New Charcoal and Pastel Drawing of Water Lillies - Pink Ladies

Pink Ladies

Mark Nesmith

Charcoal and Pastel on paper

18" x 24"

2013

Here's my second version of water lillies done in charcoal with a little pastel. This time I've added pink to the flowers and a bit of green to some of the pads and the water. I'm really enjoying the not quite monochromatic look of these, somewhere between a drawing and a painting. I think I want to keep at this for awhile and see where it goes.

Evening at Cedar Creek Lake

Evening at Cedar Creek Lake, originally uploaded by Mark Nesmith.

As promised, here's another painting of the water lillies at Cedar Creek Lake. This is a smaller painting than the first (12" x 12"), and is taken from a calm and tranquil evening spent there this past summer. The fallen logs in the top corner are what first grabbed my attention. I loved the way the lilly pads seemed to surround them, almost like they were laying seige. The logs are starting to be overcome by the weeds around them. It seems like nature always reclaims her own.

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Water Lillies (Last Kiss)

Water Lillies (Last Kiss), originally uploaded by Mark Nesmith.

Here's one of the larger paintings I've been working on (24" x 30" oil on canvas.) When I first moved to Seagoville I spent many weekends driving around exploring the landscapes to get familiar with the territory. One of the first places I discovered was Cedar Creek Lake. It's about a 45 minute drive past Seagoville out Hwy 175. In the spring the water near Hwy 175 is literally blanketed with water lillies. I've always been drawn to the scene, but I wouldn't allow myself to paint them (too many references to the famous series by Monet.) A few years ago I did a couple of pastels that my wife loved, but I never finished them (they just seemed a little too "sweet" at the time.) Recently I was looking through some old files and found the pastels and some reference photos I took years ago. Since my wife and I had an anniversary coming up, I decided to paint a large water lillies painting as a surprise. Turns out I enjoyed it so much I'm planning to do a few more. This is a view from late in the season when Spring is giving way to the hot Texas summer. Many of the pads are getting a bit tattered at the edges and starting to brown at the fringe. Amidst all of this there's always still a few blooms that aren't ready to die yet. My wife loves Pearl Jam's cover of "Last Kiss" and it kind of seemed like an appropriate name for the couple of buds at the front that are in an embrace.