Days 27 and 28 - Two Garden Paths

"Spring Light"
oil pastel on board, 10 x 10
$75

"Quiet Walk"
oil pastel on board, 6 x 6
$45

Almost through with the Challenge, up to 28 of 30 paintings! We had a warm, springlike day yesterday and I was inspired to paint some garden pieces.  I'd like to go on some trips to local gardens again this Spring.  These were painted from photos I took at the NC Botanical Gardens in Chapel Hill, NC. Both are available on my new website.

Both were painted on tan rag board primed with clear Golden pastel grounds.  I underpainted in Nupastels with an alcohol wash. I underpainted on these to fill in the grooves created by the primer. I didn't want them to be dark tan in the grooves, it would be too distracting.

Stay tuned for the final finish of my Challenge!  30 Paintings in 30 Days has been a great exercise to experiment with techniques and make me paint faster.

Thanks for reading!
Bethany

Day 6 - Blue Ridge Summer

"Blue Ridge Summer"
oil pastel on gatorboard
10" x 10"
available here

A view of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Blowing Rock, NC.  A beautiful summer morning before afternoon showers rolled through.  There was actually a golf course in the valley.

I had a time with this one and may come back to it after the oil pastel dries out a bit.  I haven't worked much with terracotta underpainting lately, and I am finding I need to use a different technique than with the watercolor underneath.  The oil pastel built up too much and I had a hard time laying down more layers without getting too muddy.  For me, working quickly in oil pastel requires underpainting in local colors. This allows me to use the watercolor to lay down the foundation beneath the OP and not get too heavy with my application.

Stay tuned for more tomorrow! Thanks for reading,
Bethany