Tuesday, July 8, 2008

"Oil Pastel Sketch of Northumbria"

This is a 5" x 5" little sketch I did with oil pastels from a magazine cover about Northumberland, England. My friend in Northumberland sent me these great magazines so I could get to know the area a little better, as I'll be visiting it in Sept this year.
The difficulty in the sketch was just that it was so small, but I want to do more on a 5"x5" format so I can get a collection that would look nice hanging together. To do details I used a razorblade to cut angles on the ends of some of my crayons...and used it also to scratch off details on the house. You can especially see it where I signed my initials.

Hope you like it, I can't wait to get there personally and so lots of nature studies and landscapes!

2 comments:

Kathie said...

I love the pastel Mary- and so excited you'll be going to the UK! Take loads of photos! I can't wait to see your paintings your visit will inspire! I want to get to Wales to photograph the castles. My grandfather was born there- and boy, do I feel the urge to get there! To sightsee, get photos of castles to paint, and hit some pubs!

Mary McAndrew said...

Hi Kathie,
thanks for the compliment, using the oil pastels keeps me from getting too rusty with landscapes when I don't have time for the 'real' oils!
Hey, maybe someday we'll meet up in Wales, I'd love to join you in a pub...or two! haha..
I'll definitely be gathering photos..I'll be doing sketches too of course, but I'll keep it simple.
Mary