The Passage is my third submission into the 2013 Annual Oil Pastel Society competition. The scene is located in Scotland.
The following is a wonderful description of the area from Wikipedia, “Bealach na Bà is a historic pass through the mountains of the Applecross peninsula, in Wester Ross in the Scottish Highlands—and the name of a famous twisting, single-track mountain road through the pass and mountains.
“The road is one of few in the Scottish Highlands that is engineered similarly to roads through the great mountain passes in the Alps, with very tight hairpin bends that switch back and forth up the hillside and gradients that approach 20%. It boasts the greatest ascent of any road climb in the UK, rising from sea level at Applecross to 626 metres (2,054 ft), and is the third highest road in Scotland.
The name is from the Scottish Gaelic: Bealach nam Bò for Pass of the Cattle, as it was historically used as a drovers’ road.”
The beauty of this place was an immediate attraction for me, as well as the distant views. I knew I would be challenged to properly represent the perspective of distance and steepness of the hillsides – I was thrilled to work on such a piece. The painting (14×11) has a black and white acrylic underpainting that provided a good guide for laying down values.
The reference image was from photographer, Rosemary Marsh of pmp.
Oil Pastels by Mary 
This is breathtaking!
Thank you Catherine, it means a lot to receive your comment. Thank you so much!
Beautiful!
Hi Mamie, I’m so sorry I never responded to your wonderful comment – I didn’t make it into my notifications. Thank you ever so much, I always appreciate your thoughts and feedback.
The scenery is really breathtaking. I won’t say anything because I do not want to jinx it but you sure deserve to win.
Hi Francesca, thank you! I appreciate your nice comments and so glad you like the piece. Very thoughtful of you ~
This is beautiful Mary…. The landscape is effortlessly speaking up! 🙂
Thank you very much Pink Saucer! So nice to hear from you – loved your comment, really appreciate it.
It’s gorgeous, Mary!! I love the depth and the scenery is stunning! All the best of luck in the competition! 🙂
You are very kind Calee, thank you very much. The reference image really struck me, a fantastic scene to paint oil pastels – appreciate your good wishes!
This is also a great painting !
Beautiful colors, depth, details, …..
Thank you Petronette! Achieving the depth in this piece was exactly what I was after – appreciate your feedback!
This is very beautiful, and I could sit and look at it for hours. This is the kind of artwork that I wish my walls were covered with.
Thank you very much for your wonderful comments. It’s a great feeling as an artist to have a piece move a viewer – you’ve made my day! Thanks ~
Mary wow that some painting.. all the series was very serious… You are very talented and that is a great win for itself… glade I found you here to watch and enjoy your work. Good luck.
Hi Doron, thank you for your kind comments – your encouragement and good wishes are very appreciated.
Lovely sense of depth in this one (and the colours and composition of course!) 🙂
Means a lot to hear your opinion, thanks very much!
The is really beautiful , Mary ❤️
Hi Violet, so nice of you – I really appreciate your comment!! Thank you very much!
Wonderful painting, Mary. I am drawn to blues and greens. Love the way the path leads me in.
Hi Jane, thank you so much for your kind comments. The reference image showed a very dreary place, I took a little artistic license and brought some life to the scene. So glad you enjoyed the colors.
Mary, this piece is remarkable. The mountain fading in the background give the painting the depth and of field. The road also suggests the viewer the long path and vastness of this place, and brings us into the painting. Wish you much success in the competition 😀
Hi Patricia, thanks so much. I like how you describe the areas of the painting that spoke to you – really appreciate your feedback on this piece. I totally got lost in this scene when painting it.
Wishing you the very best Mary !
This is on a grand scale indeed in all respects . Gorgeous colours and depth reaching into your canvas .
Makes me feel I want to dash up to Scotland now … and I don’t say that often as I always think it’s raining there .. totally ridiculous of course 😉
Thank you very much Poppy for your kind comments and well wishes! This place is definitely on my bucket list to visit one day. The original reference image was cloudy, I suspect raining the day it was taken – but didn’t show the beauty of the place. So I decided to give this area of Scotland a little Texas sunshine to warm the land and atmosphere.
This is just beautiful!
Thank you very much!!
It seems it could take a week to travel the distance depicted in this painting… so beautiful… the sky is stunning… incredible work, Mary. Best wishes for the competition
Thanks Scott so much for your beautiful comments. This is a place I would like to visit one day – an interesting place featured in major bike races and films, but the history carries itself as well.
This is really beautiful and certainly worthy of winning any competition. The perspective is phenomenal and I love the color and the feeling that I’m far away looking down at all this beauty.
Hi Dorann, thank you for your generous comments – made my day! The perspective in this piece was my challenge questioning whether I could get the feel of steepness, as well as distance – those areas spoke to me the whole time. I appreciate your feedback.
Absolutely beautiful.
Truly
Benjamin
Thank you Benjamin for your nice comment!!
This is beautiful! Like a beautiful passage to something wonderful..it makes me wonder what a beautiful scenery is behind. The small amount of the sea in this picture makes you want to take that road and see it live.
Thank you so much Madesa, your comments are beautiful to read. I’m so glad that you are transported to the spot and want to explore – that’s a real compliment. Thanks ~
Lovely!
Thank you Cindy! I hope you are enjoying your trip –
Your values are smack on and lead the eye right down the path. The color is terrific and the sky is really wonderful Mary. Great piece I wish you luck in the competition.
Hi Elena, your comments mean a lot – thank you. I consider you a master in the world of color, so to read your thoughts on the values and colors in this piece – well, you made my night! Thanks ~
I love the colors and the blue lake. Wonderful view, Annie
Hi Annie, thank you very much for your nice comments. I’m glad you like the view – it’s what drew me to paint the scene.
Great work as always Mary. It amazes me how you can produce so many high quality works in such a short period of time. I would think that each of your paintings would take days if not weeks of work.
Hi Mark, so nice of you – thank you for your wonderful comments. Actually for the three pieces that I just submitted to the Oil Pastel Society it took about three weeks in total to complete all three of them. This was mainly do to the high temps we had in TX, the OPs kept melting and getting soupy while trying to paint with them – so I had to let the paintings rest over night or for several days. Thanks again ~
Thanks for the additional information Mary. It helps me understand the craft better.
Hi Mark – you’re welcome. This medium is unusual from the normal oil paints, in that it comes in stick form and never fully dries. You could touch a piece painted with OPs 5 years later and it will still smear, that’s one of the reasons that it’s framed behind glass. Thanks for asking questions and following my blog – appreciate it very much.
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Mary, I love the depth of this painting. Excellent work, my dear.
Framing, colors, technique, feeling… beautiful!
🙂 Happy Monday.
Hi Marina, thank you so much for your generous comments – really appreciate your encouragement. I really enjoyed working on this piece, was a bit anxious by the B&W underpainting but the undertones worked out well. So glad you liked it, hope your Monday is perfect!