Lloyd via Pearl 16x20"

"Lloyd via Pearl" 16x20" Pastel

Hadn't shared this one yet cuz I've been so busy with family stuff... graduation, and my folks visiting. It's been a fun week of celebrating and more, and now back to work today. Weather is looking too good to be inside, yet much to do that has piled up in the studio. So I'm finally getting this one out there. Worked on it during the rainy months here in Portland. I came upon this scene when I made a wrong turn and ended up with the perfect moment to shoot a pic from my car dashboard as the trolley was stopping. Loved the lights and the atmosphere of the scene. 

The Fall Line, 24x24"

"The Fall Line" 24x24" Pastel ©Brenda Boylan

Urban scenes continue to inspire me because of the activity, lights, and pops of color. I Portland, OR., where I live we have a metropolitan transit system called the MAX.  There are several routes that travel throughout the various areas of the central region often crossing bridges, and sections of town. Some of the the routes are identified by the color of the trolley.

In this particular piece, I focused on a triad color scheme of orange, purple and green with a dominant warm color temperature. Because it was a Fall scene, I chose as the dominant hue.  Look closely and you might see hints of orange in the street.  

The Blue Line, 24x24

"The Blue Line" 24x24"  Pastel  ©Brenda Boylan

I have been wanting to paint this scene for some time now. It took many detours along the way, (no pun intended), as some paintings take on a direction of their own.  I started out with an image that I took a few months ago on my iPhone and I uploaded it to Instagram where I had the liberty to try different filters for different effects. I really loved one filter in particular, Mayfair, with the contrast boost. Once on the easel, I saturated the colors a tad to add to the drama to this gray city scene. My interest was to use a warm/cool palette of blues and oranges complimented with neutral grays.  At one point the painting had stalled for two weeks as I was distracted, so it sat..and sat. Then one morning I woke up to a fallen easel, face-planted down on the studio floor!

Oh my!

Luckily, the painting avoided any potential smudging or dents. Thankfully it dodged that bullet. With pastels, it is always a good idea to tilt your standing easel forward a bit. This tilt helps the pastel dust to drop away from the painting, keeping it from contaminating the painted areas below. Unfortunately, not a lot of easels are designed to lean forward. (perhaps a Christmas gift idea?) Lesson learned:  weigh down the back of an easel if it is tilted forward. Anyway, I am happy to share "The Blue Line". It will be available in late December at Attic Gallery, located at 206 SW 1st, Portland, OR.

Here is a cropped view of the more "busier" part of the piece

Starting off with a sketch in blue pastel pencil

I tried a bright blue underpainting with water-based createx paint

to give it that "cold, fall day" feeling.