Pastel Attempt

Hi all

I'm still experimenting with pastel colours, I found an observation of Rho Capricornus that I did back in September 2007 in pencil and redid it in pastels. I used a little artistic licence with the diffraction spikes, by artistic licence I mean that I observed the double with a refractor, but I added the spikes to see what it would turn out like.

Tell me what you think.



Thanks

Paul

Very nice Paul, it has the look of dedication in it. The spike effects are neat and steady. Did you see those kinds of colours?

Did you use chalk or oil pastel? I don't know why, but I find the chalks easier to use and manage. They are perfect for nebulosity. As a tip for you, try 'blackened' paper instead of the black soft paper it looks like you used here. What I mean by that is to actually paint your canvas solid black (be it paper, Daler canvas, or cartridge paper, use poster paint or acrylic). I find the pastels adhere better to that.

Seanie.

That look interesting Paul , are you using pastel pencils? or pastel sticks ?
Adding the spikes certainly adds to the drama of the view , but it is also good to use an
eyepiece circle to keep the contents in context. There is great enjoyment to be had in trying
to sketch accurately what you are observing. It's fun and interesting to experiment with different
products and to think about how best to use what you have to capture your observation.
I look forward to seeing more from you this year.

I use pastel sticks for Messier objects , (Mungyo soft pastels) , they come in a box containing
white , several shades of grey and black. They also come in boxes with vivid colors, some are useful for
solar drawings. For special drawings I use Schmincke or Sennellier Pastlel sticks, they are a lot more expensive but are so so good to use.
A blending stick made of light wood is great for adding nebulosity.



I tend to use a white gel pen ( art shop in Greystones ) for stars and try to simulate magnitude by
making a star dim or bright by using the pen heavy or light. I drop in any color visible on top when I have
all the stars in position. I find pastel pencils to be too thick nibbed in general for drawing stars.
I also find white pastel or conte pencils do not come out pure white on black paper.



The Blue Snowball Planetary Nebula
Nextstar 11/2800mm/40mm/70X
07/09/07



The Double Cluster in Perseus
NGC 869 NGC 884
200mm/32mm eyepiece
10/09/07

Deirdre Kelleghan
Vice Char IFAS
Outreach IFAS
www.irishastronomy.org/
www.deirdrekelleghan.com/
twitter.com/skysketcher

Thanks for all the good advice.

Rho Capricornus is indeed those colours Seanie, I scanned my original sketch into Photoshop and rounded off the rough edges, it's a good competitor to Albireo.

I'm using Conte pencils at the moment and will check out your suggestions Deirdre, what paper do you use?

I blew up the central portion of the double from the original, there are many more stars in the FOV, but I just wanted to get the magnified effect to see how it would turn out, hence no circle.

Paul