HomesteadPastel on Pastelbord, 24 x 18 inches
I changed it quite a bit from what I had. It is interesting how the process works. The plan was to find a scene that I liked in my reference photos. I am painting New Mexico scenes for my show in July and I am in Texas so there is no plein air and painting on site. I found a couple of photos with hills and adobes. I cropped and did a couple of thumbnail sketches and came up with the homestead with the trees all around. This looked great in small 4 xx 6 sketches, but in large size it left a lot of empty space.
I wanted the houses to be more prominent and the foreground to be less prominent so I removed some trees and bushes. Then it was so empty. I added the two horseback riders and I am pleased with it now. I debated on making the riders closer and larger, but decided I still wanted the houses to be most important in the painting. Hopefully you will agree with me.
I wanted the houses to be more prominent and the foreground to be less prominent so I removed some trees and bushes. Then it was so empty. I added the two horseback riders and I am pleased with it now. I debated on making the riders closer and larger, but decided I still wanted the houses to be most important in the painting. Hopefully you will agree with me.
19 comments:
looks good Jo, I like the way the reddish moves upward to the hills, and settles in a pool infront of the horses. Pleasurable scene has me wanting another peek!
This reminds so much of the few months spent out in New Mexico. The landscapes are so vast there that the houses never can take on a prominent position. I reallyfeel you've captured the rich reds and vastness of New Mexico:)
This may be my favorite painting - I just love the adobe and the mountains and the NM theme.
Love the atmosphere Jo, it's wonderful!
Rae
It looks GREAT Jo!
You've got some great depth going and I really like the soft focus foreground that leads the eye toward the riders then the homestead. Your mountains look so real! Two thumbs up!
This turned out really well. The mountains are great, and the rocks are well done. I really like the homestead. The buildings are great the way the light reflects off the walls facing the sun. The trees are wonderful.
I love the colors in this...so NM!! I think that the light on the house still keeps it as the center of interest. This is lovely!!
Azulparsnip, Hi there! Thank you. You are welcome to peek anytime. :)
Sheona, thank you. I do love New Mexico and the wide open spaces.
Thank you, Bag Blog. The photos I used were between Albuquerque and Grants.
Rae, thanks! Nice of you to stop by.
Teresa, thank you. It is true to paint what you like and know, huh?
Miki, thank you, too. I have really worked on trees so glad you noticed!
Hi, Jo, well, this was definitely worth waiting for! I agree with all your decisions, very nicely done. Quite a change from the "red bluffs" you showed as your original start!
I think your talent shines in this larger format.
Susan, Sue, thank you so much. I do like painting with pastels and seeing a painting come together.
Nancy, thank you. I like painting large, but small seems to be the "in thing" at the moment. I decided I needed at least one large one for the show. :)
Stunning! The rocks look so real, as if they are out the back door.
Hi Valerie, I appreciate that you stopped in and commented. Rocks can be difficult, but these were not.
This looks so good, Jo!! Great depth and colors! I really like it a LOT.
Regina, appreciate your words and that you came by. It means a lot. :)
It's lovely. I especially like your colors, well done.
Thank you, Joan. I see you have been trying acrylics. I have a love/hate relationship with them, too. I like the radishes on a recent post of yours. I will comment there. I enjoyed painting this one with pastels, my favorite medium.
I really like what you came up with Jo. I think it really looks great! I like the realism, and the horses with their riders gives it a feeling that you are viewing a real life scene. Beautifully done. I would love to see you add your work to Flickr.com, there are several pastel artists groups.
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