One morning at Vaddi beach in Goa - A soft pastel painting

Painting a seascape

Seascape is my all time favorite subject. I have done a series on them. Painting a beach scene has always been a very relaxing experience.

The soft pastel painting below is a scene from Vaddi beach, Benaulim in South Goa. We were at this beach in monsoon last year. It is a beautiful white sandy beach and the wild creeper as seen on the right appealed to me a lot. I have also created this very scene earlier in water colour medium.

One morning at Vaddi beach

Soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size 6" X 8"

The pastels that I used for this particular painting can be seen as below. I selected these shades right at the beginning and then added more colours as and when required. 

The different soft pastels used for creating

the painting as above.

A Quote

"Colour is my day-long obsession, joy and torment." Claude Monet

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

Florida beaches - water colour study sketches

The white sandy beaches of Florida are just beautiful. For my next study sketches I referred to some beautiful images from Florida and manipulated the photographs a bit by shifting the sand dunes and the grasses so as to create a good composition. In each of them I have tried some different technique or colour combination. I have also experimented with different skies. 

The sky in all the paintings below has been completed in just one wash. I have also used two new colours which are my latest additions in the Camel artists colour tubes collection, namely Rose madder and French ultramarine blue. Over a long period of time we get used to using only a particular set of colours and it reflects in most of our paintings. So I took the decision to try out new colour mixes every time I do a study work. For example  to create a dark shadow I mixed viridian green and rose madder which worked out fine.

In two of paintings as below, I have added raw sienna in the foreground to add a little warmth. For grasses I have tried different brushes like flat brush, round brush and fan brush. An old worn out brush with stiff hair also works fine at times and I realised that with practise the grass creation will get better.

Painting beaches of Florida on cartridge sheet
using water colour medium.

My next project is to use my technique and colours that I applied in the study work and create larger pieces of work. I may not use all four images as above but it all depends on the MOOD and RHYTHM. Many a times I decide to do just one but get so carried away in the flow that I land up doing many more. Then there are times when my study sketches remain in the sketch book and I shift to some different work or medium.

There are no set RULES that I follow. There is no FIXED PLAN or ROUTINE. I take each day as it comes. Painting and sketching what comes to my mind each morning. Fresh ideas keep cropping in my head all the time and it is like a list of work that gets built up like a future PROJECT.

I may not execute all my ideas and projects the very same day and they remain stagnant in some part of the brain but I know for sure that each of the ideas will take shape some day be it a charcoal painting of a tree trunk or a portrait study or whatever else.

Right now my water colour seascapes is a definite yes and I plan to do at least four to five of them.

Vaddi beach in South Goa - water colour painting

"I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it."

Pablo Picasso

I love painting seascapes be it any medium. I find it very relaxing. The time spent near the seashore hearing the sound of waves crashing at the shore and the tranquil atmosphere kind of rejuvenates the body and soul.  

This year in the month of September we visited many of the pristine beaches of South Goa. I had the opportunity to click many photographs with my new Canon 7D camera. Using these photos as reference I plan to paint some of the beautiful seascapes.

The water colour painting as below is of Vaddi beach which is situated in South Goa. We spent a lot of time at this secluded beach as it is not a prominent tourist spot and therefore it is not too crowded.

I loved this simple composition and enjoyed painting this scene but am still struggling with the greens. In the meantime I am reading a lot about colour mixing so as to get the theory into practice.

Vaddi Beach
Water colour painting on Indian hand made paper
Size 10.5"X 14"

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