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TArthurSmith — Summer Street
Published: 2009-09-12 13:07:11 +0000 UTC; Views: 660; Favourites: 9; Downloads: 0
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Description
downtown Spisska Nove Ves, Slovakia, Sept 11, 2009, Oil Pastel on Sketch Paper, 5" x7"From life. Still needs people drawn in. This town has two main streets with a central park between. The streets are called summer and winter, because one's always in the shade, and one's always in sunlight.
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Comments: 13
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thanks! I enjoyed this one, but I didn't get any of the people in... It's a great place to sketch, because there's an intricate brick pattern to the walkway, and it's great perspective practice.
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I like it even without people, i thought it was an artistic choice. The colors just really compliment each other, the only thing I dont understand is the white square on the bottom right side, my eyes goes straight to it everytime I look at the painting
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It's a billboard. I fudged it.
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I've noticed that you almost always have at least some form of purple in your work. Is that your preference, or because of the shadows?
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It's not entirely accurate, but yeah, for shadows. Anytime there's a thin line to color, it's difficult to layer it and keep it thin. When you're painting, you can mix your colors accurately before applying and get better results. Oil pastels require you to be a bit wilder with color, going for whatever's closest. The only other option is to labor over the area endlessly, muddying up everything.
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Don't they have colors that come closest to what you want though?
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No, they go for pure hues, at least with the Van Gogh brand. Often, the colors we see in nature are muddier - every color in nature is some mixture of red, blue, and yellow, hence brown. You think you're seeing a blue sky and green grass, but there's red in that sky and in that grass, it's just hidden.
You can, however mix colors to get what you want, by putting a couple colors in a microwave and melting them. I made a really great green by taking a strong, permanent green and half a stick of orange and mixing. Take it out while melted, and pour into wax paper, and roll into a new crayon. Not only do you get the color you want, but the chemical composition changes - the new stick is softer and chalkier than before, and easily sits on top of darker colors. So it's easier to contrast darks and lights.
It's an idea to experiment with, but you might want to wipe down your microwave after, just in case.
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Awesome. I should give pastels more a chance! 
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