Compass

[cd3000]

This is a piece I did a few years back. It's a combination of soft and hard pastel.

Here's what I used. Starke Ersta paper. Nupastel, Rembrants and CarbOthello pencils.

It's a little different than the average piece posted here, I hope you like it.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/07-Apr-2009/99357-03a.jpg

[Donna T]

Hi cd and Welcome to Pastels! You are right - this is different- and I think it's really outstanding! Thanks so much for sharing this and I look forward to seeing more of your work.

Donna

[MJGresko]

Different is good. I'm not sure what that bluish-tourquoise stuff is but it sure looks cool.

[BetsyPriesing]

This is really cool looks like it could be a really nice Tatoo!

[cd3000]

The that bluish-tourquoise stuff is the blue tunnel people claim to see when they have near death experiences.

[Constellation]

Very interesting and innovative! From butterflys to a skull is very imaginative and rather exciting. Your painting is so clean and neat and full of things to look at and I'm still debating what I think of it but I do know that your technique is outstanding and I admire your ability a great deal. Show us more. Donna R

[cd3000]

Thanks Donna,

Here is another one. It's obviously way different from the above piece but done with a similar technique. This was an image of a Swatch watch that I owned at the time.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/07-Apr-2009/99357-swatch1.jpg

[Paula Ford]

:eek: These pieces are just incredible!!!

Welcome to the Pastel Forum!!

[binkie]

Wow! Very creative pieces! The lines and colors are so precise it blows me away.

binkie

[Bringer]

Hi,

Great creativity and technique.
You sure have future, I can tell.

Best regards,

José

[aolaranora]

WOW!!!
Detailes to die for! Great job, love it!

:clap: :clap:

[PETE K]

Your work is unigue. and very well done. I do like your style and could see your pieces on cd covers and other places. Pete Max look out there is a new kid on the block. would love to see more.

[fiannah]

wow you are incredibly imaginative! I love them both!

[Shawne]

I would love to own a print of this piece (Compass). Seriously. This work is so full of symbolism and communicative imagery, and I don't want to stop looking at it. It's breathtaking and truly has a voice.

I've been a pastelist for 15 years doing still life and landscape, but do art more like this kind in oil and acrylic. What fantastic pastel work. I'd love to compare notes, both about pastel and subject matter. :)
-Shawne

[cd3000]

Thanks all for the kind words.

Pete K, I did do one cd cover when I was in art school for Tower of Power.

I have to admit I only did three pastel pieces before getting sucked into computers. I was a big fan of Mary Gran Pre and had hopes of following in her footsteps with childrens books and such. The computer bug bit me hard and I lost the desire to further explore pastels. All my prior art was oil and acrylic so the pastels was a quick fling. I'm looking at pastels again to assist me with my oil paintings but the days of tight rendered pastel paintings are over. As far as I can tell there isn't much money to be made with pastels. It seems to me that any serious gallery is oil or acrylic.

Shawne, thanks. You might like this piece since it's related symbolically to Compass. (Sorry all for posting an oil painting on the pastel forum- I will remove it if it breaks any rules)http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/07-Apr-2009/99357-Missle.jpg

[joolee]

Wow! Truly fantastic work. Your first two pieces don't even look like pastels to me (but I am a relative newbie, so what do I know). Have you seen the work of Edwin Cripps? He is an artist of the absurd (no offence intended - that's what he calls it) and is, in fact, a member of my local art club. Unfortunately, his website doesn't really do justice to the work I have seen from him. I'm sure you have a great future ahead of you.
Jools

[knippes]

Your technique on this painting is amazing. So crisp and clean. The blue tunnel is stunning too. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your work.
-Kym

[Mario V]

very beautiful cd3000. Keep them coming :clap:

which paper are you using? What's the size of the paintings?

[Deborah Secor]

Wow--Scott, these are really strong paintings! I love the symbolism in the first and third ones.

I hope you get hooked back into pastels, whether you do this kind of work or something entirely different... BTW, the 'new' Ersta is called UART. Have you tried it?

Deborah

[cd3000]

joolee- I've seen work similar to Edwin Cripps before, but not his. It's pretty wild. That's cool that you are in a club with him. Any good stories? The Youtube video of his showing at Art Basel 07 was interesting. He's looks to be an artistic descendant of Hieronymus Bosch. I actually did do one piece in that vein during art school. It was a combo of H. Bosch and Giotto. It was quite controversial and was eventually stolen.

knippes- thanks

mvuk- I was using Ersta paper from Germany. It was the paper that M. Gran Pre was using. I called her up and she was kind enough to tell me her technique. I think the key to getting all the detail was sharpening the Rembrandts. The Carbothellos being a pencil were very difficult to lay over the softer Rembrandts without digging into the layers. I still have the Swatch piece and it measures 17"x24". The other two I gave away.

Deborah- I haven't tried UART. I will probably pick some up when I do a purchase of pastel supplies. If I were to do something similar to these pieces and render with pastels would the Girault's handle the same more or less as the Rembrandt's? Can the Girault's be sharpened?

You guys will laugh at the paintings I've been doing over the last couple of years. I've been painting in thick oil with a palette knife. I don't spend more than a couple of days per piece. I guess it's a reaction to the years of rendering.

Here's an example of one. It's 48"x48" on panel.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/08-Apr-2009/99357-The_Watcher_A1.jpg

[maw-t]

No doubt you have talent.. very creative & bautifully rendered! Welcome to pastels!

[Adriana Meiss]

Welcome. Your pastels are great!
I'm not laughing at your tree at all. I think it's awesome! The many colors and strokes are just like delicious eye candy!

[ponting]

Awesome work cd in both mediums. I am drawn to anything with detail but have to say that I love the watcher just as much for it's freshness...definately a Shiraz painting for me!! :lol:

Cheers, Dianna :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

[cd3000]

Thanks Maw-t.

Adriana, I'm glad you like the tree.

Dianna, it was a merlot painting. Thanks!

[Paula Ford]

OH MY GOSH!!! I absolutely think the tree is stunning. Let me say that again...I absolutely think the tree is stunning.

[cd3000]

Thanks Paula.

Every once in awhile I try my hand at flower paintings. I find them pretty hard since I usually feel overwhelmed by the details. My goal is to get better at organizing the details into larger shapes and create more movement with color and value. I admit this piece suffers from isolated elements attempting to make the whole.
Here's one of my recent attempts. Any of you flower experts on this forum feel free to offer C&C.

Girasole 34"x52" oil on panel

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/09-Apr-2009/99357-_girasole_WC.jpg

[ponting]

Dianna, it was a merlot painting. Thanks!

:D

[Shawne]

Wow, wow, wow. So much to look at. A maze of delight for the eyes and the soul. I'm transfixed.
-Shawne

[Paula Ford]

I'm going to say the same about the flowers...STUNNING!! Look at the size of it!!! Did you sell it?

[formerlyunknownart]

this is amazing work! Love it. And ... ummm.. you are not exactly right about pastels not being money makers. I've sold tons of my pastels for decent prices. :)

[cd3000]

thanks Shawne, Paula and Melanie.

I knew I'd regret saying that about pastels not selling for much moments after posting it. I need the 5 second retrieval rule.

Melanie, if you don't mind, what is the average price that you sell your pieces for?

Dianna, I'm guessing that you sell your work for quite a bit as well. Do you want to jump in?

I think the reason that I said that is the galleries that I visit are all filled with oil paintings. One artist that I know a little about, Wolf Kahn, sells his oils for $70-$100k and his pastels go for $2-$4k. So, I guess I was using some of that info to bias my statement.

[water girl]

Everyone has said what I would say. Amazing work, for sure. Your technique is amazing, your composition is amazing, your colors are amazing......

[Deborah Secor]

Well, the fact is that almost anything 'under glass' will sell for less in most markets, although you'll find exceptions. We try to educate the public that pastels are actually WORTH as much as any other medium, but it's a battle. I don't think selling pastels is at issue, just the value factor in most buyer's minds... That's part of our job! (OH and there is the edit button you can use, if you want to retrieve something. I think you have about an hour...or less...not sure. But you can edit away at it for a while!)

The Giraults have a different hand than Rembrandts. They're slightly grittier, but soft, if that makes sense. You can sharpen them, but why waste the pastel? Have you used Colour Shapers? They'll do the job better than a pointed pastel, IMHO.

I think The Watcher is fascinating. It's really strong in composition, color, and concept. Nice...

Deborah

[cd3000]

Thanks Karen.

Deborah, I'm glad you like the tree. I have color shapers to remove oil paint. I haven't thought of using them to blend pastels. Thanks for the tip.