Pastel Drawing – A Quickening Ray

| jofox9973

I worked on a Pastel drawing today.  It was a sketch for a painting I want to do in acrylic paint at some time in the future.  It’s based on a scene in a prison I saw on the TV and a song we sing at church.  The relevant verse says:

“Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.”

This picture was the result – as well as I can render it.

I began with a sketch:

sketch_web

Then I began to use the pastels.  This time though, I decided to treat the pastels like paint rather than like a big fat pencil.  I think this approach worked better.  Lines are too thick with pastels but planes and blocks of colour are do-able.

Here’s the beginning of the figure in the picture:

beginning_WEB

And here’s the final result:

A Quickening Ray_FIN_WEB

The light didn’t come out as I had hoped – I find actual light rays very difficult to draw but the feeling of the picture is right.  I think it’ll need a bit more work before I paint it.

8 thoughts on “Pastel Drawing – A Quickening Ray”

  1. I wanted the lights to be opposite colours but couldn’t quite get the blue one purple enough to balance the yellow. I think I would like it better if the light looked more solid. It’s going to take a bit of work.
    Thanks for your encouraging comments!

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Your work is lovely! You definitely have a good understanding of light. I’m intrigued about the two light sources…one natural…the yellow light, and one supernatural, the blue light? It’s lovely!

    Liked by 1 person

  4. I find drawing light very difficult – I think I’ll have to study it more deeply before I attempt this in paint and do a set of sketches of men kneeling too so I can get a sense of weight and rest into my subject.
    Thanks for commenting! 🙂

    Like

  5. Thanks – it was a bit of an experiment. It’s still not how I can see it in my “mind’s eye” but I guess that will come. Thanks for your generous comment!

    Liked by 1 person

  6. I love your simple work with pastels. Pastels have a certain texture that acrylic doesn’t have. Good luck in transforming it. I did this with a bush hut in an alpine setting. You will find the acrylic in my posts just a few weeks ago but I did the pastel about a year ago. I am exhibiting the acrylic tonight! In half an hour in fact…With 2 other bush cottages. Wish me luck.

    Liked by 2 people

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