Plein Air Saturday - Pickerington Ponds Park

Today my plein air group met at Pickerington Ponds Park. It was a lovely day - comfortable temperature, light breeze, bright bright sun. Most of us setup under the cover of one of the observation boardwalks. This made it convenient, but it almost gave us 'snow blindness', looking out into the reflections on the water. I felt like I was painting back in the dark, and I overcompensated by painting a garish painting.

Pickerington Pond Marsh, 8 x 10 soft pastel on suede mat board

For my second painting, I decided to just do a very loose quick study. I had a piece of goldenrod colored mat board, which I had previously coated with clear gesso. This also gave the board a slightly gritty surface. Not as rough as a sanded surface like Wallis paper, but just enough to give it some interesting texture.

I decided to give this clump of marsh grasses a bit more color.

I didn't blend anything, and scumbled the pastel on the top of the board's texture (completely different than my usual technique). I really like this piece. I felt like I was able to finish quickly without overworking it. Be sure to click on the picture for a larger view.

Pickerington Marsh Grass, 8 x 10 soft pastel on clear gesso coated goldenrod mat board

If you look closely, you can see glimpses of the goldenrod mat board.