CONCEPTS

Hi,

It's been a while since I posted the last work. Shame on me!!
Here are three sketches I have done recently. They are a first step from a concept I 'm currently working on.
Some other will follow, probably with different aspect depending the art direction I'll decide.
The main subject (if there is one?) is the "terraforming".
It will be seen always from inside, trying to put the spectator in this world.
I tought it will be more intriging to avoid the tipical flying point of view.

Tell me your felling about it.
Guillaume.

PASTEL PAINTING

Hi,

I had this picture I took few weeks ago during a trip in North of Madrid. The light, so particular and the composition were a good suject for a bigger pastel (around 30x40cm).
So I decided to focus on the light and for that, I intentionally worked with no details, keeping the shapes a bit blur except for the tree in foreground.
Camille Corot was a master in creating this blury effects in the landscape painting, especially in the trees foliage. He was my main inspiration for the style I explored for this painting.
The way I limited my color was also inspired by the old Masters.
This is definitively a style I feel confortable with and appropriate for pastel painting I hope to create.
Guillaume.

THE FACTORY

Hi everyone,

an illustration done recently.

MONSTERS IN BARCELONA

Hi,
here are two new sketches done last week end in Barcelona.
Industrial shapes are always funny to draw, specially the "monster craine" from sea port.
I 'll need to find a similar place in Madrid.
Guillaume.

Hi everyone,

I would like to show you those three drawings I did a fews weeks ago in France.
The first one was made with brush pen. It was a farm I could see when I was getting up from my tent. Behind the building, the "Mont Dore" mountain appear in the far distance.
The second sketch represent the old medieval city "Saint-Flour", a stop on the road of Compostelle's pilgrinage. I have done this sketch quickly ( with ink pen) because it was freezing.
The third sketch is located in south of France near the Spanish border. This is the "Salses" Fortress, built at the end of the 15th century by the Spanish soldiers to prevent invasion from French. Finally, after fews battles (the place became definitivly French in 1642) , the peace declared between the two countries (in 1659) moved the border line few kilometers from there and the fortress lost his stategic interrest.
The Fortress of Salses is a true specimen of transition between the Medieval castle and the modern fort.
The drawing was done with brown ink and pen (actually, a sort of metallic quill, don't know exactly the name in english, but an extraordinary tool for drawing!!).

So, I hope you will appreciate them.

A COLOR STUDY

Hi everyone,


On a sketch done quickly, I forced myself to play only with a minimum of plain colors. I was interrested to see what's append with the car's color and the reflection's color.
The right combinaisons were not easy to find.

GREEN! GREEN! GREEN!

Hi Everybody!

After a few days in France, I realised how green nature could be in this country. I wanted to share with you this pastel done in south west of France, near the city of Pau. I tried to catch this wonderfull atmosphere you'll find when clouds and trees are flirting together.
Changing my color palette was an interresting exercice.

PASTEL

Hi!
A plein air pastel done last week-end in the Sierra Norte.
Guillaume.

FANTASY WORLD

Hi,
This week end was extremely hot around Madrid (38°C or 100°F), too much for a plein-air painting. We spent anyway our week-end on the road finding some futur spots we could paint next september. We crossed a Sierra in the north called "Sierra de Rinçon"where the variety of colors and shapes reminded us many impressionist painters and also the "Sainte Victoire Mountain" from Cezanne.
For the people living around, it's the road called "GU 123"and "CM1002" between "Torrelaguna" and "Casa de Uceda".
Today, sunday, I had the pleasure to see in Madrid a beautiful exhibit about Van Gogh's last works. The last seventy days of his life, he made SEVENTY paintings and around THIRTY drawings. I enjoyed to see the ones presented at this exhibit.

The subject of my post is based on a two years old sketch. I colored it saturday evening just for fun and finally got something I wanted to show you.
Guillaume.

VIEW ON THE SIERRA NORTE

Hi,

A pastel based on a picture I took a few weeks ago.
I created the depth by reworking the details in the foreground with pencil pastel.

NEW TOOL, NEW GAMES

Hi everyone,
two drawings selected from my last life drawing session. They were done in ten minutes with a brush pen (the one with cartridge).
One the second sketch, I was studing the surface of light and shadow, trying to define a circulation from one to the other. I didn't block the shadow with black ink, I was more interested to see how the quality of lines can described the frontier of light and shadow.

A FIGHT WITH MY PAINTING

Hi,

After a few days fighting with my pastel painting (see the previous post to apreciate the monster I had to dominate!), I'm coming back with this mutant, half done on location, half done in studio and half sketchy, half "something"(Argl! a four half beast...)
But it was a very interesting experience, especialy when you take off the pastel from your paper with a large and hard brush: the result is a ghost painting you can re-use as canvas for your corrections.
Many thanks to Jared for his advice.

PASTELS

Hi,
This pastel has been done two weeks ago. My first opinion about it was bad because the colors were too strong.
But something on it was still capturing my interest, the light in the background and the texture. I finally reworked the foreground a little bit and post it. I will be interested in your opinion.
Guillaume.

The Creative Blog Directory: Worldwide blog links

The Creative Blog Directory: Worldwide blog links

PASTELS

Hi everybody,
After so many years with gouache painting, I really enjoy coming back to pastel painting.
A few years ago, I used to paint in Malibu Creek State Park, California. The light was beautiful and they were many spot to paint.
Here, around Madrid, I found my Malibu Creek State Park. It's a small "canyon" near the city of Colmenar viejo. I don't even know if it has a name, but I could go every week-end and still enjoy the landscape and the view.
Not far from there, they used to film a part of the movie "The good, the bad and the ugly", the sequence with the army and the bridge, almost at the end of the movie.

The first pastel was little bit larger but I didn't like the composition. So I framed it.

METALLICA

A special post for my old friend, Mr Clark!
Remember Eric!

PASTEL PLEIN AIR

A pastel sketch done this week end around Madrid.
This is a 34cmx13cm painted on "pastel card".
We are just in the moment of the year when colors of
landscape are turning more yellow. In few weeks, I could leave
my green color at home!
It took me two hours to complete this sketch.

LIFE DRAWING

MORE SKETCHES

JUST A SKETCH

Oldies

Some sketches done with gouache during a trip to Malaysia in 2001. A first step was done with black ink and I was covering it with gouache, keeping the last strokes with ink.
Gouache painting is drying fast and can be an advantage when you travel.

Miniatures

Hi,
Two small pastels I have done recently. The second is a study from Carlos de Haes, a spanish painter from the 19th century. Both are around 15 cm large to avoid too much details. Even this size, it's amazing how much you can put in it! Next time I will try a stamp size, maybe.

MORE TREES

This week-end, I went to see what was behind Manzanares Park. I came back with those two new ink washes...
Well, it's again trees but the light was so beautiful.

FIRST POST

Welcome to my blog! I'm still figuring out how the blog works and it will take me few post to feel home. Since a week the sun is back in Madrid and I wanted to share my first contact with "plein air" sketching in the nature around there.