from January 10, 2012 Fuschia, a soft pastel on 6x6 Art Spectrum Colourfix sanded paper.
1. I didn't have trouble choosing subject matter tonight, but did have some motivational issues after running around on a bunch of errands today. Sometimes it's hard to collect creative energy when it feels like much of it for the day has already been spent. Using a white Conte pencil, I sketched in the two flowers an a little dangling leftover after the bloom.
2. I blocked colors in from light to dark in the flowers, scumbled some colors into the background, and then worked to blend the background into the tooth of the paper with my fingers. By this point in the day, it appeared that working on my art began to invigorate me, so my energy level increased with the warmth of the image.
3. I continued to use finger-blending on the background areas and silicone blending tools on the more detailed petals to fully fill the tooth of the paper (with only minor exceptions where I used the dark brown of the paper as parts of the shadow and shape delimiters. After yesterday's fixative issues, I decided to work this piece to completion without spraying fixative.
4. As I darkened the background with successive layers of pastel pushed into the paper by finger and silicon blender, I was able to achieve a very painterly background. I bumped up the value for the highlights and enhanced the contours of the petals. Ultimately I completed the structure of the plant with the addition of the anthers, letting them shine in the glow of the afternoon sun. From start-to-finish, I was able to complete this piece in just under 2 hours. Not bad considering that I thought I wouldn't have enough energy to create something--and certainly didn't think I'd be able to create something this vibrant. I'm shamelessly pleased with myself today!
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