of a road east of Harlan, Iowa, looking to the west. I made some sketches of this scene and took reference photos in the spring of 2009. I have finally gotten around to painting it.

My first attraction was to the trees on the left, but as I worked on the design, I found much more interest in the road as it disappeared over the hill. The trees were just beginning to show the first flush of true, fresh green. The clouds were broken, and the south wind was whipping them away.

Photo taken of signed and completed work on 11/26/2010 under natural light without modification.