Up a Creek

[MurrayG]

MurrayG, what is it you do with the alcohol??
I was pleased to see that you didn't use vibrant, in-your-face hues in this experiment.
I suggest on a next work, you keep the grasses of the midground. viewer left, more upright, rather than all with a lean. Very nice piece.

Hi NTL, haha. Its the stuff from the chemist no not drinkable, I like Donnas idea Thanks for the input. The grasses along the water are a kind of Sedge rush I think with thick wide leaves and typically weep down. Im not sure I did them justice and they are a bit "grassy". I was even more slapdash with the left hill grass. BUT - I appreciate the input as it all goes into the mix of me improving. Thanks heaps.

 

[MurrayG]

Murray, you made this even more beautiful with the changes you made! There is more depth to the sky and the trees. If you haven't tried vodka (the cheapest) for underpaintings you might give it a try. I like the way it behaves better than any of the rubbing alcohols. It does get a laugh from family members who wonder if you're really using it as an "art supply."

Hi Donna, thanks for the kind words, very encouraging. I will do a new one for my son back in OZ so I better behave and learn from this exercise I like the vodka idea, they have a super cheap rocket fuel here that deserves a test (on paper at least).

 

[MurrayG]

I think this is a really great work...I especially love the grasses around the water and the water itself. The color blends you used in the water are so pretty. Great job!!!!

Thanks Arty, appreciate your words.

 

[triss]

I had the mini FaberCastell sticks for a while for outdoor sketching - loved them! Then I traded down to the Inspire mini sticks - they're very similar, but even cheaper - great for outside where I tend to drop stuff, and I actually prefer them to the Rembrandts. I started out with very soft pastels, and I think you'll get to love the Senneliers, but I can see how the Rembrandts are well-suited to a drawing style.

Your finished 'experiment' has a lovely, serene quality - all the greens come together very nicely, and it feels cohesive. Great focus on those fantastic foreground rocks. Really looking forwards to seeing where your experimenting takes you.

And, thanks to Donna for the idea about vodka - I have some awful cheap stuff in a cupboard somewhere, so I'll be trying that out!

 

[Bartc]

Murray, I love what you did with the foreground. It's a real skill to capture water in all 4 layers (reflection, surface texture, water color, and underwater details.) I like how you did the grasses and trees as well.
Only thing that doesn't work as well for me here - and please take this as only my compositional preferences - is that the mid and background stream is too regular and goes straight to the middle. This is a compositional challenge, not one of the rendering. Just my 2 cents, which you didn't ask for. YMMV

 

[Bartc]

Murray, I started with Canson using those Senneliers (after tries with oil pastels and pastel pencils that were meh.) Canson is not your best paper, particularly for wet underpaintings. In fact, most papers can't handle wet underpaintings well, which is why I use Pastelmat. Expensive, but gorgeous, almost as many layers as sanded but it's not sanded. I prefer it even though I don't need it for the wet stuff.

Rembrandts are harder pastels than Senneliers (see the Dakota Pastel site for a visual of the hard to soft spectrum). Senneliers are known for their vibrant colors, though they can also do subtlety. Oddly, their half sticks work better for me than their full sticks and that seems to be a common experience. I'm not a fan of Rembrandts. So Senneliers are my workhorses, while I'm adding Unisons, Mount Visions (good value) and some of the more expensive soft pastels as budget allows. And I pretty much exclusively paint en plein air and alla prima for the record.

For underpaintings, sketching and even for finishing details, I find that the semi-hardness and shape of Nupastels are extremely versatile in mixing with soft pastels.

Use whatever works for you and keep working at getting your own vision down on a surface, regardless of what any of us prefer!

 

[ams]

Beautiful. Sounds like an interesting technique. It is even better after your fixes.

I especially like the leafy plants along the edge of the water.

I love your signature quote: "Making mistakes, one colour and line at a time." How true! I had a good laugh at that.

 

[MurrayG]

Murray, I love what you did with the foreground. It's a real skill to capture water in all 4 layers (reflection, surface texture, water color, and underwater details.) I like how you did the grasses and trees as well.
Only thing that doesn't work as well for me here - and please take this as only my compositional preferences - is that the mid and background stream is too regular and goes straight to the middle. This is a compositional challenge, not one of the rendering. Just my 2 cents, which you didn't ask for. YMMV

Hi Bart, great to have your 2 cents worth, much appreciated. Yes, I also find the central path of the creek a little too direct, that I will address in iteration #2. I tried to incorporate depth of view with some light etc, on the painting its a little clearer. I agree and I would normally "bend" the composition. Comment away, its the only way I will get tto hear others opinions. So much to learn
BTW, I agree with the paper, I just cannot get anything else here. When traveling I managed an A4 block of Pastelmat that I will try. I had some Tiziano which I will never use again. When back in "civilization" I will do an online order. Thanks again.