Work In Progress: Board of Directors Meeting (Pelicans), Update 2 The last week has been a little rough for me. I’ve had some arthritis and back issues and, just recently, a bad cold and flu. They’ve kept me from accomplishing much work on the painting. I’ve been nursing myself, along with my wife’s...

Work In Progress: Update 1, Board of Directors Meeting (Pelicans) Recently, one of my students shared with me some very interesting photos she had taken while on a trip to Cedar Key, Florida. Although I had just finished a painting of pelicans, one photo in particular caught my interest and got me e...

Work in Progress: Pelicans, Update 3 The Pelicans and Finishing Up More detail went into the Pelicans than anywhere else. They were the focus of the painting. I felt more confident doing detail work with pastel pencils, so, for the most part, I used the pencils on the birds, with only a little soft ...

Work in Progress: Pelicans, Update 2 I’ve decided to do an underpainting once again and I’ll be doing it with watercolor, so that’s why I chose an appropriate paper such as Arches watercolor paper. I also wanted to see how well the pastel takes to the paper – details, number of layers, etc. I was co...

Thank you for your interest. I hope, by exposing my thoughts as I progress, I can help others to plan their way through a painting.
Richard

Work in Progress: Pelicans, Update 1 Pelicans are interesting birds. Their very distinctive beaks make them one of the most recognizable aquatic birds around. On recent trips to Tarpon Springs, Amelia Island and Canaveral National Seashore I found them to be one of the more ubiquitous birds on the w...

Work In Progress: Suwanee River, Update 7 The painting is complete! The important concept to remember with this painting is that I want to represent the scene in its basic, unembellished form – to represent the essence of the scene without detail. The less detail in the painting, the more the viewer...

Work In Progress: Suwanee River, Update 6 Working through this pastel painting has been a great learning experience for me. My thoughts will most certainly evolve further as I gain more experience in this wonderful medium. When I first started this painting I was not convinced, but I was strongly in...

Work In Progress: Suwanee River, Update 5 As with most pastel landscape paintings I decided to do an underpainting. But, just what is underpainting and why do we do it? This is a question I kept asking myself as I watched many fine pastel artists demonstrate. They all pretty much used the technique ...

Work In Progress: Suwanee River, Update 4 The Color Sketch Pastels are very liberating! I did a color sketch for the painting and, because I had a pretty good idea of what colors I wanted to use, (and I know that I can easily add to them and perhaps replace some with others as I progress) I produced...

Work In Progress: Suwanee River, Update 3 Last time I posed a number of questions to myself concerning this painting that I felt were important for me to answer. I’m hoping that, by answering them I can produce a better and more meaningful painting. So, here goes… 1. What does this scene mean to me?...

Work In Progress: Suwanee River, Update 2 If we are just going to copy a photo or scene our task is simplified to a great degree. But many times the photo of the scene doesn’t do justice to what lies before us. Not only is there a vista that the eyes can take in but there is a feeling, an emotion th...

Last September my wife and I, looking to get away from the house for a few hours, after the loss of our dear, long time companion, Peaches, took a drive up to Suwanee River State Park. The park is located in northwest Florida, in the Big Bend Area, in Hamilton County. The park is associated with a l...

Carl,
I will be guiding some students this week in a colored pencil class (an Iris) and will do my best to help them become better artists and feel as passionate about the creation process as we do. Thanks for your support.

Carl, I am truly humbled by your very kind comments and don't feel deserving of such praise. While I am trying to improve my own art, I want to share what I learn as I go along. If, what I find along my journey can help others in their quest to become better artists, I am pleased. By your comments, ...

Work In Progress: Hydrangea Update 6 Final Touches Here is the completed painting. I completed the background on the left side. Also added some violet to some of the petals. PP 138 was used. This pastel was a little intense, so I had to use a very light touch and blend it in with white or a light bl...

Work In Progress: Hydrangea Update 5 Refining the Shapes In this pass I brought more clarity to the shapes, making them look more three dimensional. First, I went back over the flowers. I concentrated detail in the lower mass of flowers. Moving away from this center of interest, I gradually decrease...

Work In Progress: Hydrangea Update 4 Developing the Shapes In the last Update I described blocking in the shapes – darks, midtones and lights – without too much regard to any definition. It’s beneficial to see the big picture first, then gradually work toward greater definition. In this second pass ...

Work In Progress: Hydrangea Update 3 As in the last two paintings, completion of this painting will be done in a number of stages. The first three stages have already been accomplished – developing the composition, the tonal study and the color study. After transferring the drawing to the finish pap...

Work In Progress: Hydrangea Update 2 From the thumbnail value and color sketches I developed the full size pencil drawing. After doing so, I went back to the sketch made from the combined photos and made some notes. The notes were my first thoughts and may or may not be fully followed as I go forwar...