Current projects



Well here are this week's projects.  
The top is Mountain Zen a picture from Craggy Gardens on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It has an Oiental feeling to me.   We were higher than most other mountains peaks, the morning cloud deck curtained the valley, you felt you could step off and walk on top of the clouds, and the mountain Ashe berries were vivid reddish-orange against the blue skies above the cloud deck.  
This hopefully will be the start of a new series I have had running around my mind now for many years.  It is a deceptive picture in that it looks simple, but as I started laying it out and had to plan color and material lay down I am finishing it as a mixed media piece.  Color pencil for mountains which are covered with trees, both hard woods and evergreens like hemlocks or firs and branches and berries are going to be pencil too I think.   Pastel however for the cloud work as only it can be wispy.  And when you do fluid clouds don't cover up all the branch detail as I don't think I could get the look free handing it.  This is on, Mi Tientes paper and can you say blue??  Thought this would be a great opportunity to use it up.  Used this for a swimmer and ended up making flesh tones with gray.  But it should really pop the berries on the mountain Ashe branches.  This is the smaller piece at 10.5" x15" so am hoping to put a good dent in it this week.
The second is an acrylic piece I started and abandoned after we came back from the Grand Canyon a couple years ago.  So in an effort to finish the unfinished and learn from it I will again attempt to get farther into it.  Since this is really tedious and a large painting for me, 23"x15.5" it will be ongoing.   Me and the brushes will pick up the fight, but I am determined to conquer and be relatively competent at acrylic.   Only good thing about it is the colors are so unique in the canyon and the textures are awesome.   Biggest challenge will be to find the reference photo again, bummer.
Well thanks for stopping by and hope you are having a great week.

Comments

hmuxo said…
I hope to see the Grand Canyon finished someday, Nelvia.
This is absolutely beautiful already!!! I, as well started a pastel painting of the Grand Canyon and feel like I will never finish it!! I find it difficult and challenging.. I will look forward to seeing the pastel finished also..You are so talented!.
September 30, 2013 at 9:09 PM
Alexander said…
the mountains are great just love it. a master piece like your fishes...
October 1, 2013 at 2:37 AM
Nelvia said…
It is so odd when you see something you hid away it doesn't seem so bad, but.... I don't know how us mere mortals can capture the majesty of this world treasure. I went to mixed because I had visions of the dark pastel migrating all over those white clouds. Thank you so much for you kind comment, hoping now that I have more time that will become true. We might have to Skype one day to talk pastel.
October 1, 2013 at 9:03 AM
Nelvia said…
Yes I just love the mountains and the moods, so that is why I have 9-10 pics planned for a collage. Ah, the fish, yet another I haven't finished.. Will add it to the " get it finished list". :). I think those will take me all of 2014 to complete.
October 1, 2013 at 9:08 AM
renate said…
Hey sweetie:) Pleas continue with the mountains. I agree with Hilda and Alexander: It's a beauty already!! Those rock really look like rocks and the colors are perfect. Maybe you can find a simular photo on the internet? Go for it:)xxx
October 19, 2013 at 5:20 AM
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