My process and technique

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So much has changed over the past 6 months, I will be re-writing this description.

 

My creative process begins by photographing the flowers I find in nature. I’m always scanning the landscape on my daily ventures-- textures, lines, shapes, colors and contrasts catch my eye, leading me to document them more closely through the camera lens. Back home at my easel, I use the photos or refer to my mind’s eye to reproduce the image of the flowers I came across in person. I often use the visual aid to design the composition of the work,
positioning the botanical subject in the foreground to create a focal point.

I draw the initial sketch with a pastel pencil (or in the past, ink pen); more and more I am adding background colors with soft pastels to mimic the forest floor or other habitat. I use the techniques of blending with my fingers and layering colors until I am satisfied that the effect is true to life.

The purity of pastel’s pigment, the fact that there is nothing between the pigment and paper, gives this medium a unique vibrancy that helps to translate the nuanced hues of the wildflowers I find in the
mountains surrounding my home.

The pastel paper is by Fabriano Tiziano; I currently prefer a rich moss green color although I also like many of the earth tones for the background. The tools I use are a combination of Rembrandt soft pastels, Nupastel color sticks, and Conte pastel pencils.