Even if you live in the city you’ll find wildlife everywhere.

“Colorful” is one of my favorite duck images on Chartiers Creek from my walks to Main Street. I took the photo several years ago of the mallard balancing on one leg with morning sun reflecting brightly off off a yellow brick building on the other bank of the creek as well as the blue winter sky, each color reflected depending on which way the water’s ripples were tilted.

Winter can be drab in moments, but it is often quite colorful with the warm browns and reds and the cool deep green of the mallard’s feathers and the reflections of all the colors of the day on the gently rippling water. Alas, though I had wanted to paint it en plein air, I didn’t have my art materials with me.

I didn’t get to it for a few years, but I didn’t forget it. This work was one of my new paintings for the 2015 Wings & Wildlife Art Show at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh.

About the materials for “Colorful”

A decade or so ago I went on an experimental mission with grounds for pastel. The ground is a coating on the surface of paper, board or anything else that will hold the pastel. Grounds are usually a little to a lot rough, like grades of sandpaper or types of textured paper.

I like to work on a less flexible surface, like a heavy board or even a wood panel. I tried out all the grounds I’d gotten, mixed some of them together or layered them, and used pieces of matboard from framing and smaller-sized masonite or birch painting panels.

This painting is on a piece of matboard with a “laid” finish—the finish that looks like woven fabric, I used a scraper that’s used to smooth plaster to apply a couple of coats of gesso mixed with marble dust, letting some ridges or valleys develop with the edge of the scraper. Not so sure I like the vertical lines, but it did hold the pastel very well. I could both draw and blend but wanted to keep it loose, not tight details, and the surface texture took care of that.

Where to find “Colorful”

“Colorful” is pastel, 12″ x 16″ on hand prepared pastel board. The original of this painting is sold but the image is also available as digital, giclee and canvas prints, and greeting cards. Visit the product post for options and to purchase.

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All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, check to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.