The Bastion- amended!

I got some great new Unison pastels yesterday- their 'Heavenly Shadows' set. I'd not been happy with the shadows in the mountain of 'The Bastion' painting but didn't seem to have the right colour. The great thing with pastels on Sennelier la carte is that using a bristle brush, you can remove layers of pastel and the paper keeps its grainy surface and you can paint over the top.

I've lightened the shadow overall, especially as the Bastion ridge gets further away. By lessening the contrast between dark and light and cooling the shadow colour, it helps to acheive the effect if the ridge receding into the distance.

Ryan

The Bastion, getting a little late in the day

The Bastion, getting a little late in the day

Soft pastel on Sennelier la carte
16x12 inches

Here's another landscape from the recent trip to the Isle of Arran. The mountain is called The Bastion- quite fitting! The valley below is called The Devil's Punchbowl. The bay in the distance is Sannox Bay where our B&B (and the pub!) were waiting. As the title suggests it was getting a bit late in the day and legs were very tired at this point. Home was in sight but there was no easy path down. Plan A was to work our way along the ridge to te Bastion, where according to the map there was a route down (??), we decided against that!. Take my word for it though the Devil's Punchbowl is no easy shortcut!!

With this painting I was trying to capture the sense of distance and aerial perspective. The contrasts of the deep shadow were tricky to control and not dominate the scene. I opted on keeping it simple and just suggest the forms of the slopes in shadow.

Ryan