Saturday, February 20, 2010

My first pastel....

I've been in quite an art slump lately.  I imagine it has mostly to do with the time of year, which is an extremely busy one for me at work.  That coupled with the nasty cold that's working it's way through my office and home and spending my Fridays, which I usually have off, with my brother-in-law, who has brain cancer, has made January and February really unproductive artistically and I'm getting pretty itchy to play with some color!

Desiree, a wonderful artist, is doing some fantastic pastel demos for Painting Friends and I'm planning on working through some of them in the coming weeks.  This morning, just to look at my pastels and get a little feel for them, I did this quick little pear.  It's done on a piece of 5..5 x 4.5 sandpaper, 1000 grit.  It's my very first pastel and I really enjoyed playing with all the colors, seeing how they layer and blend.  Looking forward to doing more.

10 comments:

Christiane Kingsley said...

Deb, It is so nice to see you posting again. You know how I love pears...and your first pastel pear is lovely. I like how you managed to show the light on the top left-hand side.
I am looking forward to seeing a lot more nice pastels from you.

Deb Townsend said...

Thanks so much Christiane. What is it about pears that make them so wonderful? LOL!

ShiboriLove said...

Hi Deb,
You are on your way! Looking good. I will send you an e-mail.
love,
Roberta

Deb Townsend said...

Thanks Roberta! Glad you like it! Love you!

Melissa Fischer said...

Really nice, Deb! Love the light on the left hand side and the way the colors blend and transition from one to another.

~Babs said...

Beautiful little pear!
Very nice color gradations for sure! I haven't had my pastels out in some time,,,you're inspiring me!
Prayers for your brother-in-law.

norapaints@blogspot.com said...

Hi Deb
I like your pear, looks better than the one I stated.

I just rewarded you with the Sunshine Award. Please stop by to get it.

Susan Roux said...

Seems a bad case of the "slump" has been going around lately. Sorry you caught it too...

Blogs about getting out of them are circling too. It was my post today. Beginning small with something very familiar is a great place to start. Good luck!

Merle said...

Deb, glad to see you back posting. Your pear is great--makes me hungry just looking at it. Pears can be so beautiful and fun to paint. Pastels are great as a quick art outlet (not a long time to set up and take down) if you have limited time or energy. Keep up with your art--even if only a few minutes a day.

Deb Townsend said...

Thanks Melissa, I really enjoy how the pastels blend. Lots of possibilities!

Thanks Babs! Get yours out!!! And thanks for the prayers. They're really appreciated.

Nora, I find it hard to believe it's better than yours! Thanks for the award. :)

Susan, thanks for the encouragement. I checked out your blog and found the post really helpful.

Merle, how nice to see you. Thanks for your encouragement. I think I'll be messing with the pastels for awhile. The easy set up really helps me to be able to do something every day. I've been playing with some abstract ideas. I'll post them when they're more thought out. :)