Colored by Mario

Istrian Vineyard

2015-11-26T13:20:00.000+01:00

Soft pastel 24x19 cm
I took a beautiful photo of this vineyard on my last trip to Istria in early November.

Wild Teasel #19

2015-02-09T23:55:00.001+01:00

Soft pastel 9x14 cm

Dandelions on Rocks

2015-02-07T23:27:00.001+01:00

Soft Pastel 8x10" of indigo blue Canson MT.

Painted for WetCanvas

Joyous End of 2014

2014-12-28T23:21:00.000+01:00

Soft pastel, 5,5 x 3,5" (9x14 cm)

All three are done for WetCanvas challenge

Goghing

2014-12-18T15:34:00.000+01:00

Mini copies of some of the most famous paintings by Vincent Van Gogh. Each is 6x9 cm (around 2,5x3,5")

Wild Teasel #14-17

2014-11-22T23:51:00.001+01:00

Soft pastel, 6x9cm (2.5x3.5") on Canson Touch paper

Wild Teasel #10-13

2014-11-18T13:38:00.001+01:00

Soft pastel, 10x15cm (4x6") on Canson Touch paper

Wild Teasel #5-8

2014-11-10T10:22:00.003+01:00

Soft pastel, 10x15cm (4x6") on canson Touch paper

I very much like the shape of the teasels. I think I'll continue painting quick sketches with teasels in main role.

Mljet

2014-10-28T15:43:00.002+01:00

Soft pastel 65x40 cm on indigo blue Canson MT Touch paper

The island of Mljet is one of the most beautiful and most forested islands in the Adriatic and one of the most beautiful pearls of the Mediterranean.
Mljet National Park makes up most of the island, and there are several villages, two salt water lakes and a Benedictine monastery on the tiny little island.

Ratatouille

2014-07-08T10:23:00.000+02:00

soft pastel 40x30 cm (16x12") on black Canson MT Touch paper
The photo was taken during the Streetpaint festival in Zagreb 2014. The girl on the photo is illustrator Ines Ignjačić who won the first prize.

Pigcture

2014-07-03T10:27:00.003+02:00

Soft Pastel, 25x20 cm (8x10") on home made pastel paper
painted after photo by Valri Ary (WetCanvas member)

Donkey ride

2014-04-22T11:57:00.002+02:00

soft pastel 20x20 cm (8x8") on blue Canson MT Touch paper
painted after photo by Rosalind Amorin

Minja

2014-03-03T22:45:00.000+01:00

Soft pastel on paper. Size 15x20cm (6x8")

I finally bought a book by Ellen Eagle "Pastel Painting Atelier" and spend many evenings studying how she is doing those wonderful portraits. Ellen used to study under the guidance of the great pastel master Harvey Dinnerstain, which I also know as a teacher of other great portrait pastelist Sam Goodsell.

This portrait of my wife is the 6th version of the same pose and I finally liked the combination of the paper texture and the pastel application. The paper was gessoed cardboard, colored with gray green acrilycs. After the acrilyc dryed, 3 layers of Golden pastel primer were used to get the rough surface for pastel.

Ellen Eagle


Harvey Dinnerstain

Sam Goodsell

Plum Bloom

2014-01-04T21:50:00.003+01:00

Soft pastel on black Canson MT. Size 20x15cm (8x6")

Venice, Virtual paintout

2013-12-23T00:47:00.002+01:00

Soft Pastel, 25x20 cm (10x8") on indigo Canson MT paper.

check out more Virtual Paintout paintings of Venice.

William Mario Chase

2013-11-27T10:55:00.000+01:00

PanPastel 15x20cm (6x8") on Canson MT Touch paper.

This is copy of my favorite portrait by William Merritt Chase. It was a quick study in PanPastels with the yellow background done with regular-non-pan soft pastel. The smooth strokes with pans work for me on the face, but I love some background color to peek through pastel layers at least on the background.

The Pastels Girault Arrived

2013-06-21T16:33:00.000+02:00

And here they are!!! This beautiful set of 50 top quality Girault Pastels arrived this morning. It is the prize for the first place at Get Dusty for May 2013. I got the Selection by Claude Texier. I did not have a chance to choose, but this set would have been my choice anyways!!! If you are not aware of the works by Claude Texier I invite you to visit her site and enjoy the amazing pastel paintings. I'm a big fan of her works, and now that I have set that she picked for me, all I have to do is to paint :). I haven't had any Giraults so far and I'm looking forward to the new pastel adventures.

Awaiting an Artist

2013-06-20T22:51:00.004+02:00

Soft pastel 30x30cm (12x12") on Canson MT Touch paper

This painting "Awaiting an Artist" was the winner at the Get Dusty Competition for May 2013 organized by the Pastel Guild of Europe.

I did a lot of preparation and made many setups for this painting. This was so much not my way of doing painting but the end result was a painting that I still watch and enjoy. I guess the lesson learned from this is to always carefully plan the composition and the colors.

The additional honor was the use of it for the cover of the Pastel Scribbler newsletter for June 2013.

Here is what the jury said:

Great abstract simplicity in the arrangement makes this painting

a real eye catcher. The muted background lets the brighter colours really shine.

The application of pastel is simple and straight forward, using the darkness of

the paper to provide some variety and structure to the areas. The little corner

of tape curling up in the foreground is adding to the realism.

Don't Drink and Paint

2013-05-15T16:29:00.000+02:00

Soft pastel 30x30cm (12x12") on Canson MT Touch paper

Eaten in 3 Days

2013-04-16T13:38:00.000+02:00

soft pastel, 40x30cm (16x12") on Canson MT Touch

After 3 days of eating nothing but raw very/fruit juices all that is left from the veggies is this painting.

Pigeon with red

2013-03-12T23:18:00.000+01:00

Soft Pastel 30x30 cm (12x12") on gray Ingres paper

This was for the challenge "go red" on the WetCanvas.
I finished this quick painting last weekend but Minja was not allowing me to post it until I fix all the details she did not like, especially the drawing of the head. She was right as always and made it look better :).

Stone Bridge

2013-02-25T00:12:00.003+01:00

Soft pastel 30x22cm (12x9") on Canson MT Touch

This is the first time I experimented with the alcohol on Canson MT Touch. The alcohol on a brush was used to create the underpainting, after the initial tonal sketch. The original color of the paper was maroon, but it was completely gone after the alcohol application. I abandoned this paper after a few initial tries, didn't like the texture and how it grabs pastels, but after this I changed my mind and will use more of it in the future.
The detail below is by far my favorite and I tired to make it the focal area.
The reference photo is from the WetCanvas RIL, by blScott.
This is the Stone bridge in Beacon Hill Park, Greater Victoria, BC

The Pastel Scribbler Interview with me

2013-02-21T15:55:00.000+01:00

Pastel Scribbler Feb2013 by

Deborah Secor comment on Physalis Blue

2013-02-19T23:30:00.003+01:00

As already mentioned in the previous post, Deborah Secor was the judge for the Get Dusy and here is her comment on my painting.

1st place: Mario Vukelic, Physalis Blue

"The strong hues and composition of this painting are initially very compelling, but a longer look proves it’s not merely made up of color and contrast. The painting delights with charming rhythms, fascinating negative spaces, excellent draftsmanship, useful textures, and a variety of technical approaches, utilizing the strengths of pastel. Subtleties keep the eye circling around this stable yet dynamic composition that stands firmly in space yet invites us to visit each branch in turn. The painterly quality draws on soft and crisp strokes, while grayed colors host the bright orange-blue complement."

The Winner for "Winter Get Dusty"

2013-02-03T21:16:00.000+01:00

Happy to share with you that my pastel painting "Physalis blue" won the "Winter Get Dusty" contest. As a member of the Pastel Guild of Europe I get the chance to enter this member-only competition. The judge was great Deborah Secor.