Artist's Drawing & Inspiration
The Beauty of the Sea
Using pastels, the artist conveys the magnificence and freedom of the ocean.
STEP ONE
Always get your horizon straight on the paper first, lightly sketch in using a Red or Purple Conte, it adds interest if some of it still shows through at the finish.
STEP TWO
I prefer to start at the top so as not to smudge what I have already worked on, and also if any pastel floats down, it doesn’t contaminate work already finished. The sky is a mix of Ultramarine Blue, Flinders Blue Violet X520, Bordeaux and White. Sometimes I smudge it in whilst wearing a latex glove.
STEP THREE
The sea should contain similar colours to the sky as it reflects the sky. The horizon line is often darker, and I use various shades of Turquoise and Phthalo Blue to give depth. For the white of the waves I use a Schmincke White as it really is one of the very few whites that will sit on top of the other colours and give the wanted effect.
STEP FOUR
I like to put the darks on first using
A.S. Flinders BlueViolet, it gives lovely shadows, and whilst I have that pastel in my hand I put it in the foreground also. The cliffs on the left are a mix of Unison Caput Mortuum shades; I find Caput Mortuum is a colour I use widely in my paintings. The foreground and the cliffs have similar colours, so I work on them both at the same time.
STEP FIVE
I realise that the sea can be seen through the grasses, on the left, so I make sure that is completed when the cliffs are finished.
STEP SIX
I now only have the limestone foreground and the grasses to finish.
The grass will be left until last as it has to come in front of everything, and I use a variety of gold and yellow ochres with a Rembrandt
Mars Violet to create shadows.
For the grasses I use the darkest of Caput Mortuum for the base and heavy areas, also dark green and lighter greens as the grass grows longer.
When I’m drawing long grass, it is easier to turn my page upside down and, using a pastel pencil sharpened in a chisel fashion, pull the pencil down to finish in a nice point rather than try and draw it up. Often the pastel pencil also helps to pull some of the thicker pastel with it and drag it further along the stem, giving a more even effect.
FINAL STEP
Turn it back the right way, touch up the small plants by adding a touch of Schmincke Crimson Lake and a bright purple - never miss the opportunity to use purple in your painting whether it is there or not as it adds that extra bit of vibrancy. At this stage I would put it to the back of my easel and revisit it in about a week or so, then I would sign it and it is finished.
Carol’s contact details:
Ph: 08 8555 5656
Email: contactme@carolcoventry.com.au
Web: www.carolcoventry.com.au
18 Richards St, Goolwa, SA, 5214.n
STEP SIX