I took the habit to take a sketchbook with me on these trips and, if I get to see a nice Landscape impression, try to sketch it : these little drawings give me some subjects for future paintings.
On the last trip, I noticed impressive clouds, showering early Spring vegetation and colza flowers. I was stricken by the light and color contrasts displayed - this was sudden, and powerful. Though, these clouds were whaling their way, unveiling blue sky.
I used pastels and charcoal to render these contrasts. As I worked, no picture to support the vision, only the effort to find back in my memories the shapes, impressions and contrasts.
Here it is :
A Shower - North of France
Interesting exercise… It was another pretext to use Pastels, but I think I will try something loose next time. Why not with watercolor, for this kind of subject? We'll see… Pastel colors are luminous and it's a pleasure to use.
As I draw, I get away from the idea of clouds and move towards color contrasts, simple shapes : Spring is bursting out of Yellow and Green, the storm is revealing them.
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For those interested, here are the main steps to the finished work :
