Speaking of Art Blog

Summer Dream, pastel, 16x20"

This is my latest pastel.  It stretched me.  Why?  Because I wanted to try to depict what Lake Michigan looks like as if in a dream.  When I go to the Indiana Dunes in the summertime to watch the sun set over that magical lake on a beautifully picturesque evening, I usually sleep well that evening because the luscious colors are still dancing and the lapping waves are still ebbing and flowing inside my dreams.  But my dilemma was how to render that and make it look like a dream on a flat surface.

What Dreams May Come, charcoal, 11x14"

Many years ago, I drew a dreamscape in charcoal.  I titled it, What Dreams May Come, a reference to a line in Hamlet’s soliloquy, “What dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil?”  With that drawing I wanted to utilize 3 views of a sculpture that is installed at Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids MI, of a huge black metal face.  I gave that whole drawing a Van Gogh and Dali-esque look and feel.  I still love the result of that drawing, but I wanted this sunset painting to look more realistic, yet still dreamlike.

I stopped to ponder what I actually see when I dream.  Are the colors vibrant?  Yes, but kind of mushy edged.  Aha, that was the answer – fuzzy edges.  I played around with my reference photo using Photoshop and feathered the 2 vertical sides of the picture plane.  That was it!  I found by trying different colors along the edges that white did not work as the feathery color.  I thought at first that it might, but the contrast was too stark.  Warm colors jumped forward too much, so then I tried cool colors. A very pale gray-violet seemed to work perfectly.  It felt right as I added it to my painting’s edges and also to the upper clouds in the painting itself.

So, did I succeed in painting a dreamscape of Lake Michigan?  I think so.  I’ll have to sleep on it this summer after viewing a stunning sunset, just to be sure.