Charlene Ridlon Fine Art

"Warmth"

Warmth by Charlene Ridlon, Pastel, 9 x 12

Pastel on UArt
9 x 12
$575.00 USD
Through Gallery

This looks like a soft pastel landscape of a woodpile at the edge of a clearing, painted in a loose, textural style.

Subject and composition

  • A stack of cut logs sits at the center-left, with the round cut ends facing the viewer. Their warm browns, tans, and rosy pinks stand out against the cooler surroundings.
  • A tall, dark conifer trunk rises just right of center and runs the full height of the picture. Its bark is rendered with short, dashed black marks, and its heavy boughs spread across the upper right.
  • A slender pale birch trunk stands behind the woodpile, and a cluster of taller trunks fills the left background.
  • More logs lie scattered on the ground to the right, partly in shadow.

Foreground

  • Wildflowers fill the bottom third, mostly white daisies with orange and yellow centers. Some have a hint of lavender or red near them.
  • Tall grasses cross the flowers in thin, bright green strokes, which gives the lower edge some movement.

Color and mood

  • The palette is dominated by cool blue-greens, teals, and grays in the forest and sky areas. The woodpile and the flower centers are the warm accents.
  • The background is hazy and atmospheric, with soft, blended foliage and a sunlit meadow glimpsed through the trees, which creates depth. There are small touches of orange and red far back in the meadow.
  • The overall feeling is quiet, damp, and a bit dreamy, like a cool late-summer morning or evening.

Technique

  • The mark-making is varied. The background is smudged and feathered, while the bark, logs, and grasses are built up with more deliberate strokes. The log ends use layered, chalky color, and the daisy petals are bold dabs of near-white.
  • That contrast between soft, blended distance and crisp, gestural detail up close is what pulls the eye to the woodpile and the flowers.

Contact the Artist About This Artwork


Gallery Info

Johnson Heritage Post Gallery
115 W. Wisconsin St.
Grand Marais, MN 55604
218-387-2314
Visit Website