Rotary Beach Afternoon

"Rotary Beach Afternoon"
Pastel, 8" x 14"

This was quite an enjoyable pastel to plan out and complete. The first thing to do was to lay out the scenery using compressed charcoal, then following it up with color swatches for the under painting. Not too long ago I tried using a water color wash for the under painting but wasn't pleased with the results and it took to long to dry out.

It was at this point I decided to try something completely different by brushing over the dry pastel using rubbing alcohol. The alcohol actually mixed and fused the pastel together on the Wallis paper giving it a painterly effect. Some areas had the look a thin wash feel while other areas appear to be a thick gouache. Once it was dried, about 15-20 minutes, it was time to get to work on mid-tones colors.

The alcohol process permitted the greatest coverage for the under painting and didn't effect the tooth of the paper. I was able to add and work in additional layers of pastels with no problem at all. In fact some area just didn't need re-working with pastel as the under painting color mixture was working just fine.

The reference photo I used was taken about two years ago from a little island at Rotary Beach. This small island is only accessible during low tide. Its a beautiful place where many of the locals like to hang out on a sunny afternoon throughout the year. The vista from this little island is looking out across Tongass Narrows toward southern end of Gravina Island beneath cedar limbs hanging out over the rocky beach.

Well back to the drawing board to start another drawing.