Sail Fishing Fleet, Ketchikan 1905

"Sail Fishing Fleet, Ketchikan 1905"
Pastel on board, 11 x 20

"Daybreak on the Tongass"

Its been quite a long time since posting anything on our blog.  Been hanging out over at Facebook as its easier to communicate with family and friends.  Anyway about a year ago a co-worker approached me about doing a commission pastel drawing for another co-worker who was retiring after 20+ years working for the government.   For about 10 months or so I sort of sketched up a number of ideas, even tried to draw a family portrait of his parents, and mainly took photos of sunsets and sun rises of the area.  Here are few photos of the work in progress (WIP)...

 

"Daybreak on the Tongass"

11" x 17" [Final]

 

#5 - work in progress, adding highlights and more details

 

#4 - work in progress, adding more details

 

 #3 - work in progress, filling the sky

#2 - work in progress, laying in the ground

WIP#1 under drawing on pastel board

All in all it was a fun process to get through after being away from the drawing board for so long.  I decide it was best to stick with traditional dry approach versus doing a wet brush under coat.  The commissioned artwork was well received at the retirement ceremony by my co-worker.  Another co-worker presented a Haida carved paddle which was an amazing piece of artwork.  

Winter Sky

"Winter Sky"
10" x 16"

Guess I was a lot closer to being done on this painting than I thought. Added a few more highlights and finished off the lower right hand corner. The trees by themselves are not really that interesting, but add a sky with some clouds at an angle and it will capture your eye. This is a scene outside our cabin which is perched upon a hill during the winter. There are a few more photographs like this that I've taken over the years that would make just as good a painting. Now to figure out what to paint next.

Winter Sky - Stage 2

Back at the drawing board tonight to work out the next stage in completing this drawing. At this point I start working on the tree tops working my way down the drawing. At times I will do a little work in the sky but for the most part stayed on rendering each branch on the trees. A mug of hot tea and music on my iPod helps to pass the time.

You can see here that I've worked all the way down the trees; there is still much to do on the tree on the far right. Thinking the sky is pretty much finished, perhaps it needs a hint of light yellow in the colors and an accent on the tree tops. In any event one more evening on this drawing and it will be complete.

Winter Sky - Stage 1

This is the under drawing using a dry pastel media and a little charcoal to outline the initial image. Since this is a winter scene I'm using lighter hues and white. This is necessary as I start to use rubbing alcohol to spread the color around it on the paper it darkens a bit.
You can see here that I'm using a half inch wide flat headed Bristol brush on the sky. You can see the alcohol mixing with the dry pastel with the hue darkening up. You have to be careful to clean your brush after about 3-4 brush strokes. The alcohol cleans the pigment from the brush quite easily so it not a huge problem. The cleaning permits you to keep each hue some what separated on the paper. In other word the white remains white and the blue remains its own color. There is some mixing of the colors along the edges where they meet which is a good thing at times.
In this close up you can see how the colors remain separated and how some of the edges will actually mix together. As you can see I'm also using the direction of the brush strokes to add to the drama of the sky.The directional aspects of a brush is a very important way to add drama to any work.

This is the finished under painting and must dry for about 30 minutes before moving on to the next layer of pastel. I left some areas untouched by the alcohol to denote sky holes or snow on a branch. Again don't feel like you need to fill in all areas of the under painting with a color, white space adds a very powerful design element...sometime less is more. Tomorrow I begin the next stage of this painting by adding some details.

Avalanche Chute

"Avalanche Chute"
10" x 16" (Finished)

Under painting after an alcohol wash.

Laying down the under drawing & blocking in zones of color.

Here is the latest pastel painting that I've been working on over the past two days. I've included a few more photos showing a before and after progression using rubbing alcohol once again for the under painting. This approach has really been a wonderful process to execute and permits to me to work much more quickly. One of the delightful things I've discovered is this process has really loosen me up.

The reference photo was taken last summer while on a hike with my nephew Ethan up to Lake Silvis (video). As we were hiking up the access road we came across an ice cave at the end of an avalanche chute from the spring run-off earlier in the year. It was such a beautiful summer day I will never forget our time together that day. This pastel was a great way to began a new year, remembering the past while moving towards the future.

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.

Kodiak Harbor

"Kodiak Harbor" (Detail)
7" x 11"

"Kodiak Harbor"
Pastel on Wallis Paper
7" x 11"

Here is a pastel drawing of Kodiak Harbor done on Wallis paper. It was an interesting drawing in that most of the under drawing was done using charcoal pencil. Took a photo of the harbor from the hill next to the bridge going over to Near Island. I was inspired to do a more formal drawing after re-discovering a sketch I did some years ago. Perhaps one day it will make to a oil painting.

Oil Pastel Studies

View of Guard Island
Oil Pastel on Paper ( 7" x 11")

View towards Metlakatla
Oil Pastel on Paper (8" x 11")

View south looking down Tongass Narrows
Oil Pastel on Paper (6" x 11")

Spent time experimenting using oil pastels and solvent thinner on drawing paper. It was interesting to just let loose permitting the medium to dictate how the drawing will turn out. The oil pastel seems to melt under the use of the solvent which is great for spreading out the material as an under painting. But I found the surface of the paper wouldn't take a second layer of oil pastels even after the solvent dried. I actually think it had more to do with not enough surface tooth with the paper to take additional layers. Going to try the same process on various other surfaces such as Wallis paper.

Parting the Light

"Parting the Light"
Oil Pastel on Wallis Paper
6" x 8"

Dabbler's Delight

Dabbler's Delight
Pastel on Wallis Paper
18" x 24"

This pastel should have been completed about a week ago, but pressures at work took up some of my evenings. In any event the photo for this pastel painting was taken a few years ago at a friends house. This mallard drake was with a female hanging out in the tidal zone from a creek. Our friend Audrey had some dry cat food that came in handy to set up a few photographic shots. Mallards are 'dabbler feeders', meaning they survive by surface feeding. Most people do not find them interesting as they are common bird found throughout Northern and Southern Hemisphere's. As a child these birds captivated my imagination so much they would fill my dreams with wonderful flights; journey's to far off lands. Enjoy!

David

"David"
6" x 9" Wallis Paper
November 2010

Arctic Brothers

"Arctic Brothers"
Pastel, 9" x 12"

Gem Cove

'Gem Cove'
Pastel, 18" x 24"

This drawing was based on a photo I took last summer while doing an all day hike up to Lake Silvis which is located south of town. It was a very hot day with the sun directly over head. The view in this pastel is looking out across George Inlet and Carrol Inlet, the sandy beach head is at the entrance of Gem Cove. It is a very nice place to hold up when the weather can get sloppy in the inlet.

Part 5: Work In Progress

WIP 9 - finishing up the foreground trees on left & right.

Part 4: Work In Progress

WIP 8a - close up detail of the center of the drawing

WIP 8 - filling out the trees on the left and right...slow going.

Part 3: Work In Progress

WIP 7 - starting to work on the tree in the upper left hand corner

WIP 6 - filling in the rest of the foreground

Part 2: Work In Progress

WIP 5 - working the sky a bit more with clouds
and trees in foreground. blended out the snow cap
mountains along the sky; and trying to add more
shape to the islands in middle ground

WIP 4 - blending the sky and adding distant snow
cap mountains; added some definition to trees in foreground

WIP 3 - adding color to sky; more color to the islands

Part 1: Work In Progress

WIP 1 - drew in landscape with a Conte pencil
followed by blocking in first hue of color

WIP 2 - starting to block in the foreground

Sunset Commute

"Sunset Commute" - October 2010
Pastel, 8" x 14"