Evening Light on Pines

"Evening Light on Pines"   16"x17" pastel on Uart paper toned with acrylic

I like to photograph my work when it's partially finished. The small format of the photograph helps you see the composition and what areas need to be simplified or the value changed.

I used my reference photograph from my trip yesterday to Natural Bridge. The evening light was streaming through the forest and illuminating the pine trees. Light was fading too quickly to set up for a plein air drawing so I knew I'd have to depend on the photographs.

Maple tree colors glowed on the right side and my challenge is to keep some of that glow but not let it distract from the light on the pine tree.  I know that my photos overexpose the lights and block up the darks, but I like strong contrast and that contrast helps focus on the pine tree. This is a drawing I don't want to overwork and I want to keep a lot of the colors fairly neutral to keep the focus on the light on the tree trunk.

Natural Bridge

"Natural Bridge 1"   8"x13" pastel on Uart sanded paper

"Natural Bridge 2"   8"x13" on Uart sanded paper

"Natural Bridge 3"   8"x12" on Wallis sanded paper

"Natural Bridge Vista"   8"x12" on Uart sanded paper

After the nasty weather passed I drove down to Natural Bridge State Park in Slade, KY and it was a beautiful late fall day with full sunshine.

Because I didn't get to stay overnight at the park my drawing time was limited so I concentrated on the main feature - the hugh sandstone arch.

The paper for the first two drawings was Uart sanded paper with an acrylic wash color of warm gray which I created to match the color Belgium Mist from Wallis. That is such a great color to go any direction with my drawings, (light or dark, warm or cool) but Wallis had significant manufacturing difficulties and my last order was on backorder for 3 months. Now I'm looking for an alternative "favorite". My other favorite is PastelMat but it's considerably more expensive than Uart.

The trail around Natural Bridge is steep and tree-covered and I had to set up very close to the arch. The underneath color of the arch was warm which doesn't show at all in my photographs of the arch. That's why I'm so hooked on plein air drawing. I can really see colors especially in the shadow areas. 

I'm not happy with the last drawing of the Natural Bridge vista. If I get time I'm going to try another with more expressive colors.

Natural Bridge State Park was the last park on my grant from the Kentucky Department of Parks. What a wonderful adventure of visiting all these beautiful places and I'm so grateful to Sam Devine from the Park Department for making the grant happen.

Cumberland Falls Continued

"Cumberland Falls Morning" 8"x12" pastel

"Cumberland River Boulders" 8"x12" pastel

"Cumberland River Downstream" 8"x12" pastel

"Beech Trees Trail #12" 12"x8"

Wednesday at Cumberland River area brought sunshine, warm temperatures and lots of beautiful scenery.

Above Laurel Falls

"Above Laurel Falls" 8"x12" on Wallis sanded paper

"Above Laurel Falls" cropped on Wallis sanded paper

If you read my blogs you know during my plein air adventures I'm always waffling between recording what is there and creating a better piece of art. Composition is usually the culprit.

Autumn adds another dimension to the puzzle - color. Autumn in full color is like a cheap persian rug -- splashes of color all over the place. In my drawing from above Laurel Falls as it spills out into Cumberland River I am taken with the small waterfall splashing into the pool before tumbling into Laurel Falls. 

The first photographed drawing is as I recorded it but in the second photograph I have cropped out the small falls on the left of the drawing to improve the composition. However I'm still perplexed by the abundance of color.

Now that I'm back at my studio I'd like to work on this image again.

Next week I was suppose to go to Natural Bridge for my last state park visit but the weather is turning quickly from fall to winter. Rain and cold are not appealing so I'll wait and drive up on Saturday when it's suppose to be sunny and 62 to draw the Natural Bridge and Red River Gorge area.

Cumberland Falls Autumn Views

"Cumberland Falls 1" 8"x12" pastel on Uart paper with acrylic wash

"Cumberland Falls 2" 8"x12" pastel on Uart sanded paper

"Cumberland Falls 2" close-up

My Kentucky State Park adventure continues with Cumberland Falls State Park which is a beautiful spot especially in autumn.

The first image was created on Uart sanded paper toned with an acrylic blue/green/gray wash. My favorite paper is Wallis Belgium Mist which is a warm gray color but Wallis has production troubles and my order has been on back order for 3 months so I'm experimenting with recreating the color I enjoy on a sanded paper. Uart 400 has a similar grit texture as Wallis and I think it actually holds the pastel better. Then, of course, the Wallis paper arrived the week before leaving for Cumberland Falls; so now I have both papers to compare. This blue/green/gray underpainting makes a nice complementary color to the warm fall colors.

"Cumberland Falls 1" was created first and I wanted to capture the essence of the falls without too many details.

"Cumberland Falls 2" was drawn from a spot further down river and the sun was starting to drop along the ridge top illuminating the autumn foliage. This one was only 1/2 finished when it was time to go to dinner so I rubbed out some offending details and left just the impression of the bright orange trees.

So now the problem. The foliage, especially the color, is a distraction from the point of interest - Cumberland Falls. So in "Cumberland Falls 3" I cropped out most of the foliage to see if the composition is improved.

What do you think? Do you have a favorite?

Fall Colors at Jenny Wiley State Park

"Dewey Lake Evening"  8"x12"  pastel

"Morning Hike Maples"  12"x8"  pastel

"Lakeshore Dewey Lake 1"  8"x12"  pastel

"Dewey Lake Reflections"  8"x12"  pastel

"Reflections at Jenny Wiley State Park Dewey Lake"

Large, loud bass boats cut through

the silence of the morning.

Wave to them with my middle finger.

Quiet reflections and

falling leaves float gently.

Boat waves gouge through the colors. 

Just fish guys

Stay put for awhile.

4 pound bass flops against the glassy lake top

Hide, big fish, hide.

Shaker Fields series

"Evening Fields 1"

"Evening Fields2"

"Evening Fields 3"

"Evening Fields 4"

"Evening Fields 5"

Working in a series allows the artist to explore images and ideas. In this series I'm working with the fields at Shaker Village from a perfect evening in June 2012. It's fun to loosely move around the colors and shapes.

After a terribly hot summer the fields are dried and the color is much more subtle....too subtle for my liking, but weather permitting I"ll be drawing at Shaker Village on October 27 while Shaker Village highlights their work with Nature Conservancy to restore the fields to the natural savannah of central Kentucky.

These new 12"x12" pastels will be available at St. James Court Art Fair Oct. 5-7. My booth is #911 on 3rd Street. Come see the originals and lots more.