November Challenge - Sunset On Pretty Lake - POST YOUR ENTRY BY CLICKING HERE

*** THE CHALLENGE FOR NOVEMBER ***
Re-create any of the photos below in pastels. You can interpret the original photos quite closely if you wish or you could use them for inspiration and maybe adapt it by changing various elements (remember artistic license!).

*** GENERAL RULES ***
1. All submissions must be made in this thread - i.e. by replying to this post.

2. Please FEEL FREE to comment on people's work in this thread. The main purpose for entering the Challenge is to improve your skills and technique and receiving friendly, constructive feedback will help your improve that much quicker.

3. Please use the following method to attach your picture (this will ensure the page loads quickly and cleanly for everyone):

STEP 1) Use the picture icon button in the "Reply to This" box to add a photo from your computer.

STEP 2) Then choose to make the photo a clickable thumbnail. You do this by clicking

OPTIONS and selecting "Create Thumbnail" and "Popup Window". See the image to the right.

All of the photos below were taken by me. I hereby release them to the public domain. If you use them other than this challenge, credit would be appreciated.

*** REFERENCE PHOTOS (click to enlarge)***

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Lulu on November 20, 2009 at 6:44pm: Pat: Such an angry sky and water. Good movement in the water. I like your foreground too. Good work!. Lulu; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Joanne Setchel on November 21, 2009 at 6:40am: I had hoped to join you on these but had surgery and am still not seeing clearly all the time. I'll have to save the pics and try later. I live in Currituck, NC about 60-70 mles away from you, Tom. We too had lots of flooding but were fortunate not to have any in our home. The neighbor's yard was one big pond--ours was a series of areas with ponds. There are still roads that have deep water just sitting. We were lucky, but some of the nearby oceanfront homes were lost to the ocean's fury. It's amazing what damage mother nature can do. Take care, Joanne

Joanne Setchel said:
These are gorgeous photo's and I am sure there will be some beautiful paintings done in this challenge.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Joanne Setchel on November 21, 2009 at 6:45am: Beautifully done, Marguerite. I love the added color and the sunset reflecting in the water. You caught the movement in the water beautifully. I thought that flash of sun reflection would be difficult--but you got it!! Joanne

Marguerite said:
Hello Tom, so where is everybody this month? Perhaps they're preparing for the holidays. Well, here's my sunset. Hope we get some more -- it's pretty quiet out here!
This is soft pastel/pastel pencil on drawing pad paper. 8 x 10; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Joanne Setchel on November 21, 2009 at 6:48am: Beautifully done, Pat. You got that broody look of the sky and the movement of the water. It's a beautiful scene. Joanne

newby said:
Hi All well this seems to have taken forever to do as I still have Socs to nurse but hopefully it wont be too bad, done on a thin card with a little tooth and done with soft pastels, size 13 1/2 by 10 inches

thank you for looking Pat p.s Tom I love sunsets so please give them another go; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Joanne Setchel on November 21, 2009 at 6:54am: Beautiful job, Lulu. I love the colors and how you have done your sky--the reflections and the water are well done, too. I like how you have done the folliage in the foreground. Joanne

Lulu said:
Here is my entry for November. I hope you like it. Lulu; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Lulu on November 21, 2009 at 9:09am: Thank you Joanne for your nice comments. Hope you are back painting soon. Lulu; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Joanne Setchel on November 25, 2009 at 5:50pm: Here's my attempt. I used soft pastels first, then tried adding oil pastels to the water to get those grey tones you see with overcast skies. I'm just learning and didn't realize they won't smudge with fingers very well--then tried a stump. When I added the shafts of light, I got mud. It's another learning experience.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Joanne Setchel on November 25, 2009 at 5:56pm: Here's my attempt. I used soft pastels first, then tried adding oil pastels to gray the water like you see with overcast skies.
When I added the rays of light, I got mud. Another learning experience. I've put pastel pencils on my Christmas wish list--they would have been great to use to put in that marsh.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Lulu on November 25, 2009 at 7:11pm: Well done Joanne. You did very well for just starting out ... it will come very quickly to you ... you have natural talent. Nice work. Lulu; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Marguerite on November 25, 2009 at 9:35pm: Nice one Lulu! I hadn't visited the challenge for a few days so am pleased to see some more entries. You're doing very well with pastel. I like the way you handled the sun. More of a graidant works better. Also like your sky and water. Good job!

Lulu said:
Here is my entry for November. I hope you like it. Lulu; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Marguerite on November 25, 2009 at 11:24pm: I think you did well Joanne. I'm sure that the oil pastels did mess up your lens flares. They blend well, but you weren't looking to blend you wanted the flare color to stand out. I did use my pencils to add the plants in the marshy area in front and they did work well; however, I like your marshy area. You've achieved nice shading. Overall nice job!

Joanne Setchel said:
Here's my attempt. I used soft pastels first, then tried adding oil pastels to gray the water like you see with overcast skies.
When I added the rays of light, I got mud. Another learning experience. I've put pastel pencils on my Christmas wish list--they would have been great to use to put in that marsh.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Lulu on November 28, 2009 at 11:45pm: Thank you Marguerite for your encouragement. It's true when they say you learn from doing! I feel mess intimidated now so I hope to improve with each work. Thanks for your nice comments. Lulu

Marguerite said:
Nice one Lulu! I hadn't visited the challenge for a few days so am pleased to see some more entries. You're doing very well with pastel. I like the way you handled the sun. More of a graidant works better. Also like your sky and water. Good job!

Lulu said:
Here is my entry for November. I hope you like it. Lulu; ▶ Reply to This