Pastels and Watercolors (and a few other art media)

[SquarePeg44 5]

I love it. I don't think i'd do anything to the sky.

The way the path turns at the bottom looks a little odd to me. I'd probably kept it diagonal to match the others.

Sorry I missed this one until now! I agree with Charlie about the one little path that turns. I'm guessing your reference did the same, turning the path because of the little patch of flowers at the end - probably looks this way in real life.

Great job on the house! Also the light on the vertical trees, the hills, sky - you nailed it.

Love it. What a fun class this must be.

Yes the path is in the reference at that angle. I kind of like it but it was stopping my eye, I think due to the high contrast from the bright path and the shadows on the flowers. I used Lightroom to try a few different solutions. The first photo is the current WIP with the lavender finished in the colors I wanted. The next two are options. Leaning toward the last photo with the path toned down a bit because I think it leads you in but I like them both almost equally so hard to decide. I don’t want to paint the path diagonally from the edge.

 

[snowbear123 54]

Toned down helps IMO.

 

[terri42 13]

I agree with Charlie. I like either the first or third of these. But you won't go wrong with any of them - artist's choice.

Have you shown this one to your instructor?

 

[SquarePeg44 5]

Toned down helps IMO.

Yes thanks, I decided to go with that. Appreciate your input!

I agree with Charlie. I like either the first or third of these. But you won't go wrong with any of them - artist's choice.

Have you shown this one to your instructor?

It’s unanimous!

I started this one in class last week so he has seen it and he offered some advice on lightening the sky and making the background mountains cooler and less defined, which I did incorporate when I got home. He hasn’t seen the updated lavender in the brighter colors either. I’ll bring it in with me tomorrow to show him those updates. He tends to like a more subdued palette but the thing that drew me to paint this was the vibrancy of the colors so I did not want to tone it down.

Tomorrow is our last class and I have to submit one of my paintings for an in depth critique. Debating between this one or the barn and flower field. Will probably go with this one since I’ll be bringing it with me anyway.

Will probably have time to start one more painting tomorrow. Maybe another seascape…

 

[SquarePeg44 5]

Suggestions and feedback I got during the class critique of the lavender field painting:

1- The lavender field doesn’t have the same bright sunlight look as the house and cypress trees so it looks like two separate paintings.

I agree with this mostly and am going to try to add some more light and shadow to even this out.

2 - the house is very detailed and the field lacks detail.

I don’t know if I want to add any detail to the field. Maybe a bit in the foreground but haven’t decided yet.

3 - the lavender needs some green mixed in with the purple.

This I think would be an improvement and will probably incorporate.

4 - take it off the frame and crop out the bottom third.

This I will not be doing. While o do like the crop, it makes the painting too much about the house and not enough about the field.

 

[terri42 13]

Suggestions and feedback I got during the class critique of the lavender field painting:

1- The lavender field doesn’t have the same bright sunlight look as the house and cypress trees so it looks like two separate paintings.

I agree with this mostly and am going to try to add some more light and shadow to even this out.

2 - the house is very detailed and the field lacks detail.

I don’t know if I want to add any detail to the field. Maybe a bit in the foreground but haven’t decided yet.

3 - the lavender needs some green mixed in with the purple.

This I think would be an improvement and will probably incorporate.

4 - take it off the frame and crop out the bottom third.

This I will not be doing. While o do like the crop, it makes the painting too much about the house and not enough about the field.

View attachment 292824

Re #2: I thought you made a deliberate choice to keep the foreground flowers soft to put the focus on the house - or maybe it was the reference photo you used. If the instructor doesn't like it that's fine, but that's more artistic preference than you doing anything wrong.

Plus the suggestion to just crop out the bottom third tells me that he's just not a fan of the lavender field! Since this wasn't a class assignment, I'd say you just make it the way you want it to look.

 

[SquarePeg44 5]

Re #2: I thought you made a deliberate choice to keep the foreground flowers soft to put the focus on the house - or maybe it was the reference photo you used. If the instructor doesn't like it that's fine, but that's more artistic preference than you doing anything wrong.

Plus the suggestion to just crop out the bottom third tells me that he's just not a fan of the lavender field! Since this wasn't a class assignment, I'd say you just make it the way you want it to look.

I ended up adding more detail than I planned but I’m happy with how it turns out. Also much more light and shadow on the field. I think it balances well with the house. Thanks for your input!

 

[terri42 13]

I ended up adding more detail than I planned but I’m happy with how it turns out. Also much more light and shadow on the field. I think it balances well with the house. Thanks for your input!

View attachment 292869

That's it! I think you nailed it!

 

[snowbear123 54]

I like the final look. Cropping off the bottom would shift focus too much.

I rearranged the drawing area of the office so I doubt I’ll be doing the large painting, at least for now. I have to do the craft things first, anyway. Maybe after the holidays.

 

[SquarePeg44 5]

A little winters scene I painted for my mantle. I think the cardinal should be much smaller so it doesn’t make the trees seem too small but not wanting to make the effort to fix it right now.

 

[terri42 13]

A little winters scene I painted for my mantle. I think the cardinal should be much smaller so it doesn’t make the trees seem too small but not wanting to make the effort to fix it right now.

View attachment 292971

Well, this is just lovely. Until you mentioned it, the proportion of the bird didn't occur to me. I'm guessing it would be simple enough to go around the edges and shrink him a little? You could also add a much larger tree in the background, but that might be trickier. Or - just leave it, because it's a charming scene.

 

[SquarePeg44 5]

Started a new class yesterday. It’s an abstract art focus with the instructor I had for the Imagined Landscapes class last year. Like his teaching style a lot and he’s very positive and cheerful which I need right now. Here are the first two.

This one has several elements based on a song. It’s an “oldie”. Can you guess it?

Spoiler

This is a WIP. Needs more layers and the colors darkened up a lot when they dried fully.

 

[terri42 13]

Started a new class yesterday. It’s an abstract art focus with the instructor I had for the Imagined Landscapes class last year. Like his teaching style a lot and he’s very positive and cheerful which I need right now. Here are the first two.

This one has several elements based on a song. It’s an “oldie”. Can you guess it?


View attachment 293939

Spoiler

This is a WIP. Needs more layers and the colors darkened up a lot when they dried fully.

View attachment 293940

Oh! Without that spoiler I was going to guess Black Hole Sun!

I love these! Abstract seems like it would be more relaxing than always trying representational art. My mind just goes blank, though. I like the idea of using a song title or pieces of lyrics. Love your color burst on the second one!

As always, I am very jealous of your access to these classes!

 

[snowbear123 54]

I like both of them.

Spoiler doesn’t work for me, and “Oldie” for me is probably ancient for you.

I can’t put together eclipse, see/eye and waves to come up with anything. The closest is Total Eclipse of the Heart but the elements aren’t right.

 

[SquarePeg44 5]

I like both of them.

Spoiler doesn’t work for me, and “Oldie” for me is probably ancient for you.

I can’t put together eclipse, see/eye and waves to come up with anything. The closest is Total Eclipse of the Heart but the elements aren’t right.

Clue 1 - that’s a total eclipse of the sun




Clue 2 - that's one eye in the mirror