Aylestone Meadows, late afternoon sunlight on a cold cold day. Charcoal and pastel, Vivien Blackburn
I've virtually finished this larger pastel of the willows now. It's 16 to 18 inches, though I haven't actually measured it yet. There's a write up here. It was done mainly in Unison pastels as I love their rich velvetiness and the way they don't disintegrate like some brands.
I wanted to catch the cold pale colours of the landscape and sky with the dramatically silhouetted pollarded willows with the warm late sun amber on one side of them and the cold sheen of the water behind.
I'm also working on a linoprint of these trees - you can see an early stage pencil rubbing of it here.
These trees aren't traditionally beautiful (they were up to last Spring :>( they were BIG trees) but the whippy branches slice the sky into little triangles and geometric shapes and they are very interesting to draw.
update: linoprints of the willows here
6 comments:
I'm so happy to see this again. The balance between the vertical elements of rush and twig and the horizontal ones of waterline and tree line is very pleasing. The deep tones of the tree trunks focus attention on that wonderful central negative space. And, more than those things, it's simply beautifully drawn.
I really do like the layers in this piece. The land, the water, the land, the sky. And those rich colours (love those touches of purple and crimson) and wonderful shapes etching the sky.
This is a winner indeed.
Thanks Jeanette - I'm glad those colours showed up too, I wasn't sure if they would
Laura it's th third version - this one may make it to the pastel exhibition
I seriously love these and think they are very beautiful
This is just gorgeous, Vivien - a really strong image!
I missed this one! You have captured so much drama in this quiet scene. Your tree really could read as figurative, it's so expressive.
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