Spring Shadows – Malham Cove, the Yorkshire Dales, Royal Talens Rembrandt pastels and Unison Colour soft pastels on Canson Mi-Teintes Touch 350gsm black pastel board, 20X251⁄2in (50X65cm). I used the full length Unison Colour pastels (wrappers removed) on their sides to keep the mark making open, loose and expressive. Harder Rembrandt pastels were ideal for added detail
One of the most difficult things to fathom when painting is when to stop. Experience will teach you that those extra marks you thought your painting needed very often forced it into a direction you didn’t want. Trying to steer the painting back on track leads to overworking and creative disappointments; the painting looks too fussy, too detailed, rather than showing confident mark making.
So, when should you stop? We’ve all heard that less is more. In principle, this means using fewer marks to describe something, and the work is all the better for it.