A landscape sketch

[Donna T]

I've been inspired by an artist on YouTube who goes by "The Danish Painter." She builds layers with washes of acrylics and gets moody atmospheric effects. I like the process of applying paint and wiping it off to build layers. It feels similar to how I work with pastels. I tried to keep the edges loose for as long as possible until a subject appeared. 7x10 acrylic on watercolor paper

 

[Terri]

Donna, this is gorgeous! Your color buildup gave you an amazing sky. I love looking at the tendrils of red in there, the blues, purple - it's just eye candy!

Great job on those soft edges. I am having so much fun watching your creativity! Big fan here.

 

[Triduana]

I love the softness and delicate colours.

 

[snoball]

Nice! Very soft and lovely.

 

[ntl]

Donna, Your piece is beautiful. It evokes memories of early light 40 below temps.
(Great in pictures, I don't want to see them again in this lifetime!)

 

[Bartc]

Really lovely effect, Donna.
Have you ever seen my posts about Ceracolors, a cold water soluble wax paint? They are fantastic for getting this atmospheric effect, and virtually every other effect you can get with acrylics, oils, watercolors or even pastels! Yes, it's wax based, but no, it's nothing like encaustics (though you can use heat on it for various purposes). It's a true paint and you use the same brushes (or knives) as you would for any other painting medium. No muss, no fuss, great versatility. From a company called Natural Pigments (available on the web.)
Here's one for your info:

 

[Donna T]

Terri, those tendrils of red are colored pencil scribbles. Hopefully they add a sense of life or at least show that I can start off loosely. Staying loose is the challenge. Thanks so much!

Kay, thank you!

Thanks Sno!

ntl - 40 below is too cold! Thank you for saying this evoked a memory.

Bart, thanks and I just ordered a set of Neo Color II water soluble crayons. I have no idea what they'll be like but having the option to dissolve them in water to make washes sounds good to me. That's a nice painting! Ceracolors look like a good option too - maybe I'll need to try them as well. Have you used them under pastels?

 

[MurrayG]

I've been inspired by an artist on YouTube who goes by "The Danish Painter." She builds layers with washes of acrylics and gets moody atmospheric effects. I like the process of applying paint and wiping it off to build layers. It feels similar to how I work with pastels. I tried to keep the edges loose for as long as possible until a subject appeared. 7x10 acrylic on watercolor paper View attachment 20101

Lovely atmospherics and the depth is convincing. Nice.

 

[Enyaw]

I like you left a hole to go through ... scraping back is always a blast and and eye opener at the same time.

 

[Terri]

Donna, I think you're going to love those NeoColors. They're right up your experimental alley! I've used mine only for hand coloring, and they handle easily. I'm excited to see what you do with them.

Have fun!!!

 

[OleKobe]

Love the dream-like quality and the sky glow.

 

[Donna T]

Thanks OleKobe. I’m glad I didn’t overwork the sky trying for a more realistic color.

 

[Artyczar]

Donna, this is a stunner. It's so soft and beautiful...a dreamy, magical comfort to my eyes.

 

[Hostajunkie]

Your technique produced beautiful results! It is dreamy -- it reminds me of Renoir's technique!

 

[Bartc]

Terri, those tendrils of red are colored pencil scribbles. Hopefully they add a sense of life or at least show that I can start off loosely. Staying loose is the challenge. Thanks so much!

Kay, thank you!

Thanks Sno!

ntl - 40 below is too cold! Thank you for saying this evoked a memory.

Bart, thanks and I just ordered a set of Neo Color II water soluble crayons. I have no idea what they'll be like but having the option to dissolve them in water to make washes sounds good to me. That's a nice painting! Ceracolors look like a good option too - maybe I'll need to try them as well. Have you used them under pastels?

Donna, wax and pastel really don't mix. You can't pastel on top of wax nor vice versa. But I have done one Ceracolor that everyone swears is pastel. So the "look" is always possible. I don't want to hijack your thread, so if you want any examples let's figure out a way to do that privately.

 

[Donna T]

Ayin and Hosta - I appreciate your kind comments. Renoir ...

Bart - I'm still waiting for my Neo Colors to arrive so I can experiment with them. I'm guessing they will work best when left alone as a top layer. I can't imagine that soft pastels would adhere to them well.