Nagel

Composing the Quite Marsh by Gwen Nagel

Marsh Path, St. Simons by Gwen Nagel

Subject and Composition:
I was attracted to the marsh on St. Simon’s Island because of the subtle colors of its grasses
juxtaposed against a brilliant blue sky. I paint marshes in Georgia and in Maine, where I live in
the summer, and they never fail to engage me.

Marshes, however, can pose some composition problems. They are, after all, flat things, and
unless you get a high vantage point they can prove very flat and uninteresting indeed.
The path leading into the clump of trees was just the composition I wanted. That there was
distant detail in the far shore with a smattering of buildings catching the light gave the scene
much more interest. The snake line of blue water suggested marsh, and the shadows on the
path provided me with an echo of the pattern of darks. This was an unusually pleasing
composition for a mars

Materials, Sketch and Block in:

I use Kitty Wallis paper almost exclusively and a wide assortment of pastels, both hard and
soft: Nu-Pastels, Rembrandts, Sennelier, Schminke, Unison, Great American, and Terry Ludwig’s.
On location I make a simple sketch with very thin willow charcoal, finding my focal point first
(in this case, the tree on the right). I establish the horizon line, then set up the lead in with the road.
When I’m satisfied with that I begin to think about my darks. (At this point, in my studio,
I may get out some turpentine and rough brushes to lightly go over the dark pattern.) I generally
use a complement, especially on trees, so I might do a turp wash with a deep reddish brown. T
his is a blocky stage; I work quickly and I try to get in a lot of deep color.
Because Kitty Wallis paper has such a lot of tooth, I may use Nu Pastels for the block in.
I look for more darks, as for example, in the shadows of the road, and find a pattern that is pleasing.
I make sure I have color in my shadows: purple and blue and deep red.

I then block in, again with complements, big masses of the marsh. These are mostly mid-tones
and I want them to hold a lot of interest. It is tempting to start doing the details (the linear strokes of the grasses) too soon, but I am interested in the colors and shapes in the marsh, not the quotidian detail of grasses. And I’ve been there before: too many strokes too soon and I lose my big shapes. So I refrain from doing that until very late in the painting. This is really the fun
part for me—establishing blocks of color in what might appear to be simple, flat marsh. I use
Unisons and all the delicious colors I dare put in the painting. I make sure that I am anchoring
the grass, so I provide a deeper value at the base of the grasses. I enjoy using the sides of
Terry Ludwig pastels for marsh shapes—but I may reserve them for later. I may still be working
with harder pastels against the rough Kitty Wallis paper. I try to work all over the painting at once,
to establish all the shapes. I sometimes give the paper a quick spray with Krylon to anchor the
pastel to the paper.

Focal Point
I may then work on the focal point, the two clumps of trees adding detail to give overall shapes.
Then I turn to the distant tree line. I need to make that fall back, but there is color this morning in those
distant shapes, so I again block in complementaries and purples (to anchor the trees) and then work
over them with greens and blues.
A pinkish beach line and a touch here and there to indicate buildings catching the light, and I’m done.
About 45 minutes before I think the painting will be completed, I may give the whole piece a quick spray.
I generally try not to spray once I start putting in the highlights and details, as it may darken and dull them.
If I have a passage I want darker, I may just spray it.

The Light Values and Details
The path is light in value, but I want it to have a lot of interest and color, so I over block in some darks
(the brown shapes of the earth). It is only after I’ve put in my darks in the road (shadows, brown of the
earth, some green grasses) that I start stroking in the lights of the path, making sure I have enough
color in the path and that the lights don’t go “too light” on me and I end up with “chalky” color.

I save the details for last. Again I may get out my NuPastels or use the sharp end of a Terry Ludwig
stick to establish the branches of the main tree, some other little shrub here and there. I insert the
highlights in the trees. I sparingly stroke in a few grasses, just enough to “read grass.” A few spots
of white here and there suggest some detail of flowers which echo the distant whites of the buildings.

On location I don’t usually drag along a mat, but I always have one ready in my studio to put
around the painting. A mat around my work usually tells me when a painting is done, or what
might be needed to complete the piece. I usually will take the plein air piece back to my studio and
look at it an hour or so later to see if there are infelicities here and there or details that need a touch
or two of a pastel, but I am aware that it is very easy to ruin a plein air piece in the studio with too much
detail, so I’m careful not to overwork it. ■