#39: Hollyhocks

12" X 18" pastel on pastel paper

I created this pastel for the "Paint Chip Challenge". I was required to use the specific colors in the picture as part of the challenge. I was in charge of the culminating event and was disappointed by the number of entries so the night before the show I drew/colored this. It has been a long time since I did anything artistic. I was not displeased with the end result.

What I liked about this painting: 

I like the depth of color, especially of the pinks. In some areas this depth really made the petals look curved, and even looked like they turned in on themselves. I liked the leaves in the lower half of the picture where I incorporated dark blues and browns for shadows. 

What I might do differently:

The paper I used was student-grade paper and quickly "loaded" with the pastels. It would be interesting to try using a better grade paper to see if it would hold more pastel. For some reason I failed to use dark colors with the leaves at the top of the picture to define folds and shadows in the leaves.

What I learned:

The dust from the pink flowers tinged the white fence when I sprayed fixative on the picture.