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Thursday, March 26, 2015

Playing in the Dust, Pastel Buffalo

I did a quick pastel painting for the Southwest Art Challenge on wetcanvas.com.  http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1373983   We paint from photos which is not my favorite way to paint.  I usually think about it and then do a sketch instead.  The photos were so nice this time, it was hard to resist the buffalo in the snow.

Buffalo from photo by Dave Slaughter from the wetcanvas.com image file.  About 8 x 11 inches on Canson pastel paper.  About 45 minutes painting.

I should do this more often.  To play with some pastels and try something new is good for your eye.  You gain experience and confidence with every practice piece.  For the snow flakes it is just crumbled pastel pushed into the paper with a painting knife.  I think the back rounded side of a spoon would have worked better.  I see a couple of lines that wouldn't be there.  I didn't notice until I took the photo.

Canson paper does not have much tooth so that makes you be more deliberate with the pastels.  You can only put a couple of layers on before it is too thick to continue.  

My horror-scope for today is/was:
   VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). If you don’t act when you see the opportunity, someone with less experience and wisdom will. Take initiative. It won’t be as much work as you think, and you’ll get help once you commit. 

I already have help, Gene sent me the horoscopes from the paper.  Ha.  I also did a piece of practice art and a blog post.  Woohoo!
 
Alyson Stanfield has a good blog post today about having a more productive day.  About prioritizing, ignoring, taking breaks (even a nap) and slowing down at the end of the day.  Check it out, some great tips throughout her blog.  She is an inspiration, especially on the business side of art.
How to Have a More Productive Day  http://goo.gl/kaPkXi
 

6 comments:

Bag Blog said...

I like the buffalo in the snow. I have been wanting to do a buffalo painting - I have some photos. I guess I could go over to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Reserve and do some plein aire painting. You would like it over there. Maybe if the wind quits blowing, I'll try it. Maybe I'll read that post about having a productive day.

Jo Castillo said...

Bag Blog it is good to try something new. I do so many landscapes. My next quick one will be a snack of some sort. That is great if you can paint buffalo from life! Maybe we will get up there someday to go together. Alyson's post is a good one.

Joanna said...

Wow. Love the buffalo! Very cool. You should do that more often. :-)

Jo Castillo said...

Joanna, in general buffalo are not very pleasing animals to look at. This one seems docile. I saw a trained one at the State fair in Albuquerque once. They don't look smart and it was soooo big.

Jennifer Rose said...

buffalo! makes good eating :p

I've used the pastel paper for coloured pencils and I liked it but I hate having to have 100s of layers like a lot of other CP artists do so thats probably why i liked it. havent used it for what it is meant for tho :p

Jo Castillo said...

Jennifer, you are right, better to eat than look at!
In general I prefer sanded paper or Pastelbord for the layers, but this is inexpensive and fast for practice!


About Me

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Bastrop, Texas, United States
I Grew up in a small town , Magdalena, New Mexico. I enjoy art and the pleasure other people get from my work. I always donate some of my sales and art to charities, especially for children. That started in Bolivia with Para los Niños. "I cannot pretend to feel impartial about colors. I rejoice with the brilliant ones and am genuinely sorry for the poor browns." -- Winston Churchill

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