Sanddunes by the Sea

I really enjoyed doing this . I know nothing about the location of this reference  photograph . It was a monthly  challenge  on one of the sub forums of the web site wetcanvas.com . When I see this I want to go play on the beach. It kinda reminds me of St.Padre Island in Texas. 

 

I finished this in the end of 2012 November  or December . This is 9x12 on a grey colorfix paper  . I used some nupastels , Blick soft pastels, art spectrum, Sennelier, pastel pencils ,and some Schmincke.

Thanks for looking.

Lake side Watching the sun come up.

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Lake side Watching the sun come up.

I did this a while ago. Very last of 2012 or beginning of 13. I took a reference and mimicked the colors in the reference sky to a lake view near here.

 

This is on watercolor  paper with a Pastel ground painted on it.  I used some nupastels , blick soft pastels, art spectrum, Sennelier, pastel pencils ,and some Schmincke. There are some brands out there which I want to try before I   chose the main hard medium and soft  pastels which I will invest in

Thanks for looking

Snow Howler

I have always loved wolves . I owned an Alaskan Malamute  who was kinda on the feral side great dogs .  I have an inclination to wolves . I feel politics  are exterminating this graceful  creature. My other half likes wolves also. My wife had some wolf prints years ago  before we got together so I did this one just for her.  This Snow Howler I found a howling wolf and added snow to the scene .

 This was done in September  2012 it is Conte pastels and Nupastels  on a 11X14 Strathmore pastel paper. I had fun doing this and rewarding to do something a loved one would enjoy. Need to revisit doing wolves again.

Pastel Portrait of Grandbaby

This is a early venture in to pastels and portraits crossing over from graphite  pencils. This was done maybe June 15 2012 . I don't think I was to active  when I did this. I learned a lot of lessons on this one.

This is on strathmore paper 11 x 14 pastel paper blue grey tinted  with a 24 piece set nu pastels .

Bird on a wire

Bird on a wire this was a colored pencil  challenge from the colored pencil forum of  wetcanvas.com . The reference was from wetcanvas forum post. Trying  to make the barb wire was a challenge for me.

Blue birds were so common around my home now it is a rare day to see one now days.  We use to watch birds around here quite often unfortunately the bird populations  have diminished greatly. I use to see birds sitting in a line one the fences.

This is done on illustration board  9 x 12 with  Prismacolor colored pencils

 

I hope you enjoy viewing my art work . 

Butterfly and Lilly

Butterfly and Lilly here again I took 2 resources  and added them together. I had fun with this . And every one done is a learning experience for me. This one was finished in September 2012 . 

 

  This picture was taken from my I phone . The colors are a tad off . These phone cameras are good but they don't do as good as a real digital  camera  clarity or color. I really think it looked better before  the back ground was put in it seems to distract from the subjects.. This is colored pencils  on a  Strathmore drawing  paper .

Morning Glories and Hummingbird

One of my early ones . This was done July 2012 approx.  I believe .  I had done lots of small sketches it was my first real effort with colored pencils. I took elements from various sources to create it. There is some light glare  beside the hummingbird .  I like it. I tried  to place the major elements  near the intersection lines of  the 3rds  hoping to make a good composition .  I like to look back at my progress.

This is on Canson paper 18 x 24  and with a very old set of colored pencils  from the days I was  designing water systems.

I am going to try and put most of my older stuff  online before I put the new things on.

Roses one of my favorite  flowers is the rose . The fragrances vary faint to strong while being flowery spicy or fruity  The rose has always been a traditional  challenge  for artists . I had to do one as well .  The varying curves make a excellent study of curving surfaces . I have done 5 or 6 different roses each one has its own personality.

This is  9 x12 Stonehenge paper With Prismacolor color pencils . If you draw with pencils you have to try this paper

Here is another pastel this is a sunset on the Oregon coast  .  I don't recall where the reference  photograph came from but said it was the Oregon coast .  The light and shadows with the interesting reflections  just caught my eye. I had to try to recreate it in pastels. There something  special  sitting on the beach watching  the sun go down drinking a glass of wine and eating a picnic of  dried sausages, cheeses bread with friends  or loved ones looking at a scene  like this watching the sun go down listening to the surf. This reference reminded me of a vacation picnic  with a similar view and similar sunset.

 

This is on  color fix paper made by art spectrum 9x12.  I used Nu-pastels, Blick brand soft pastels  Schmincke and Sennelier.

I have always loved the adobe   mission churches and fell in love with this famous New Mexican church in Taos  New Mexico. Its San Francisco de Assisi  Mission Church in Taos  I love pastels thought I would give this old mission church a try in pastels. This church  is a New Mexican icon because of its shape and its historical significance .The Franciscans started the construction of the  church in 1772 and finished in 1816. The mission church is a National Historic Landmark.  

I started this pastel on March 11th  while I was kinda down with a real bad cold. Dabbled  with it for the next couple of days . Finished it on March 13 I am pretty happy with it. But what makes this so special to me later that day I heard on the news Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected Pope and chose the name of Francis after St Francis  of Assisi  .  Providence , circumstance , prophetic or just one of those things that make you go hmmm ?  Thats for you to answer for your self.

I took my photo of  San Francisco de Assisi looked at other pictures  made a change of time and added a sunset . This is the result . 

I decided I like  a toothy support for pastels. The the support is a 100% cotton paper  with a gesso and marble dust painted on it first. It was an experiment  recipe for the ground was from other artists this recipe worked very good I believe it was found on http://www.wetcanvas.com . 

This is on a 8x12 paper with hard and soft pastels and a few pastel pencils.
Hope you enjoy viewing it