The Gulfoss Water Fall , Iceland

"A man paints with his brains and not with his hands." Michelangelo

My today's post is a small water colour study inspired by Gulfoss waterfall. I have used a reference photograph taken by my husband while he was in Iceland. It is my second water colour study on Fabriano CP 300 gsm paper. 

Painting a waterfall, unlike seashore and other subjects, is a tricky affair. The brushstrokes have to be in the direction of the flow to suggest movement. This was a new subject for me, however I gave it a try. After completing it I did a little self evaluation and came to a conclusion that if I were to try a "Waterfall" again I would go in for a few changes in my techniques. 

Trying out different subjects in any medium is fun. Some subjects can be more challenging than the others, however it is a fun learning process and I am enjoying every moment of it.

Gulfoss waterfall
Water colour painting on Fabriano CP paper
Size 5"X 7"

In this painting apart from using my normal Camlin water colour tubes, I have made use of my Winsor and Newton palette as the Cerulean blue shade in Winsor and Newton is very vibrant and beautiful.

Thank you all for taking out time to browse through my artworks.

The Golden waterfall from Iceland - A soft pastel painting.

I am posting my third soft pastel painting in "Iceland" series and as I mentioned earlier I am

creating them with reference to photographs taken by my husband while he was there. The 

painting is another view of Gullfoss waterfall depicting the beauty of nature and the force 

with which it flows ahead, a never ending journey.

The photograph was pretty dull as it was shot on a rainy day, so I went through couple of video's 

to get an idea about the colours to be filled in. I created two different thumbnail sketches before starting this one yet I realised that the perspective in this painting was a bit challenging. Looks 

like a three point perspective. Nevertheless I just about managed to complete it and will have to 

do my "STUDY" on three point perspective.

Instead of using my regular black paper I decided to go with the orange Canson Mi Teintes 

paper. The colour of the paper can be seen through at places but it does not bother me any more.

It adds to a little warmth. 

The Golden Waterfall

Soft pastel painting on Canson paper

Size 8.5" X 10" 

To view my previous work on Gullfoss CLICK here. Waterfall is a new subject to me and I

am working on it, one step at a time. I have started a new painting inspired by "Niagara Falls".

I paint what I love and a painting well completed is my biggest reward. Some paintings happen 

in a short span of time and others take long, testing your patience. In haste, I have ruined

many paintings in the past. End of the day it feels good I know I have created something

meaningful on a blank piece of paper. It is like a story unfolding itself. 

My paintings can also be viewed on my FACEBOOK page. If you like my works please share.

Inspired by Gullfoss Waterfall ( Iceland )

"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." Pablo Picasso

The soft pastel painting below has been inspired by Gullfoss Waterfall at Iceland. This is 

my second waterfall painting using soft pastel medium. To view my earlier painting 

CLICK HERE.

Gullfoss is a tiered waterfall with a total height of 105ft or 32 mts. It flows with an enormous 

force and as it falls the mist rises to a great height. Painting this scene was a pleasure and I

completed it in two layers of soft pastels. I am not into fixing the final layer as I feel it

darkens and dulls the artwork. 

Through this artwork I have tried to capture the flow of the water, the energy, the rhythm,

the spray and the mist. It was a lot different from working on forests and mountains. 

The Flow

Soft Pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size 6.5" X 8.5"

With this painting I decided to  make a few changes in my step by step technique that I follow

because the last time I created the waterfall painting, I landed up using a lot different colours

and was not precise about my colour mixing.

Therefore instead of using my entire miscellaneous collection of soft pastels, I decided to 

create a "Small palette"  of only the required soft pastels. I pretested the pastels on a piece of  

paper to check out if I was getting the desired colour of all the elements in the painting, be it

rocks, mist or flowing water.Then I went ahead and placed them in a small cardboard box, which

in turn became my "MINI PALETTE". As the painting progressed I added a few more

colours but on the whole this worked out good for me. It avoided a lot of confusion and I 

managed to complete my work without overworking on it.

Mini Pastel palette with

desired soft pastels

Over a period of regular use the soft pastels gather dust at its sides. It then requires to be cleaned 

up. I have posted earlier about CLEANING PASTELS. you can browse through it.

My soft pastel collection right now is in a mess and I will be cleaning it up before embarking on 

my next painting. 

The art in me is my biggest inspiration. It drives me on to draw, paint and sketch. 

No matter how busy I am, I make it a point to take out time for myself and my art. Thanks for

spending your precious moments and browsing through my works. It means a lot to me.

Gullfoss waterfall ( Iceland ) - A soft pastel painting

Gullfoss ( Golden waterfall ) is situated in Iceland. This iconic waterfall offers a spectacular 

view of the forces and beauty of untouched nature.

This is my first attempt at painting a waterfall in soft pastel medium. The photograph that

I used as a reference has been taken by my husband while he was there a few years back.

Being a cloudy day, the photograph did not do much justice and it had mostly shades of grey.

I have added colours after doing my own study. 

The subject being a little out of my "Comfort zone", I reminded myself to go ahead step by 

step in a very patient manner.However as the painting progressed, the confusion increased.

I did manage to complete this work but it did not match my "Visualisation" or the image that

I painted in my mind. This work has an abstract feel to it. 

Nevertheless it was a great learning experience and I am ready to paint some more waterfall

paintings. Mistakes happen and they happen for a good reason. It helps you learn better.

Joseph Zbukvic, a world famous water colour artist said in one of his interviews

 "If you succeed everytime, you are not painting properly...."

Gullfoss

Soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size 6.5" X 8.5" 

" I don't say everything, but I paint everything." Pablo Piccaso

Skogafoss waterfall ( Iceland ) - A charcoal drawing

This particular painting of waterfall in charcoal medium was done by me quite some time back but I had framed it behind the glass leaving no space in between. At that moment of time I was unaware about the right framing technique. But now I know that it is best to keep space between the painting and glass. Therefore I opened up the frame, managed to take a close up photograph and now I will be framing it with off white mountboard around it. 

It is a lot of hard work to reframe a painting but framing a painting the right way enhances its look manifold.Moreover for the durability of the art work ( to avoid fungus and deterioration over a period of time ) one has to follow the right technique. As I paint and sketch everyday, I get to learn lessons. About framing, about the right composition in a painting and about so many other aspects with respect to art. 

The waterfall

Charcoal painting on Canson paper

Size 11" x 18"

Thanks a lot for browsing through my artworks and do visit my Instagram page where I have recently started uploading my works.