Step by Step Pastel Painting

Here is the step by step painting of a stethoscope I have worked on between work and school :)  Enjoy and as always, let me know what you think!

First I added all of the colors I saw in the photo in an underpainting.  I love beginning bright and vibrantly, and I think that when the painting is finished, those colors really help the painting pop!

Then I began adding some lighter colors that reflect closer to the colors of the skin and shirt in the reference photo I was using.

 Then I began blending and working on the shadows in the skin cast by the shirt and by the anatomy.  I also was trying to set the stage for the stethoscope to be added by putting in the shadow of it before I added it.

I was also working on the colors in the shirt and trying to get the light to cast correctly while keeping some of the vibrant colors.

 Now the moment of truth! Adding in the stethoscope.  I was nervous about this part because if I didn't do it right, correcting the underpating would be hard and it would lose the fluidity.

 I decided the stethoscope needed to be bigger that I had made it base on the rest of the scale.  But I was able to do it without muddying up the background.  I enjoyed adding lots of color to the head of the stethoscope to reflect its shape.

 Finally I added shading on the shirt and in the stethoscope to make it more rounded. And it is done :) I thoroughly enjoyed completing it!  Also below is my new piece that I have just started on!! The underpainting is in progress!

It's been a while...

It has been a while.  The school semesters and this summer have been gruelingly busy.  However I have been working here and there on a couple pieces.  Here they are :)

The picture above is a sunset over Lake Travis in Austin, TX  I really had fun with this one because it is on a new surface.  Colourfix paint (black) on gatorboard foam.  An artist friend gave it so me to try.  It has a lot of tooth and I really enjoyed using it.  Here is a picture when I had just started layering colors...

I am going to put the step-by-step pictures of the other painting I've worked on in another post :)

The Yoga Series Continues...

I have been motivated and productive lately, making yet more progress on my yoga series and then some :) I have completed two more yoga poses and started working on some new content on a new surface last night.  I have a little more work to do on the beach scene which is on Pastelmat.  This was a fun toothy surface to work on.  Luckily, completely the yoga backgrounds on my other paintings prepared me for bulking on enough pastel to be able to blend on this surface.  Here is the beach painting:

My most recent yoga painting "Fierce" is featured below.  Entitled "Fierce" because of the warrior pose she is in, I wanted her to pop and appear to take charge of the page while also complimenting her surroundings.  I loved the pop of orange/red encircling her while the background is meant to capture the colors of the beach, sand, and surf.  Any comments appreciated!

The third yoga painting in my series, isn't the best picture.  I took it with my camera and will change it as soon as I get some natural light for a photo :)  This is "Rooted" and attributes her balance and harmony as she is in tree pose.  I incorporated very earthy colors to simulate her sturdiness as a tree would be.  Enjoy!

The bottom two paintings are on 9x12 Colourfix paper while the top beach scene as I said is pastelmat. All are created with NuPastels.  Have a great day.

Yoga Series #2 Done!!

Finished my second painting in my Yoga series.  This one is called "Strength" and the pose is the Reverse Warrior.  I didn't mention in my post that my previous Yoga painting, with the orange, yellow, and purple has been named "Tranquility" and a print is now available in my Etsy Shop.

My "Strength" Yoga Painting is a compilation of blues, yellows, and greens in many shades and tones.  I worked on the background first with energy and a combination of strokes.  Then I sketched out a rough drawing of the figure in light blue and added lights and darks in blue and green until the shape took a little more form.  I really like the combination of thin and thick lines helping the figure to take up space in the painting.  I'm posting three pictures in this pose, two are of "Strength" one a progress picture after I first started it (it is a little saturated because it's from my cell phone camera), and the other (top) the finished product.  Last, I'm also listing a picture of "Tranquility" taken in indirect sunlight which shows the vibrancy of color in it.  Enjoy!!!

Yoga Series

Well, I am very excited to share the first finished piece of my yoga series!  As you saw from my last post, I layered on oranges, yellows and reds at first, then outlined the figure in a beautiful burgundy.  This elegant pose called for a swirl of energy where I added purple first, complimenting all of the orange.  Deciding to fill the figure more than just outlining it, I added pink, purple, burgundy, yellow, gold, violet, and more oranges.  I am super happy with how it came out and love the flow of enerby through the piece.  It is 9x12 and Nupastel on Colourfix paper.  I'm also sharing with you the second yoga pose in my series called "reverse warrior".  For this I'm layering blues, greens, and yellows.  I just began working on the figure and will keep you posted :)

Yoga Abstract Figure WIP

Working on a series of abstract figures in various yoga poses.  This is the first of about 8 and I definitely like where it's going.  I'm thinking about adding some lights and darks into the background but not sure if I should change anything about the figure.  Comments and suggestions would be much appreciated!  I will post more as I work on it!  The first picture is how it looked originally and the second is after adding some lilac purple into the background.  I love the oranges, reds, and yellows in the picture and have added the lilac, a dark purple, and dark burgundy to try and balance all of the hot colors.
Of course this is on a 9x12 piece of Colourfix paper and is made with NuPastels.