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Snow Scene in Pastel and Charcoal

Snow Scene in Pastel and Charcoal

The Story Behind the Sketch:
It had been a rather hectic Sunday, it was getting late,  & I was unprepared as far as having a project  to take along to The Monday Painters group , next morning.  I had recently been looking through old family photos—and there are many, since my Dad had been a professional photographer. Impulsively I grabbed an album & looked for anything that might serve as a source of inspiration. There was one of my favorites, a night shot taken down the road from the house I grew up in. Why not give it a try, using black paper & white pastel pencil?  

The Technical Stuff:

Canson Mi Tientes black paper , Carbothello white and dark grey pastel pencils, General’s White Charcoal pencil.

My Experience in Doing this Sketch: 

I did this very quickly, in short bursts,  between talking to artist friends, and watching them work. It was one of those magical occurrences; it flowed. I guess I expected little  from it ( was not tied to an end result) , so I was very free in my working. The one thing I did expect to be able to do was to use only white  on the black paper, but there just wasn’t enough contrast that way. I  ended up having to use a very dark grey Carbothello to accent certain places. i found the General’s white charcoal best for getting the whitest possible highlights.

On an emotional level, I found it satisfying to have taken an image which my Dad had captured by means of a camera, ( over 50 years ago),  and translated it in yet another way. He may not have been an artist in the usual sense of the word, but his ability to perceive beauty in the world around us was a gift that was passed on to me; it has come across the generations. Thanks, Dad!

NOTE: All images and text in this post are Copyright K. A. Renninger 2013. I am more than happy to have you share them through your own blog, and hope you will do so—but you must give me credit. Anyone who uses them to make money will be prosecuted.