Today we painted in Grove City Ohio in their downtown area. There was a Farmer's Market going on, but I hung out in the shade behind City Hall away from the hubbub and crowds, with a view of this mural on the building across the street. A few of us who setup with this view painted the little bandstand, but I was more interested in the mural and the way the light was filtering down upon it through the tree.
I decided to paint in pastels today, it's been awhile. I thought since we were probably going to see alot of architecture, it would be easier for me in pastels, since I have problems painting straight lines with oils!
I started out with a piece of 8 x 10 suede mat board which was a bright scarlet red. Suede mat board is my favorite support for pastels, it grabs the pigment so easily. I dislike the feeling of working on sanded supports, as it's like 'fingernails on a chalkboard' feeling to me... I don't get that feeling with suede board. It's like painting with butter - smooth and soft.
I painted it a bit stronger than reality, but liked how it turned out. I feel it might be one of my strongest paintings that I have completed recently.
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| City Center Mural, 8 x 10, pastel on suede mat board |
I also tried out using a 'My Art Cocoon' carrier which one of the guys in the group gave me. He'd received a number of these and wanted the rest of our group to give them a try. You can Google the name if you are interested in learning more. It worked really good for working on my Guerilla Cigar Box pochade, I mounted he Cocoon on the outside the normal frame work of the Guerilla box, which worked much better than inside. I always felt like I was scrunched inside the box before. I use the Cigar Box only for my pastels. I have the Guerilla inserts which cradle and protect my pastels in transport. I have a Guerilla 9 x 12 box that I use for my oils. Both boxes, I found very slightly used on E Bay and got a good deal on them.
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