Impression of a Waterfall (pastel painting) Final revised

[JJWilliamson]

The upper white section is darker than this. It looks like there's a torrent pouring over the upper rocks but most of the shading hasn't been caught. The pic's also a bit out of focus. Not to worry, it's only an experiment, like all of my pastel efforts. This one looks better from a distance. About three miles.

To put things into perspective, I spend about thirty hours on a portrait (on and off) and this pic took about two. They say go with your first impression, so I did.

JJ

PS

Added a bit more and revised certain areas. Original first.

The fixative darkened the picture considerably so I've introduced some more highlights and shade to try to develop depth. Introduced the mists and lightly fixed again. I might apply more colour or I might just call this finished. Hmmm.

Waterfall 1 001.JPG (176.33 KiB) Viewed 6355 times

130.JPG (146.47 KiB) Viewed 6355 times

Waterfall final + forest 002.JPG (175.3 KiB) Viewed 6335 times

[David]

I like it. It's got a sort of Lost World effect which I enjoy. I can almost see Professor Challenger. (Was that his name?)

Cheers

David

[JJWilliamson]

I like it. It's got a sort of Lost World effect which I enjoy. I can almost see Professor Challenger. (Was that his name?)

Cheers

David

Thanks, David

It's a small sketch on A4 honeycomb paper, which I don't like, but I wanted to find out how well the pastel would take.
I'm trying to get a feel for water and how it moves. It's a tad flat in places and lacking in detail here and there but it
has helped me. I think.

Professor Challenger was indeed his name. It does have a prehistoric feel and all is not as innocent as it looks.

Best

JJ

[bodkin]

I also like it, and I think if I could see the shading at the back I'd like it even more...

[Pauline]

You spent two hours on this!
Wow.
Well done you.
I've worked with pastels.
They ain't easy.

I love the foliage.
Very convincing ferns.
Confident strokes.

The waterfall lets you down.
I like how you've clouded the foam of the backwater
but the meltwater squiggles are too obvious.

Wanna tip?
To get texture, I dip my pastel in water and drag it down.
You can also use hairspray.
Try it.
You can get great effects.
I like the picture.
You've done a great job, but those obviouse white squiggles spoil it for me.
Just saying

[JJWilliamson]

I also like it, and I think if I could see the shading at the back I'd like it even more...

Thanks, Ian. I'll see if I can get a better pic.

Best

JJ

[JJWilliamson]

Thanks Pauline, for looking at this exercise for me. Appreciated.

You spent two hours on this! ...Yes, but it's only on A4. I'm currently completing an A3 charcoal portrait and I'm chewing my fingers down to the bone with frustration. It's a portrait of a young Dorothy Wordsworth, but there are no pic's of her, save for one silhouette and one drawing/painting of her as a woman in her sixties. To make matters worse, she'd lost all her teeth by then so her lips curl under her nose. Consequently, I'm using descriptions and the available material as markers. In other words, I'm guessing.
Wow.
Well done you.
I've worked with pastels.
They ain't easy.

I love the foliage.
Very convincing ferns.
Confident strokes.

The waterfall lets you down.
I like how you've clouded the foam of the backwater
but the meltwater squiggles are too obvious. ...There's no meltwater. Does it look frozen? The transition is a bit rough, I think.

Wanna tip?
To get texture, I dip my pastel in water and drag it down. ...I'll try that. Thanks!
You can also use hairspray.
Try it.
You can get great effects.
I like the picture.
You've done a great job, but those obviouse white squiggles spoil it for me. ...Do you mean the squiggles over the rocks at the bottom?
Just saying ..And please keep on just saying.

Best

JJ

[JJWilliamson]

Second revision at the bottom. It's coming along.

JJ

[Pauline]

WOW.

It's coming along.

It certainly is.
Massively.
In fact, it's not coming along, it's got there.
You've added more colour,depth and energy to it.

The fuller ferns in the foreground have pushed the cliff and waterfall back.
There's a strength to the water now.
The squiggles have gone (yay) and I can almost hear the power of the water cascading over the cliff edge.

Your highlights and shadows throughout the painting are spot on.
Your trees are lush and dense.
Yep, a truly believable scene
I love it JJ.
I think it's great.

[Pauline]

PS.
You've signed it.
You know it's finished.

[JJWilliamson]

PS.
You've signed it.
You know it's finished.

Ha, ha!! I'll sign anything, me.

Thanks for returning to this one, Pauline, appreciated.

Really pleased you think it's an improvement and I am more or less finished.
I've just fixed it and as usual some of the highlights have dulled slightly. But never fear
it's easy enough to put them back and they aren't that bad anyway.

The final addition will be a light mist (LIGHT!) at the bottom of the falls,
to hint at humidity, once the fixative's dried.

The revisions took longer to complete than the entire original did.

Best

JJ

[Pauline]

Ha, ha!! I'll sign anything, me.

The final addition will be a light mist (LIGHT!) at the bottom of the falls,
to hint at humidity, once the fixative's dried.

Good luck
Look forward to seeing it.

Don't ya just hate when you spray your picture and it goes ten shades darker than the original.(slight exageration)
Hairy moments waiting for it to dry out.
It usally works out ok with strong colours, but I find white usually sinks into the paper/canvas and comes out rather dull/ almost pale grey.

The revisions took longer to complete than the entire original did.

Worth it though.

[JJWilliamson]

I know a lot of people refuse to use fixative for the very reasons you mention, Pauline.

I've had to redo the highlights but I'm still happy enough with the outcome.

Experimented with mists and will apply tomorrow. I'll need that luck you threw my way.

JJ