Materials
• Soft Chalk Pastels (artist quality) hand-made by Jeff Waterson, Art Spectrum and Rembrandt.
• Pastel Pencils – Stabilo CarbOthello – favourites include: 1400/105
Cream; 1400/760 Dark Blue Grey; 1400/635 Dark Brown; 1400/706 Grey.
• Spray Fixative.
• Kneadable Eraser.
• Stanley Knife and Palette Knife.
• Pastel Paper: Colourfix by Art Spectrum.
STEP ONE
I make a sketch, considering tone and compositional arrangement, remembering that sunlight will be a feature of this painting. I select most colours before I start, choosing colours with reference to photographs. I consider complementary colours and often exaggerate a little for impact. I use Colourfix pastel paper (half a sheet of Blue Haze for this picture) taped to board for stability.
STEP TWO
I draw in a horizon line with pastel pencil and block in cloud area colours with soft pastels. Straight strokes (often the side of the pastel) are used in distant and streaky clouds. Curvy strokes to help form cloud shapes are used for the fluffy cloud areas. This is done quickly and roughly.
STEP THREE
With fingers, I blend cloud areas – beginning with dark areas and the bases of clouds – keeping the strokes fairly horizontal. I blend lighter areas using small, round strokes to establish fluffy cloud areas. This is the beginning of forming clouds and getting the overall structure of the painting. More detail on clouds occurs later.
STEP FOUR
I consider the position of the emerging sun, which will throw important light on objects in the painting, and also dictate shadows. It is helpful to draw a little circle (on the board beside the artwork) to remind me of the sun’s position – at the top left in this painting. I use a kneadable eraser to clean off any pastel that went below the horizon line during blending; then draw a distant treeline with a dark, cool-coloured pastel pencil or pastel stick.
I quickly and lightly sketch (with pastel pencil) approximate lines for plants and shadows on the ground. Using the basic rules of aerial perspective, I block in ground colours including plant and shadow areas (dark purple/blues are good for shadow areas). I use darker, warmer colours in the foreground, with cooler and lighter colours in the background. I roughly blend if necessary; not too smooth because the texture of the ground is rough. Patches of the Colourfix paper showing through look like light flecks on the ground and help with unity in the artwork … because colours from the sky are also on the ground.
The basic structure of the painting is now established, so I spray it with fixative.
STEP FIVE
Remembering the position of the sun, I add highlights on background trees. Using pastel pencil, I draw lines in front of a few sections of the treeline to indicate trunks; making some of them cream or light grey to indicate that they are sunlit. I block in foreground and middle ground bushes with dark and mid-tone pastels, again considering lighting; and blending if necessary. I add a few horizontal streaks of muted yellows to indicate wildflowers in the background. Using a dark grey or brown pastel pencil, I draw the main trunks and branches of Wattle trees.
STEP SIX
I block in darks and mid-tones of foliage on the Wattle trees – using dark and mid browns, greens and ochre yellows. I blend minimally with small, light, round finger strokes. I develop detail on the bushes, trees and clouds by adding lights. On clouds, I draw ‘fluffy’ lines with very light greys and mauves and carefully blend to create an illusion of highlights. I use short strokes of mid to light blue/greens to develop the texture and detail of Bluebush; and a few short strokes of lemon and yellow to develop the Wattle.
STEP SEVEN
Shaving specks of pastel onto areas to be highlighted is an effective way to put finishing touches on bushes and trees; and to make wildflowers. I use a blade to carefully scratch specks of pastel onto the artwork, and press them down firmly with a palette knife. Any excess specks can be scraped off with a palette knife.
I indicate some stems and leaves on the wildflowers, and add more branch and twig details to trees and bushes using pastel pencil.
STEP EIGHT
I consider the work and determine how to improve it. I need to emphasis the contrast between the yellow flowers and the purple clouds. I also need to improve the composition of the painting.
FINAL STEP
I add a streak of bright lemon yellow in the background at the tree line. This goes against aerial perspective rules – but it is necessary to achieve the ‘wow’ factor of sunlight streaming after the storm. I also improve the shapes and highlights of the Wattles.
I selectively tint the lighter sky colour over areas of ‘overbearing’ cloud, and use mid greys and mauves to reduce the intensity of other areas in the top right-hand corner. I deepen the bottom of the closest cloud, creating an illusion of space and distance. I add final lights with white pastel.
Adding kangaroos (coming out to drink from puddles after the storm) creates a story for viewers to contemplate. Roos commonly appear after rainstorms, thankful to find water in their normally parched environment. They are not always obvious, requiring a second look to really notice them … and I am pleased to be able to achieve this in the painting. Although the kangaroos are in the foreground, the eye doesn’t find them until after being drawn to the back of the painting, then up to the clouds, around the Wattles and finally onto the roos.
