February 17, 2017

Painting Just A Pinch

I was thinking back to my vacation days last summer and skimming through my old photos looking for something to paint. And it almost jumped out at me just like last summer--this adorable
little crab creeping amongst the washed up reeds. Originally he blended in very well with the “dirty” Jekyll Island sand and the seagrass, sticks, reeds, and shells, but his quick exit gave him away. In this photo, he’s poised to pinch any passerby. Especially an artist trying to zoom in for the perfect shot.

I grabbed A sheet of Pastel Premier paper and tinted it a green-gray color.

I quickly and loosely sketched out my subject in charcoal. This was a quick little model and I wanted to capture his lively movements in my own furious strokes.

I found some brilliant blue that was perfect because I really wanted to highlight his claws. I added bits of rust too. Slowly I layered in grays, browns, violets and cream to capture the sand, reeds and broken little shells.

I decided to lay down some pinks and yellows too for good measure.

Finally, a few little touches of white to mimic the salty spray coming in as he scurried away.

And so, I’m happy with my little crustacean; I’m hoping you are too.

“Just A Pinch”
11” x 14” Pastel on Paper

Find it here:

http://jennifer-buckley-mccall-fine-art.myshopify.com/collections/coastal/products/just-a-pinch

Back to News

Shop

Painting Just A Pinch

Leave a comment

Tags