Wednesday 7 September 2016

Rocky cliffs and reflections at Phi Phi Leh - A soft pastel painting

A soft pastel painting


Phi Phi Leh is nothing short of a paradise. It is a small island close to Phuket in Thailand. The island consists of a ring of steep limestone cliffs surrounding two shallow bays, Maya bay and Loh Samah.

The view out there is stunning and I have already created a few pastel paintings earlier in an attempt to capture the beauty of this heavenly place on paper. The vertical limestone cliffs, the blue waters of the ocean, the reflections and the glittering light at the tip of the waves, all added to the drama in the painting. The colours in the cliff were a mix of warm and blue shades creating a perfect harmony.

I created a thumbnail sketch for this particular scene in the month of June and was waiting to recreate a larger version of this work. It was an interesting composition and the vibrant colours in the scene helped to cheer up the mood. The pastels that I used for this particular artwork are mainly from Koh-I-Noor brand. They are soft and go well on textured surface.

An original soft pastel painting of a scene from Phi Phi Leh ( Thailand ). By Manju Panchal

The cliffs and reflections
Soft pastel painting on Fabriano Tiziano paper
Size 5.5" X 7.5"

For my soft pastel paintings I have more or less settled for Canson Mi Teintes and Fabriano Tiziano paper. Both work good for my technique and style. In future I wish to try out some sanded papers which are presently not available at the art stores near my place. 

Sanded papers can take in multiple layers of pastels without the need to add any fixatives on it. For my kind of work I normally finish my work in two layers and do not feel the need to add fixative if the art work is small in size. If the size is anything bigger than 7" X 9" then I normally spray the Winsor and Newton fixative after the first layer.

Ending the post with another of my favourite quotes

" I begin with an idea and then it becomes something else."  Pablo Picasso

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