Seashore Path in Pastel

Let's take a walk to the seashore!

This week we created this cozy little path to the beach using oil pastels on black construction paper.

We started by first establishing our horizon line. We did this with a strip of blue painter's (masking) tape. Then we filled in our sky area with our sky colors, such as blues and violets, which we softened by blending with our fingers. 

Then we added swirls of white and softened them again. We then removed the tape and filled in the distant ocean colors at the horizon line, moving forward with lighter blues and some distant white waves.  

Then we added the larger waves nearer the seashore, starting with darker blues, then the foamy white and lighter blues along the tops and blended slightly with the fingers. 

Various blues were then added in horizontal strokes below the waves to indicate water lapping onto the shore, with white edges along the water's edge. 

Once the water was done, the sand was added using the lightest shades of tan and fleshtone colors. This was best done by stroking with the sides of the pastels, not the tips, on the paper. Then we added little fence posts, sea grasses of varying greens and yellows, and blue shadows in the sand. 

Finally, we added very realistic footprints in a darker brown and a few birds flying in the distance (Sharpies).

I don't know about you, but I would like to visit this place!

We did this project slightly differently back in 2016; we did not include the horizon line. You can take a look at the results right here. Which one do you like best?