On wetcanvas.com there is a thread called Pastel Strokes in the Pastel Forum. Someone posts a photo and the artists paint it during the month. The artists are free to crop and change, try any style or colors. The artists can do it as many times as you wish in oil pastels or soft pastels. It is just to practice and have fun and receive a kind critique or two. This month was a photo of coconuts provided by michellej in Trinidad and Tobago.
My rendition is on Daler-Rowney pastel paper. I bought this paper at the first of last year without opening the pad, except to see that it had paper similar to glassine between each pastel sheet, making it nice for sketching and storing. The problem is that it is a heavily gridded paper. If you stroke with a wide stroke of pastel it has a grid. I have some Strathmore pastel paper and it is the same. Both have grids on both sides of the sheet. Canson paper has a grid on the "front" side but is fairly smooth on the reverse, it at least gives the artist a choice. I had purchased some Daler-Rowney paper at the last International Association of Pastel Society Convention. It was very bright colors .. orange, purple, navy, red, and yellow. It was very smooth, but holds a great deal of pastel. I had purchased some black in 1999, that was the same and I liked it very much. I was so happy to find the new muted colors this year that I did not check the texture. Wrong. Now I know. I am disappointed with this paper. I am using it only for sketches and practice.
This sketch of coconuts took about two hours, start to finish. I'm pleased with the loose strokes, colors and the crop. I also flipped the photo so the light is from the right. I will post the photo below.
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