The White Ghost Barn Owl Pastel

                                                                    The White Ghost
                                                                            9"x12"
                                                                            Pastel
Trying to get out of my slump so have spent some time watching YouTube videos - now that can get your revved up.  People are so darn talented and try to many things!!  Couple that with the fabulous array of photos that so many talented photographers share on PaintMyPhoto, many thanks to Paul, one of my favorite wildlife photographers, and you just can't stay down for long.   Those fingers just start itching.

So I saw a pan pastel video by Joanne Barby and decided to try an owl.  Reminds me of Harry Potter, as a matter of fact, an artist on PMP did a whole owl series on book pages!!  Anyway, they have the most fabulous eyes.  There is another that I have to do just because he has red eyes.  There was a huge assortment of them looking directly at you, but I decided to give this barn owl a try, the challenge here being the subtle pattern showing through the feathers.  I really love the illusion, and have done some other pictures, where you have an animal coming out of the shadows.  Since they are nocturnal and some subspecies are very light I came up with the title of this piece.  The black Artagain paper really makes it easy.

This is primarily pan pastels with just a few accents with a pastel pencil and a couple of last highlights with a soft white.  I really am enjoying the pan pastels, they are so sheer and the spread from the applicator goes pretty far.  I am really starting to experiment with color blending so I have a bunch of dirty pans, but easily cleaned.  Here I added a various bit of blues throughout the shadow side.  I think that is going to be something I want to continue to play with in future paintings - more color and some you wouldn't expect just to add more life.

Thanks much for stopping by to take a look.



Comments

Log Cabin Studio said…
This is so beautiful, I love how you used the background color to showcase the owl. Lovely.
February 20, 2017 at 11:57 AM
Janet Bradish said…
Love owls and love this one! The sharp detail on the right and how you have faded him into the background on the left - such a beautiful image.
February 20, 2017 at 10:49 PM
Sheila said…
WOW! This is stunning! Beautiful work :)
February 20, 2017 at 11:19 PM
Mellowood Gallery said…
This is fabulous, Nelvia. He looks so soft and the fade-away aspect on the left is just super. Well done, girl!
February 21, 2017 at 10:54 AM
Nelvia said…
Hey C how are you doing, got snow? I do like these shadows pictures and the dark paper really helped in the coloring on this piece. Thanks for shooting me a comment.
February 25, 2017 at 9:39 AM
Nelvia said…
Thanks much Janet, I am really pleased with the result on this one. Doesn't happen often unfortunately.
February 25, 2017 at 9:40 AM
Nelvia said…
Thanks Sheila. I love the drama of the white against the black in this piece. I also was surprised at how easy it was to imitate the pattern and have it look real.
February 25, 2017 at 9:41 AM
Nelvia said…
Thank you so much Val. I always get hopeful when I get one to work that there will be another one in my future. Guess that is what keeps us painting.
February 25, 2017 at 9:41 AM
Joan Tavolott said…
Oooh...the feathers are gorgeous! You shaded them so well. Nice composition too with him off center. Good work!
February 25, 2017 at 6:07 PM
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