The Importance of Surface, Pt. 2

Summer Houses, 24 x 18 pastel on Wallis board

This is another picture from Hollywoods Beach. The reflection of the red roof in the water really excited me and I love painting houses! Because of the detail needed for the houses and telephone pole, and the fact that I would be painting a lot of water, I chose a sheet of Wallis museum grade sanded paper, that I had purchased mounted on board from Dakota Pastels.

Wallis is a surface that allows for really fine detail, when needed, and also allows for a lovely build up of color. It also is very nice for smudging or smearing the pastel in places. This is something that should be done very judiciously! I do not regularly smear pastel with my hands as it tends to deaden the pastel. But when I'm painting water, there are times when a little finger blending is nice, particularly for reflections in water.

I found that this surface worked perfectly for this picture!