This is my first pastel painting that is not from a tutorial. I really struggled with it. I think I still have some cleaning up to do. Does anyone have any ideas on how to make it better? Any help is appreciated.
Thanks
Carol
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This is so cute. This is very well done
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Hi Carol @Abracapocus
WOW, you did great on your very first pastel. The water in the background really looks like it is moving. I suggest you send this drawing in to Matt for the Members Minute (and tell him it is your first pastel, and the pro can make suggestions that might not even occur to the rest of us.
Terri Robichon
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Thank you Denise. I appreciate that.
Thank you Terri. I will definitely send it to Matt.
Hi Carol! Thank you for sharing your very first pastel painting. I am by no means an expert artist but there are a couple of suggestions that come to mind. First, let me compliment you on the bird’s colors. You did a great job conveying the shape of the bird. The gradual change in colours is wonderful. I really like the position of the bird as well. If I made a change it would be on the foliage of the long stem. I would introduce a little bit of “light” on top of the leaves and shade a little underneath them. I believe that would bring them into the foreground a little more. The same would be true for the foliage at the bottom (darker underneath and, in some cases, small areas of highlight on the top of the leaves). For the waterfall, I really like the foam at the bottom - it is very realistic. I would suggest adding some faint touches of color in the top left water since it seems to be in the shade (perhaps some green). Some of the dearker areas in the waterfall could contain some purples/pink (I believe that you have already added some pink or light purple in the calm water at the bottom.) Of course, I am certain that you would get much more interesting comments coming from Matt. All in all, I am impressed with you tackling this subject matter on a very first soft pastel. Thank you so much for sharing. I hope Matt picks this up for a critique.
Patricia.
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Thank you so much Patricia. I really appreciate your feedback. It really helps me. I will take a look at my foliage. I agree that it could use some shadows. My values are not dark enough. I tend to chicken out with dark values so it really helps when someone suggests that I darken up a bit. I did have some purples in the falling water. I guess they got lost. I will revisit that too.
I did submit this to Matt for critique. It would be helpful to hear his expert opinion.
Thanks again for your time and comments Patricia.
Carol
I hear you! I have the same challenges with pushing the values at time. The purple in the falling water may not show because of the photo or my computer screen. I find this forum so helpful because we all contribute to one another’s progress. Can’t wait to see more of your art.
Patricia.
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