Blog | Bob Palmerton Pastels

Jan 21, 2017
1 min

Marsh Meadow Park - Autumn

One of my local favorite parks to go jogging (often with my curious canine Cosmo). October anoints this park with layers of colorful...

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Bob Palmerton

Jan 15, 2017
1 min

Ten Minute Painting

Plein air artists need the discipline to capture a scene quickly before sunlight and weather conditions change. One way to train for...

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Bob Palmerton

Jan 13, 2017
1 min

Blending with Pastel Pencil

Focusing further on the Birch Ballet painting, the distant shrubs can be further blended and faded-out by lightly applying pastel pencil...

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Bob Palmerton

Dec 20, 2016
1 min

Tree Painting Update

Today's enhancements included focusing on the foreground tree, beginning to add the canopy of leaves. I began to bring the distant blues...

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Bob Palmerton

Dec 11, 2016
1 min

Picked Over

I could not resist painting this picked-over corn field in late September. The field is at the corner of Marton and Textile Roads, in...

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Bob Palmerton

Dec 7, 2016
1 min

Review notes: two works in progress

At any time in my studio, there can be several paintings in progress. I allow these paintings to "mellow" and take on further refinements...

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Bob Palmerton

Nov 20, 2016
1 min

Time to Name the Painting

I think we are done with this one! Now it doesn't hurt to let it "ripen" by leaving it accessible in the studio for some whim of a quick...

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Bob Palmerton

Nov 15, 2016
1 min

Water and Leaves

A few more refinements. Interesting pointer regarding using reference photos. The water in the photo was too bright (high value) due to...

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Bob Palmerton

Nov 6, 2016
1 min

Taking Notes - Work in Progress

Taking notes while studying a work in progress are an important component of a successful painting. View your painting from a distant...

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Bob Palmerton

Nov 6, 2016
1 min

Working the distance

Blues are my favorite for expressing a distant hill or series of trees, capturing the atmosphere of the distant vista.

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Bob Palmerton

Nov 4, 2016
1 min

Flashy Bold Pastel Layer

Here's the first cut of initial pastel to the "tree" painting. I like it; perhaps it stands alone as an abstract landscape.

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Bob Palmerton

Oct 31, 2016
1 min

Browns and highlights

When you remove all of the green foliage, the ground is essentially shades of brown (to state the obvious). If I were to redo this...

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Bob Palmerton

Oct 28, 2016
1 min

Filling in the middle plane

Today I added more trees and shrubs in the middle of the painting, obscuring more of the river portion. Shadows were added at the base...

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Bob Palmerton

Oct 25, 2016
1 min

A Tangled Web of Foliage

At this stage of the painting, I am beginning to fill-in portions of the composition. Additional values are added in the shadier spots...

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Bob Palmerton

Oct 22, 2016
1 min

Painting from background forward

Here we begin to block in the distant hills. Since the web of trees will become a focal point of the painting, we want to complete the...

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Bob Palmerton

Oct 19, 2016
2 min

What's Behind the Pastel Painting?

The finished paintings seen on this website were begun with an underpainting. An underpainting is a wash of colors and values that set...

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Bob Palmerton

Oct 6, 2016
1 min

Distance and Foreground

Landscapes can be seen as planes of distance: the further away you see, the less defined, hazy, and lacking of true local color seen...

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Bob Palmerton

Oct 1, 2016
1 min

Adding Detail and Atmospheric Effects

Working a pastel painting entails building up layers of pigment with refinements that add depth and atmospheric effects. Note the upper...

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Bob Palmerton

Sep 26, 2016
1 min

Working the canvass

Further refinements. Balanced the canvass with more foggy and shady blue tones. Reduced green grass area in middle, replacing with...

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Bob Palmerton

Sep 16, 2016
1 min

Adding detail

Today's changes include adding more detailed grasses in the foreground. By grabbing attention to the foreground grasses, the middle...

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