Pastel tips lighting in the landscape

 Rendering light in pastel

Continuing my discussion on how to paint the light in landscapes. As we develop our interests it's important to learn how to paint our subject. What are the techniques to accomplish this? This is key to learning. I turn to the masters to see how they did it. I also look at todays artists that inspire me. 

Light in water

How do you add weight to objects? Use lighting as a tool to create solidity. Back lighting or side lighting creates a dramatic look to everyday landscapes. I have a set of photos I have taken of the Stanislaus river that are full of rocks, deep mysterious water areas and places of rapid water flow. This is all back in the area next to Knights Ferry Ca. 

This painting was one result of some of my photo's

 18x24 mixed media 

This is a tree that has grown out of the rock. It was really fun to paint. My son has this hanging in his home. I did this as an acrylic painting for color and followed that with pastel on hot pressed watercolor paper. There may be some ink in this too. It probably is the most abstract painting I've done yet. But I do want to explore this more. 

The values are close but you can feel where the light is coming from (right to left). By using this side lighting effect it created dramatic line movement in the root portion of the tree. Solidity was achieved with the dramatic side shadow on the left of the tree. You don't see much detail in the shade but you can feel the heaviness of the rock. 

Thanks for looking, more on this with the next post. Happy painting.