This was painted on a piece of white Pastelmat. The paper is so soft and absorbent that when it's wet you can take advantage of the washes, letting things blur into it nicely. I often allow it to dry and add more detail, but for this one the soft washes seemed to express the place well, so I held back. This was also from my walk along the Rio Grande last week, but a little inland in the bosque (woods).
I like it--but it won't be everyone's cuppa tea, as they say. What do you think?
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It might seem odd, yet IMHO paintings can look "old fashioned". That's what you have achieved with this. Very beautiful but almost from another era.
ReplyDeleteI love it! A dreamlike quality to it. So the pastelmat doesn't eat up your brushes? It certainly gives a lovely effect.
ReplyDeleteThanks, anonymous. I think you're right. It does have an antique look to it.
ReplyDeleteMargo, the Pastelmat is no harder on the brushes than any watercolor paper. It's quite absorbent and soft feeling, almost like velour, but without the nappy quality. Glad you like it.
I really like the soft quality of this painting Deborah. I am drawn into the painting to see where this path leads.
ReplyDeleteThis painting is so beautiful. I love pathways! They speak to me of God's leading in my life. Your little paintings are a great inspiration to me. I stopped in at one of the art supply stores here and they did not know what pastelmat is. Could you describe it for me?
ReplyDeleteNancy, thank you so much. :)
ReplyDeleteMarilyn, thanks. Pastelmat is a new kind of pastel paper, imported from France. It's different from any other pastel paper I've ever used. It has a card backing with a coating of cellulose fibers that makes it GRAB pastel. A friend of mine described it as like painting on the sticky side of tape, but it's much softer feeling than that. There are 8 different colors--I love the buttercup yellow, though I use them all. Ask your retailer to check out www.pastelmat.com/
You can order it online here: http://www.dakotapastels.com/pages/paper-pastelmat.aspx
Very interesting stuff...for pastel or gouache.
Would this also work with watercolor? I really like the softness of the colors.
ReplyDeleteI think it would. It's impervious to water.
ReplyDeleteMargot asked above about brushes. Very fine brushes might not respond well to the fiber, but I use synthetics and have had no problems. Of course, I don't have expensive or highly prized brushes.
You might also take a look at the step-by-step demos at the top of the page.