Tuesday 23 October 2012

Somewhere Down the Dusty lane




Another try at pastel over watercolour, this time I used an unfinished sketch of  the dusty lane.
I'd sketched an outline in ink and put in some basic colour in watercolours but that was all, left abandoned 
and never finished.
I used both soft  and hard pastels this time, working mainly from memory (this is a very familiar view but at the moment the right hand side is black and burnt following a wildfire a few weeks ago) .

What I haven't got is a fixative for pastels, the only one I've ever had changed the colours making the pastel darker and duller, which isn't the desired effect!  So can anyone recommend a good make please?


12 comments:

nanke's stuff said...

It's lovely! I think the fixative I've used is krylon, but I'm not sure. I'm not at home right now, but I'll try to remember to check when get there so I can let you know. Nancy

Unknown said...

I agree with Nancy...It's a lovely pastel/watercolour.
I am using this at the moment but it is very strong smelling...
http://www.artsupplies.co.uk/item-loxley-aerosol-fixative.htm

I've used this before as well...
http://www.artsupplies.co.uk/item-fixative.htm

Oops...just seen this...
Please note: aerosols can not be sent outside the UK.
Oh well...
Stew.
stewcrowther.wordpress.com
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martinepittet said...

Lovely soft and velvety texture! Such a peaceful atmosphere !

Clare said...

This is so delicate Cathy, I love it. I read on a blog recently of someone using hairspray as a fixative! They said it worked well and was cheap!?

Unknown said...

I really like the look you get combining these two supplies. The art linkup is posted for this week, every Wednesday. I hope you'll stop by and share with us.

Alex said...

so soft and fresh! I love it, and drawing from memory, that's impressive!

Laura said...

Lovely effect Cathy. Shame about the fire though. Sorry can't help with the fixative as I'm a watercolour geek. Nice to see pastel and watercolour used together though.

Cathy Holtom said...

Stew - I wondered if I would be able to order a spray from abroad, I will have to see what I can order within Italy.
Clare - I've tried hairspray in the past and it was better than the original fixative I had.
Alex - I only went over the original sketch using colours from memory, I see this view everyday!

Thanks for the comments :)

debra morris said...

Lovely work Cathy, I use hairspray too, something they told us to do at collage as it was cheaper than fixative

VivJM said...

This is lovely - so peaceful & serene.

Unknown said...

What a lovely piece, Cathy, I love pastels! Don't use a fixative - you'll spoil it! Just get it behind glass as soon as you can!!

Unknown said...

I have heard that hairspray although it works as a fixative, can yellow after a while.
Stew.
stewcrowther.wordpress.com
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