Oil Pastel Guided Landscape, Part 2

In part one of this series, we looked at how to begin an oil pastel drawing using a landscape reference photo. Now we're going to continue to build up layers of color and get more dimension, specifically in the foreground. We're going to work on building up dimension in our tree trunk and branches, but let's first look at the different shades of brown we have available in addition to the dark brown we already used. We have peach, golden brown, and a red brown in addition to the dark brown. Use the golden brown and the peach for the left side of the trunk and the top left side of the branches. This will help mix in some lightness to the area that the sun is hitting on the trunk and the branches. You can also add some of the red brown as well if you want to get it a little bit more warm and vibrant in color. Notice how the right side of the tree trunk is significantly darker and in shadow. Use black and even some dark blue if you want to add some shadows to the right side of the tree trunk and the bottom of the branches. As you're adding these colors, you can go back in to blend at any time using the dark brown you started with. Try using some short vertical strokes to even replicate the illusion of texture that you would see in tree bark. Next, you can return to the ground. You want to build up the grass in the foreground with short vertical strokes that really show the texture you see in your photograph. Keep in mind as the grass goes back into the distance and you see that middle ground area, that area is going to appear much more smooth because it's further away. So change how you apply your oil pastels to show the texture in the foreground and the smooth grass you see in the distance in the middle ground. Add some of the golden brown and some of the red brown into the foreground as well. Look at your reference image and see how there is more variety of color in the area around the tree trunk in the foreground. I also like to add in some orange into the foreground. When I squint my eyes and look at that reference image, I see the need for a bit of orange also in the middle ground. In addition to adding that warmth with the orange, if I squint my eyes, I see the need for a bit of blue in the shadows in the middle ground and the foreground as well. So really look and see where you could use additional colors to help build up the color and achieve those more realistic colors and values. Once you feel more satisfied with your grass, it'll be time to move on to adding leaves to your tree. To do this, you can use your dark green, light green, as well as dark blue and brown oil pastels. I'm just starting by taking the pastel and I'm using the dark green here and I'm just making little marks. I'm not actually drawing leaves, I'm just pressing the pastel and making a short line or short oval and I'm putting these along the areas where I have branches. Really you're just going to continue to build up the places that you see the need for leaves based on your photograph and you're going to do it right on top of where you have the blue for the sky. It will look the most natural if you are sometimes overlapping the trunk and overlapping the branches with the mark making for your leaves and if other times you are placing the leaves in the space where you already have the sky. And just be patient with this process because you really have to build it up and rotate through the different colors that you're using. The greens, the golden brown, the regular brown, and the dark blue. Continue to layer oil pastels until the tooth of the paper is completely covered and filled in. Then for a final finishing step, you can use some colored pencils to make some extra textural marks in the foreground to really show some blades of grass. This can be done using a green or a brown or even a combination of both. Just be careful and watch what you're doing and really try to make those marks count by looking at your photo and seeing where they are necessary. Between drawing sessions just use the crease of your folder to collect the little crumbs of oil pastels and throw those away into the garbage can. Sometimes I also like to press down or lightly blend some of those little crumbs together into the drawing. Just be careful not to over blend with your finger because it can really dull the work. Eventually you will probably want to remove your drawing from your folder but I would recommend just waiting until told to do so.