My Own Work

Pastel Landscape

I started producing an acrylic painting some time ago and never really got to finish it. Recently, I have been finding myself in the thinking zone of “wanting to go and paint” and never seem to have the time and, due to my poor health at present art therapy seems to be calling me and what is more relaxing than painting?……

As painting is a “healer”  this fantastic form of therapy is gradually allowing me to find little opportunities to paint, even if it is only for an hour or less. Below is the painting I am working on just now and is still a work in  progress.

I simply Love my pastel colours and like the odd strike of rich colours, especially the shimmering pearlescent Rembrandt acrylic paints . Depending on where the light hits the canvas you will see the vivid pearlescent colour at that point.  I do enjoy using richer colours but, pastel colours have always been a favourite with me; they are soothing and calming and relax me, maybe that is why I enjoy painting with these colours as its my way of calming down. This painting has been composed from my imagination and I managed to create the blue sky and a pinky coral foreground, but very plain, and I was stuck from then on -hence why I have not returned to the canvas. Thankfully, last Friday being as work was slightly quieter than normal I started to work on the foreground and initially thought flowers is what the canvas needs. So I began painting basic flower forms and spent time working on each flower. I was not very sure if they were going to work out right at the time but, I was quite happy until yesterday I went back to my I then found myself working over the flowers and bringing texture into the foreground.

Painting Flowers with a Palette Knife

I began to form lily flowers using a palette knife. I eventually built up their form and got the stamens in and the specks of colours on the petals. Once I composed these lilys’ I found myself looking at my painting for 10 minutes to see what needed doing next. I found it really quite relaxing viewing my painting and just getting a feel for the scene itself and, seeing if any other shapes were jumping out at me, as if the painting was talking to me and telling me what to form next. I could not see anything at first so I began painting basic shapes of sheep on either side of the painting. Once they were done I then saw a path forming so I made this very realistic to the viewer. This took time to do as found it tricky to create around the lily’s themselves – should have been the path that was painted first but, it is not how it worked out. I am usually found to make things difficult on myself though. I looked at me painting again and felt it was just missing a little something and , so I painted birds in the sky in the most basic shape. and created depth in the painting through the birds gliding in the sky. Once I was done I realised my painting was complete and that I was very happy with the  finished painting. (see below)

I have certainly enjoyed producing this and, all from my imagination as well. Now I ask myself “do I want to part from it?” because i do and I do not want to but, many of my friends have said they really like it .