Night Scene Pastel

An experiment: Here I've used the rough side of hardboard (aka Masonite) to paint with pastels. Many layers were involved with acrylic fixative in between. While I wouldn't recommend this method, it was certainly interesting.

I took the photo of this painting outdoors near noon. Although it was a  cloudy day the overhead light was more than sufficient to emphasize the strong grain of the board, as you can see. Depending on the light angle, this grain may or may not be so visible. Furthermore, the painting is dark and the acrylic fixative is glossy - so that in certain subdued lighting situations, the pastel painting appears to be basically just black with maybe a little line of horizon showing.

Oh, you know, I have some paintings over at fineartamerica, too. And if you're there, you might want to check out some other people's  oregon paintings

The Needles Cannon Beach Oregon Pastel Painting

Pastel Cannon Beach, Oregon at sunset... this time it isn't Haystack Rock, but its companions, called The Needles. It's great to get just the right angle so the sun sets between them. As is often the case, there were people present but I elected to leave them out. This painting is not about them...

There are more dynamics in the painting than my digital camera was able to read; but that's kind of normal. This is a problem that often brings me much frustration.

Oregon pastel painting on 9" x 12" Bristol board, painted in layers using SpectraFix.

Sand Lake Pastel Study

   After fussing with this pastel painting for a bit too long, I decided it was time to just go ahead and post it. This is a 9x12 pastel study of the Sand Lake estuary with the Sandlake peninsula and recreation area seen in the distance.

Cascade Head, Proposal Rock Sunset (Pastel)

Pastel painting/sketch of Cascade Head, viewed from Proposal Rock, at sunset. Pastels on 9x12 Bristol board smooth.

A study for an oil painting I've been wanting to do... Perhaps I should create a new category called "Painting Fail" because this sketch turned out as IT intended rather than what I had in mind. Even so, it gives me some ideas about what I do (and don't) want to do in a larger work.

By the way, Proposal Rock is the spot where we lose people every year because of sneaker waves. In fact, you see one coming at you right now! This is just 9 miles from my home base. ...Last year, there was a story about a guy who took his fiance there to propose to her and she got washed away by one of those waves. It was heart-rending enough to make national news. We also lost a middle-aged woman here just last week, but that probably didn't make it to Fark and Drudge. It's like a beautiful death trap. I just thought I'd share that with you.

Nestucca River Oregon Pastel Painting

At last, a new work! ...It was high time I worked with my pastels again; as a teenage artist I was known for my pastels but for some reason I've just drifted away from them. Today, pastels are back.

This work was completed just this morning. Total time to complete: About 2 hours. I've painted this subject before, but it is a beautiful area and I wanted to revisit it. Now, I did this using my plen air drawing board and paper (Canson 9x12 recycled). Had I used a paper with more tooth, I could have added additional values but the paper was saturated so this is what we have.

As it has been a while since I worked in pastels, it felt a little awkward at first. But I got comfy fairly quickly. I could be wrong but I think it's a keeper.

UPDATE: I used this painting as a reference for a slightly larger version. That painting was entered in the local county fair art competition. It won FIRST PLACE for landscape on paper and BEST IN CLASS (All works on paper).