30 PAINTINGS IN 30 DAYS - # 22 - SUNSET OVER THE BAY ACEO

SUNRISE OVER THE BAY ACEO

3.5" x 2.5" Fine Quality Water Colours and Pastel on Daler Rowney Pastel Paper
On auction for a limited time at the 30 paintings in 30 days special low start of $20



My ACEO ocean scenes always sell fast once they go to my gallery, so if you love it, now is the time.


It's been a while since I created ACEO for my collectors. This was inspired by a photo I took of a lovely pastel morning sunrise over the bay. The sun had risen through some misty clouds and it was now heating up and almost pulsating as I watched it rise. Very beautiful.

This is the start of my pastel adventure. I don't know why I'm hesitant to work in pastels, but I find I've learned a lot while mastering the difficult medium of acrylic and with my recent success with watercolor, its time to be fearless. I've done a lot of fearless things in my life, so I'm not going to let a few sticks of pressed pigment get in the way. Perhaps it's the mess and dirty hands that I don't like, or the the worry that they are too fragile, but it's not really that bad. 

I started with a watercolor under-painting in Cadmium Red which really helped me get in the flow. Part of my problem in the past is that I've been trying to paint with too small a set. Karen Margulis recommends travelling with a minimum of 75 well chosen half sticks, so this time I was prepared with 64 Boldmere soft pastels and a vintage set of 30 Grumbacher soft pastels. Then I chose the lightest blues and yellows in the sets for the sun and the water. In all I used less than 10 colours, but it was having the choice which was vital in the success of this piece. Even so I didn't have an orange to match the brilliance of the sun, but the light red stick I chose was a close substitute.

Karen, my mentor doesn't like to use fixative, and in many years mailing her works she has never had a complaint. She likes to pack them in Glassine and cellophane archival bags. So this little piece was popped straight into protection ready for matting or framing by the lucky purchaser. Perhaps I will do some demos with fixative at a later date, but at the moment I'm going to trust the master.
I just tapped the back to release any loose pieces and it looks perfect.
   
SHIPPING 16th MARCH 2016 OR LATER - SOME PAINTINGS AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE DISPATCH FROM MY OUTLETS AS NOTED IN DESCRIPTION ON DAILY PAINTWORKS

Stay tuned for more new pastels for the 30 day challenge.

If you are an artist and would like to join in, here is the link - 30 in 30
Posted as # 34 on 30 in 30 Blog