Really nicely done Helen. I also find it difficult to decide which coloured paper to use with pastels so Tricia’s tip is useful. I also like your composition; the triangular crossing trees in the foreground complement the triangular shaped mountains in the background.
I found your piece on Michael Morgan interesting. It is unusual to thicken watercolours and then use a palette knife etc. but his landscapes are beautiful.
Yes, you can do colour swatches on different coloured paper. You can watercolour wash paper and then try different pastels on top to keep as a reference if thats useful.Sometimes one colour works for one half of a picture but not another so you may have to compromise.
Thanks Tricia! That’s interesting, so if I had used a dark paper it would all stand out, except the palm trees? And if I used a pale yellow, the sand would not appear so bright and be more unified with the background mountain, but the sky and palm trees would be more in contrast? Is that how it works?
There is a lovely sway to the palm leaves, almost as though there is a storm coming. I think the grey/blue of the sky enhances this effect. The grey paper as a support for the pastel allows the foreground at the bottom to sing out, but subdues the colours of the sky and mountain in the background.
Thanks Tricia and George! Yes, a good idea to make colour swatches.
Really nicely done Helen. I also find it difficult to decide which coloured paper to use with pastels so Tricia’s tip is useful. I also like your composition; the triangular crossing trees in the foreground complement the triangular shaped mountains in the background.
I found your piece on Michael Morgan interesting. It is unusual to thicken watercolours and then use a palette knife etc. but his landscapes are beautiful.
Yes, you can do colour swatches on different coloured paper. You can watercolour wash paper and then try different pastels on top to keep as a reference if thats useful. Sometimes one colour works for one half of a picture but not another so you may have to compromise.
Thanks Tricia! That’s interesting, so if I had used a dark paper it would all stand out, except the palm trees? And if I used a pale yellow, the sand would not appear so bright and be more unified with the background mountain, but the sky and palm trees would be more in contrast? Is that how it works?
There is a lovely sway to the palm leaves, almost as though there is a storm coming. I think the grey/blue of the sky enhances this effect. The grey paper as a support for the pastel allows the foreground at the bottom to sing out, but subdues the colours of the sky and mountain in the background.