Bromeliads! Fun with Color...




"Bromeliads!" 12 x 18 Chalk Pastel on Paper


While out with my sister, I spotted a peculiar looking bunch of plants. My sister had to identify them for me: bromeliads! I thought it was a funny name to go with a funny-looking flower, and took several photos for a future painting.

These particular bromeliads were orange, and stood out among all the green surroundings. When deciding on colors for the painting, I was in the middle of a green, purple, and orange streak (also known as "secondary colors"), and began blocking in the shapes on orange-toned Canson Mi-Teintes paper.

I always run into the struggle between color and value, and emphasizing one or the other. For this piece, I stuck to the original color inspiration, which slightly flattens the image. I particularly enjoyed highlighting the pottery, and felt that the color scheme gave it a twist on a typical floral painting.

Click here to view additional works for sale:
http://artbynikihilsabeck.blogspot.com/p/original-works-for-sale-through-paypal.html
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Inspired by Light (Pastels on Canvas)

Image
"Morning Glow" 12 x 16 Chalk Pastel on Flat Canvas Email nicolehilsabeck@yahoo.com if interested in purchasing Been trying to get back into the daily painting routine, which for me either means a small painting a day, or a larger painting spread over two days.  It's a bit of a challenge with the growing belly and a very inquisitive firstborn, but I was lucky enough to get a little extra inspiration from an odd source: Sunday's eclipse. We have beautiful views of the canyon and hills behind us, and I watched the light change on this hill as the sunlight waned throughout the course of the eclipse.  I noted how the normally stunning lights and shadows on this hill were blunted by the general darkening (as opposed to the usual sunrise or sunset glow).  I thought I would be a little more appreciative of those lights and darks and try a painting of the trees and hills the next morning. I completed this painting in several steps, having struggled a little recent...
Read more

Painting Cats

Image
"The Bookeeper" Click here to view auction After many years of painting cats, I've learned a few things.  Every time I start a new cat painting, it follows its own unique path, bringing challenges that I don't seem to face when I paint my more traditional material (landscapes, birds, floral and botanical pieces, etc.) For example, cats don't stay put for too long (unless they're asleep, and even then they'll often stretch and change positions when you're least expecting it).  To combat this challenge, I end up working mostly from photographs.  That means adjusting the proportions, since the camera angle causes some distortion depending on the position and location of the cat. "Eye Contact" Oil Pastel Not for Sale "Side Glance" Oil Pastel Available on Etsy  One of the reasons cats are enjoyable to paint is that they have strong facial expressions.  When I'm painting a cat, I get so focused on rendering the cat...
Read more

Keep the Mess, Reach Success

Image
"Almond Blossoms" 9 x 12 Chalk Pastel on Paper Click here to view large or purchase There are times when it's hard to work in the face of a mess.  When faithfully making daily paintings, I had a little monthly ritual that consisted of collecting all of the works I'd completed for the month and packing them away.  It gave me a chance to clear my mind and start fresh. These days, I have to work in small spurts on several projects at a time.  When my energy is low (which is most of the time, as I have a baby due next month), the task of cleaning everything up and putting it away each time I work becomes a little daunting.  So, I've decided that it's ok to leave the painting messes out for a while until a piece is finished.  This means having several stations to work, with materials ready and works in progress displayed where I can see them throughout the day.  The pieces I'm sharing today took longer than planned to complete, as I kept gett...
Read more