Dunes Ascending

I started with three pencil design sketches which I reduced to 2-value sketches.  Now I need to decide on one and proceed to a small color sketch or two to decide on color and temp.  I'm working from a couple of photos and memory.

Dunes at Sunrise

Pastel on Wallis, 6x9

This work is a color and value sketch with the anticipation it will become a larger, more formal piece.

I began with a pancil sketch to which I added value markers and notation lines to indicate the movement I wanted to achieve.

After that, I did a watercolor underpaining to indicate basic color and value relationships.  Loved the bloom that happened in the sky. 

From that I added the basic pastel color scheme for the sky, the ocean, and the sand.

 

 

The next step was to emphasize the deeper values, and added the structure of the bushes and grass.

 

I'm pleased enough with the result to use this for a larger work.

 



Summer Sea Oats

Pastel on Wallis, 12x9

The view of the Gulf of Mexico through the dunes at Cape San Blas provides a perfect state to display the aqua of the Gulf against the white sand of the dunes through the ever-changing tangles of sea oats and beach vegetation.  This view holds a special attraction for me because of the fond memories I have of coming here to fish in the surf with my son and father-in-law

As a painting, I find a great challenge to balance the deep shadows of the dune shrubs and grass set against the blazing white of the sand.  Beyond the sand and grass, the turquoise of the Gulf presents its own emphasis and statement of presence.

Thru the Sea Oats Again - Sketch

12 Colors for 12 Minutes (plus one burnt sienna pastel pencil for stems)
Pastel on Richeson, 7.5.5

Sketch from notes, photos, and drawings of the beach at Cape San Blas.  I like this composition and the color sketch in broad terms.  The 12 color limit shows my need for a broader range of blues for the water and sky, more yellows and warm greens for the sea oats, clearer colors for the sand with a broader range of lights blues and lavenders.

Sunrise 1

Sketch - 12 pastels in 12 minutes

This view of the sunrise at Jacksonville Beach has intrigued me for quite some time, so I finally decided to try doing it in pastels.  I started with a much-cropped view and a limited palette in order to simplify the design and colors.

I hope this will develop into a larger, more detailed work while keeping the freshness I see in this sketch.

Tide Pond, Sketch

 

 

Pastel on Richeson sanded, 6.6x5.5

12 colors for 12 minutes

Quick sketch of color and composition for a larger work.  I have not been in my studio for more than a week, and I can see in this sketch the lack of practice and attention.

The scene is a view of a tidal pond at Castaway Island Preserve.  This view is from the boardwalk, and the water is visible only for a few minutes at high tide.  In the morning light the cedar trees form a back drop to the marsh grasses.  The gray-green of the trees makes the bright green of the new spring marsh grass flash against the remains of the yellows and ochers of the winter.

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.