Golden Silence

Golden Silence     9" x 12"      Pastel        ©Sheila Ashley Liston
Available  $195

Doesn't everyone have a favorite marsh?

I've painted my favorite marsh here recently on one of our Ohio winter days. I fell in love with the  dried grasses left behind by the fall, hence the title, "Golden Silence". 

This is an easily accessible marsh in Peninsula, Ohio near the bend in the Cuyahoga River and the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath. Who can resist lunch at the nearby Winking Lizard Restaurant?

Here are progress photos of the steps that I took to painting this in pastel on UArt 500 sanded pastel paper. The sanded surfaced lends itself to painting the ragged weeds and grasses. 

Maine Estuary

Maine Estuary     6" x 12"    Pastel       ©Sheila Ashley Liston
Available $145

Sometimes the ordinary scene has so much to tell, that it becomes an extraordinary painting subject. I'm drawn to these areas of transition between the ocean and the rivers, that offers some protection to the inland from extreme weather events.

After drawing in an outline, I used black watercolor to establish the value pattern.

Here I began to use Inktense sticks to begin laying in the local color

This is the fun part where adding water to Inktense causes a burst of color and dripping.

After the sanded paper (UArt 500) has dried, I began to add pastel. First, I used hard pastels. I worked with lighter values in the backgound and used peach, lavender, and pale blue pastels to paint the overcast sky, and then to use the same to add the final details in the water areas.

At this point I used soft pastels to add final details along with some hard Nupastels to add the grasses and weeds in the foreground.

Geneva Marsh

Geneva Marsh    5¾ x  8½     Pastel    ©Sheila Ashley Liston

Available  $95

Day 4 of my self-challenge of 7 paintings in 7 days.

Marsh areas in the Geneva State Park are interesting to me. This one in particular has enough open water area that reflected the sky and the surrounding fall colors. This park is on the shore of  Lake Erie and has a lovely Lodge where we stayed. 

This painting is on UArt 800 sanded paper. This is the beginning that I was able to accomplish in Geneva. Then  I finished the painting in the studio.