Hanging in Soft Pastels (cross posted in Scavenger Hunt from Life 85)

[Jo Castillo]

Hanging, Pastel on recycled Pastelbord, 8 x 10 inches, a mixture of soft pastels.

The item for the Scavenger Hunt was Hanging. I would have liked to have clothes hanging on a line but our Hunts are from life and I didn't have any clothes hanging on the line. These toys and bags and balloon hang on the wall in my studio.

I wiped off another sketch of a dog from the board and put on a messy under painting of pastel spread with alcohol so it would dry quickly. I planned to have a mottled background by spraying with water but decided it was too busy for the number of items so I smoothed it out. Not counting a few interruptions I worked on it about an hour and a half or so.

The under painting after the alcohol. There was obviously something else on the canvas that left a red stain. Maybe apples or geraniums - favorites to paint. I do tend to use my surfaces a few times.

 

[Artyczar]

Oh! I LOVE this Jo!!! The subject and the technique are brilliant!

 

[Jo Castillo]

Thank you Artyczar. I do like pastels. They are so forgiving and ready and waiting, no waiting for paint to dry. Well, a few minutes wait on this one for the alcohol to dry. Ha.

 

[Bongo]

love your loose style on this one. Green and pink go so well together it's almost cheating.

 

[JStarr]

Well lookee you!

This is terrific! I've seen the alcohol wash used before- it worked well here, didn't it? This is so nicely done- your textures are terrific!

Good work!

 

[Jo Castillo]

Bongo, thanks. Sometimes color can cover mistakes. Ha.

JStarr, thank you. I use under painting a lot. In this case after wiping off the canvas it created a "new" mottled surface.

Appreciate the comments and likes!