Woods in the Fall

In the next class we will be looking at the work of Piet Mondrian, Wood with Beech Trees. We will, again be perfecting our skills with oil pastels.  We will be working from back to front.
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Horizon Lines
To begin we will create a horizon line and know it as the place where the sky and the earth meet in a picture.  
Using the side of our pastels we will make vertical lines from the horizon line to the bottom of the page.

Filling Space easily and quickly
Horizontal lines with the side of the pastel will begin to even out the filled space and lines will begin to disappear.  Using the side of the oil pastel is a great way to fill in a lot of space in a short amount of time.  Pressing hard is not required when working in layers from back to front.

Foreground, Middleground, Background
Our trees in the front or foreground will be drawn thick to make them look larger and closer to us.  They will be placed at the bottom of the paper where the foreground is. Middleground trees are slightly thinner and placed higher up on the paper.  Background trees are very thin and placed near the horizon to look very far away..

We will be working in this lesson on taking great care in how we outline and fill in.  Many students don't know how to fill in without just scribbling.  We learn that every mark we make can be made thoughtfully, carefully, and tenderly and every inch of our art can be given our full attention and devotion.  
Using pastels on the side to fill in large areas helps to make large art without getting tired.  Layering helps to build texture and interesting color.  Outlining helps us to define where the edges are.