The Rocks of Pemaquid

The Rocks of Pemaquid   6" x 12"   Pastel   ©Sheila Ashley Liston
Available $145

Hurry! You still have time to make it!  Put it on your calendar for Sunday, November 26, 2017....Santa arrives briefly via helicopter at Pemaquid Point Lighthouse Park in Bristol, Maine.

This is a beautiful, well-maintained park that makes it well worth the time to visit for a day while taking in Maine's lighthouses. There's a wonderful museum that houses much information about the fishing and marine heritage of the area. In addition, I was thrilled to see some lovely art by local artists in an art museum on the grounds.

The weather was perfect that day, with a wonderful sea breeze that coaxed us into staying much longer than we had planned. The lighthouse makes a fabulous scene, but today I chose to focus on the unique rock formation. We'll definitely plan a day here on the next trip! 

  

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.

Lavender Blue

Lavender Blue   8" x 11"   Pastel    ©Sheila Ashley Liston
Available $145

 It's always fun to use one of Grandma's pitcher and bowl as a prop for my still life. I know she would've approved, as she and I shared the love of flowers! 

I used a Canson Mi Tientes Touch, which is a finely sanded paper made for pastels. I've used their regular papers for years. This one holds more pastel which is helpful, as I like to work in layers. It's a bit different in that it requires a feather light touch, so as to not build up too much pastel in early stages.

   

This is a glimpse of the set-up for the still life. I use a simulated daylight lamp to direct the light to create interesting shadows and highlights.

Puppy and Wildflowers

Honey     8 x 6    Pastel      ©Sheila Ashley Liston
Available $145

Puppies and wildflowers...how does it get any more fun to paint?

Forget-me-knots grow in the spring in my backyard. We had a visiting puppy with us for 2 weeks in late May. "Honey" was only 12 weeks old and so tiny that her head was just barely above the flowers. My husband, Bill,  took the photo opportunity as she ran and played in the midst of them.

Here are the progress shots of the painting from its beginning, to the point where I study it closely to see if it needs anything else. With a few touches in her fur and playing down the flowers directly under her chin, Honey was finished.( See the main photo)

 I used UArt 800 sanded pastel paper that I am beginning to love. The painting was started with a thin watercolor wash to establish the values. This made a nice start that allowed me to get the darks blocked in first. This method leaves plenty of sanded surface that accepts several successive layers of lighter colors and highlights. I worked to create depth by blurring the background flowers, even though the original photo shows sharper detail. I wanted sweet little Honey to be the main focal point.

 This was one of those paintings that cause me to giggle while I paint. I could feel that little furry head that just fit into my hand.  How fun is that?