Thursday, July 15, 2010

The Process

Sorry, but I forgot to take a shot of just the sky. I love doing clouds with pastels, it is so easy and they almost form themselves. I started with a blue sky with fluffy clouds and blocked in a big tree shape and foreground in bright yellow and painted them with odorless thinner. Then I added a curvy trunk and applied thinner to it with a rigger or liner brush...



Next I added some background trees and I started adding various squiggly marks in bright colors to resemble leaves and added to the trunk a bit...

Next I refined the leaves some more, trying to achieve a bit of depth with different shades of orange and red...

Initially I had planned to make the ground appear to be blanketed with fallen leaves, hence the yellow underpainting, but this tree wasn't ready to let go yet...

No siree, this tree said, "these leaves are mine, and I'm hanging on to them".

The shadow just started to emerge on it's own, so I went with it. A bit more defining of the trunk and the foliage, the tree is finished.

So that's the art for today. I hope everyone had a good week and has lots of fun planned for the weekend. DH has friends that are playing in the Blue Ridge Blues and Barbecue Festival this Saturday. We will all be having dinner together tomorrow night and then he will meet them for the festival on Saturday. Me? I'm making sure I have some yummy healthy treats on hand for the NCIS marathon on USA network. It starts at 1:00 and I'm going to watch them all until DH comes home. I don't care how many of them I've seen, I really dig that show. A bit gory for some, but it's all special effects and make up and doesn't bother me in the least.

Do you have wonderful plans for the weekend? Hope so. Whatever you do, stay safe and happy.

9 comments:

vivian said...

great job on the painting! it was fun to see the steps you took in painting it. Have fun watchimg NCIS. My father loves that show too!
happy weekend
vivian

Parsley said...

You have a lot of talent. Good job.

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

Beautiful job, once again girl. You are one talented lady! I too love to paint skies....especially in watercolors...I just love the way they mingle together!

Take care and have a blissfully blessed weekend!!!

Sandy Mastroni said...

Love seeing the process here and I LOVE the shadow under the tree Susan ..... and the clouds , really nice painting

Tina said...

I love the process and the result. You are a talented lady and generous with your sharing. I appreciate that so much about you my dear. Hope you have a blessed day.
t

Anonymous said...

Cool! Thanks for posting the stages of the piece in progress. Very nice!

Peri said...

The stages are really nice to see! Isn't it cool how pastels just seem to "flow" into what you want? Anyone looking at the first stage of the tree would think, "Huh?", but they would be surprised at the final picture for sure! Only suggestion would be to double check for the cast shadows within the leaf masses, because the ground shadow indicates an overhead light direction, so those leaves are casting more direct shadows that one might remember. I didn't see the picture you are working from, but I am just thinking about it. Great work. Like everyone else, I am pleased. What is next????

Countryfolk Keepsakes said...

How did I miss this post??!!! This is gorgeous!! As always, the colors are brilliant! ♥
~Tree Lover Peanut

suze said...

wow you have been busy! Love the tree painting!