After a week sitting on my easel to digest the painting whilst listening to everyone's helpful hints some alterations had to be made.

The large tree was removed, an additional small tree was added to the middle / background trees and the reeds in the bottom left corner were made smaller. I also added some highlights on the water.

What do you think?

Step 7 is now ready
Above is my interpretation of Wiggly Waterhole.  I allow myself the opportunity to blend my sky's. It is the only part of my painting which I blend. In saying that I always paint over the blended sky with   unblended pastel to ensure the colour keeps it's brilliance.  

I generally paint from the top down to keep my work as clean as possible and I work on an easel which is as upright as I can get it for the same reason.

See below my colours I have used. If you have any questions contact me and I am more than happy to answer.

Happy painting

Some step by step photos as well

WOULD YOU LIKE MORE?

In Step 6 I finally get some colour onto my paper. I apply thin dark tones of the main shapes I see and then using a flat bristle brush I wash over the pastel with water.
I rinse my brush each time I change to another colour. Some pastels seem to be water resistant and it is not necessarily the brand but rather individual colours.

This method gives me an under-painting which does not fill up the tooth of my paper allowing me to add more pastel layers later on. I can also decide not to cover all the paper and leave some nice interesting pieces uncovered. 

So I have now answered my questions and made some colour selections. I may not necessarily stick to my colour selections but I have a framework from which to work from.

BEFORE any good painting can be started, we need to do some work in our art journals resolving issues. Start a new double page and perhaps name your painting. This name may not be your final name but one you can refer to which will jog your memory of where you were or what you were doing. Write all your answers in the journal you can have more than one answer per heading. Going thru this process and resolving all the relevant questions begins to eliminate the possibility of a major flaw evolving down the track when correction maybe be impossible to fix or extremely difficult.
 
Mood – What sort of mood did you feel when you took this photo or where you are standing if painting plein air? Happy, sad, hot, cold and what sort of mood are you trying to portray, calm, energetic, exhilarating, playful, seductive? You can write more than one answer.
 
Focal Point – What do you consider the most important element in the scene? What caught your eye to this element was it light, dark shadows or some shape. Where is it located in the scene? Remember your rule of Thirds.
 
Tone – Is the scene high tone (bright sunny day at the beach) or low tone (stormy afternoon). Write down the range of tones you see. For example, 3-7
 
Colour – What will your main colour be? Will it be a warm painting or a cool painting? What will be the main underlying colour palette or colour harmony? What colour scheme will you use? The colour wheel will assist you with this selection. Also ask yourself how intense do you want to have you painting?
 
Texture – How much if any texture do you want in your painting if any? How will you apply the texture, painterly, impressionistic or highly rendered?
 
Lots of questions before you get started BUT questions which will assist you to make the decisions required to take the next step.

I will dedicate a minimum double page spread for each of my projects, I include the original photo, my tonal study, the answers to my questions and also my colour swatches.

Let's see how you go. I will give my answers in thew next blog.

Step 3 is choosing your coloured paper. I have chosen Colourfix paper 1/2 sheet size in Olive Green. I love colourfix paper as it is readily available and holds a lot of pastel and this can be crucial if you are just starting out as beginner painters can often be a little heavy handed.

When choosing the colour of the paper I look at the overall picture and ask myself what is the main underlying colour I see and then make my colour selection from that observation. Today I have selected Olive Green.

The next stage is to tape my paper onto my board which is slightly larger than my paper. I wrap my board with 3-4 sheets of butcher paper or newspaper first to ensure any irregular bumps or marks on the board are suppressed when covered with the paper.

The paper is taped on all sides to prevent any movement. I use builders masking tape for this exercise.

Once your paper is ready I sketch my picture onto my paper using a light touch and a white pastel pencil or charcoal, either one can be removed easily. If using charcoal dust off any excess with a rag before painting. Put in as much detail as you like, the more precise the better.

Get ready as tomorrow we start with colour.

nb: my sketch below is not quite finished but you get the idea.

Paint Along With Me

With lock down almost worldwide now in a global effort to try and control this devastating virus, governments are restricting where we can go and what we can do on those rare occasions when we do leave our homes. The restrictions on our activities especially social and creative have a huge impact on all of us.

I know many of my students are missing their daily and weekly painting sessions and I am missing them as well. Students are my life line to the outside world. Together we solve all the problems of the world, exchange gardening tips, cooking recipes and so much more whilst creating fabulous art. For this reason I have started up my "Paint Along With Me" blog.

Daily "Step By Step" instructions will be posted both here and on my Landsborough Art Studio Facebook page. I will not be painting too quickly so that even the novice painter can join in.

A variety of mediums will be on offer such as pastels, watercolours, acrylics and mixed media.

My first project will be an inland waterscape painted using pastel, so come along and join in the fun.

Have you got the acrylic palette blues? Is your palette drying out whilst you work wasting money and above all annoying and wasteful?
Is the old paint clogging up the sink and hubby the plumber is not a happy man?
Well good news is at hand. With the onslaught of the heat here in Queensland I thought this was an appropriate and timely subject to discuss.
Painting can be more of a challenge with paint drying quickly on your palette, loosing that special colour mix and having to start over.

Well I am here to sort you out.

Acrylics have a habit of drying quickly especially in hot and or dry weather. To extend the life of the paint on your palette & to assist your painting a wet palette is highly recommended.
To create a successful wet palette you will require the following items:
· Large sponge or Chux dish cloth
· Grease proof paper (just the cheap lunch wrap one from the supermarket will do). I do not like baking paper as the paint pulls away as it has a waxy coating.
· Shallow container no less than A4 in size, larger if possible with a re-sealable lid. The pastry containers sold in all supermarkets is ideal. Do not have a container that is too deep the shallower the better.
 
Step 1: Wet the sponge and wring out as much water as possible. If the sponge is too wet the paint will become watery and useless.

Step 2: Wrap the sponge in the grease proof paper making sure that the paper wraps all around the sponge. This will ensure that the weight of the damp sponge and paint holds the paper in position and stops it from sliding around. Lay the sponge wrapped in paper in the container with the join of the paper underneath. You are now ready to use. Place your paint across the top of the palette leaving the bulk of the palette area for blending and mixing. In very hot weather have a mist sprayer handy and mist your palette at regular intervals to keep it cool and the paints moist.

Step 3: When your painting session is over seal the palette with the lid and place in the fridge. Paint will generally keep up to 1 week, sometimes more. When the palette is no longer required remove the paper and discard in the rubbish bin.

Pro Tip: I NEVER use baking paper. Although it is stronger it has a waxy feel which prohibits me seeing if the blending of my brush is correct or not.