Leopard in tree - WIP - WetCanvas: Online Living for Artists

This topic has 8 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 1 month ago by Yorky Administrator Ormskirk.

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March 5, 2018 at 3:30 am #452419
Craig Husband
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I’ve not posted in this thread before as this is my first attempt with pastels. I started this piece over Christmas and have got back to it in the last few days. It’s 30 x 40cm pastelmat using conte sticks and carbothello pencils, with a little fc soft pastels also. So far I love the medium and the potential for building layers, though I am struggling with the fine detail in the tree. This has taken around 25 hours so far and progress is very slow, especially now that I am trying to build up the texture in the bark and moss. I’d love some feedback if possible, and any comments welcome.

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Craig
| CJH Wildlife Art |
Instagram
| www.cjhwildlifeart.co.uk |
March 5, 2018 at 4:26 am #578652
water girl
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Craig, welcome to the pastel forum. Your art background is working well for you. You’ve used colored pencil, so detailing over a long period of time is not intimidating. I can’t wait to see the finished painting. My only suggestion is to keep an eye on the white in the background. The value may be too light. Just give it a thought as you finish.

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Karen, IAPS/MC, PSA WC Moderator-Pastels

web site , Getting started in soft pastels., What you need to know, Critique Guide Lines
March 5, 2018 at 9:45 am #578654
Annette Bárcenas
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This is looking really good… The leopard is looking great, and I really like what you are doing with the tree trunk.

Annette

Annette Bárcenas O.
Instagram: @annettebarcenasdemadrid
www.abarcenas.com
"I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way... things I had no words for". - G. O'Keeffe
March 6, 2018 at 1:19 am #578657
PeggyB
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Hi Craig, and welcome. I agree with Karen; this is progressing nicely. I also agree about the extreme lightness of white; it can begin to look unnatural in a realistic landscape. White pastel is seldom used to represent “white” areas. There are brands of pastel that offer sets of off white in both warm and cool temperatures that will look more lifelike. Unison and ArtSpectrum brands come to mind. The ArtSpectrum are a harder, more “gritty”, and less expensive choice. However, I don’t know if they are available in your area. Unison are made in Northumberland; ArtSpectrum in Australia.

Peggy Braeutigam, IAPS/MC
www.peggybraeutigam.com
March 7, 2018 at 8:18 am #578655
Craig Husband
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Thanks guys. I will take another look at the white as I progress. The leopard will be a lot lighter in the end, so I’ll wait to see how that balances out with the background. It is very white in the reference photo, but I did think I could add some lighter shades of blue maybe, just to break it up a little.

Craig
| CJH Wildlife Art |
Instagram
| www.cjhwildlifeart.co.uk |
March 8, 2018 at 11:11 am #578658
mandalaToronto
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Craig
What a wonderful job you have done . It’s hard to believe it is your first time doing pastels. Love the green moss on the bardk.
Another brand of pastel to think about is Mount Vision. There are people on this forum who absolutely love it.
I bought some at Dakota Pastel on sale for $3.00 each and they are fabulous. They have lots of shades of off white.
March 20, 2018 at 6:54 am #578656
Craig Husband
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Well I’m sorry to say there will be no more updates for this piece. Foolishly, I added some fixative to the work and ended up having huge droplets sink in to the background. This has stained the area and no matter what I cannot remove it. I have tried baking soda, brushes, sanding, painting in with some fixative and re-spraying to try and add more tooth but all I have is a smooth area which will no longer accept pastel. I am very annoyed (with myself mostly), but I suppose it’s a learning curve (this was my first attempt after all). All I can say for certain is that I will not be using fixative in the near future! Hopefully I’ll have my next attempt to share soon…

Craig
| CJH Wildlife Art |
Instagram
| www.cjhwildlifeart.co.uk |
March 21, 2018 at 4:36 pm #578651
Alison2
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Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear that. But looking forward to your next piece.

Alison:wave:
March 21, 2018 at 5:38 pm #578653
water girl
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Oh, no! Really, that’s all I can say….Oh, no! Please try again.

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Karen, IAPS/MC, PSA WC Moderator-Pastels

web site , Getting started in soft pastels., What you need to know, Critique Guide Lines
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