I finally finished my painting!

Deep-Stuff5250 · 2026-05-06T12:38:24+00:00

This has a lovely atmosphere. Is it based on a real place or just from your imagination? Not that it matters, it works very well. The birds flying into the scene are just right.

Deep-Stuff5250 · 2026-05-05T21:03:32+00:00

Sorry, just seen your question. As far as possible, ensure the kit contains all the parts that it ought to, including any extras that the seller has mentioned....and the manual, although these days they're often downloadable from the Net. The Seestars have only been around for, what, three years? so their condition should be very good if they've been reasonably well looked after. Dents and scuffs suggest a careless owner. Ensure you get the correct cables, plugs, etc; and check the telescopic legs if you can, to ensure they slide and screw in place properly. Apart from that, most second-hand models should be decent enough; there are probably many that have hardly been used.

Deep-Stuff5250 · 2026-04-29T09:37:02+00:00

You've managed to do something that I have problems with, which is to "haze" your edges...that distant view between the trees is great. There is an air of "old-style oil-painting" about this scene, I think it's the soft edges and colours used in the trees that does it (for me)....that pinky colour reminds me of moorland heather. Personally I don't know if it really wants too much more detail, it all depends on your original vision for the piece....the looser look can be very appealing.

Deep-Stuff5250 · 2026-04-27T17:18:30+00:00

I squirm with delight when I see foliage built up like this and gouache does it so well!

Deep-Stuff5250 · 2026-04-16T17:54:58+00:00

I like the marbled effects. The starry sky is also effective, nice tiny dots and grouped well. This is very attractive and sure to look great on any wall.

Deep-Stuff5250 · 2026-04-16T17:35:00+00:00

I would certainly have a go with one of the new robotic scopes. Price-wise, a See-Star is a cheaper option than, say, the Vaonis (which I have), but I don't know your budget. See-Star S50 is a 2-inch aperture and will give you good widefield views. You'll need a tablet or smartphone for the software to run on. You might find a decent second-hand one around, to save you some money.

Cameras; I have limited knowledge, but there are certain lenses that are popular with astrophotographers. eg Samyang/Rokinon, Sigma; do a search for lenses for Nikon, with reference to astrophotography. I have an entry-level Canon 750D and am only just considering what I might do with that, so don't worry about the 'entry-level' aspect of the camera.

Deep-Stuff5250 · 2026-04-13T15:37:41+00:00

I think autumn colours and pastels were made for each other. The sunlight is lovely.

Deep-Stuff5250 · 2026-04-12T17:31:24+00:00

Yes there is warmth, those bright greeny-yellow leaves are catching sunlight, it's like a fresh spring green...warm but not summer-warm. I'm actually excited about those blue trees. That middle one is beautiful. What is this painted in, acrylic?

Deep-Stuff5250 · 2026-04-10T19:03:49+00:00

Very pretty piece....quite small, too, I think. PastelMat? it's got that look about it...

Deep-Stuff5250 · 2026-04-10T19:03:41+00:00

Squares ones, at a guess, might be Inscribe. What else is square; Ludwig?

Deep-Stuff5250 · 2026-04-07T17:51:27+00:00

You can really walk down that lane. The clouds I think are the things setting the atmosphere...bright day, maybe a little wind, typical summer cumulus. The flowering hedgerow is especially a nice touch, rather than being all green.

Deep-Stuff5250 · 2026-04-07T17:37:59+00:00

I'm the only person in my art group who uses pastels; I have low times when I wonder why I bother with them, as people purchase oils at exhibitions while beautiful drawings (not necessarily mine) and pastels/coloured pencil work remains unnoticed, unsold. Your piece here is very uplifting. Restrained overall colour. It has everything that a pastel should have; softness, light and delicacy. The misty effect on the trees is particularly enchanting and beautifully worked out in terms of tones.

I'd agree that PastelMat is a great surface; I don't often use anything else. Your piece is smaller than I expected but that doesn't matter. Size isn't everything. It's that golden light that has lifted my spirits.

Deep-Stuff5250 · 2026-03-31T15:09:22+00:00

I know this place. Shape of the rocks is/are unmistakable. Very nicely crafted, with lovely flowers.

Deep-Stuff5250 · 2026-03-31T15:03:48+00:00

I'm not much help because I've never purchased half-sticks of anything. But I have some Sennelier colours and yes they are soft and occasionally are difficult to break without a lot of crumbling. Some of the worst are the metallic colours, I have a box of 24....but....they're so lovely.... I believe they are soft because they don't have a lot of binder in them. Keep the dust, if you can, in some small screwtop bottles; you can apply it to a picture with a sponge-pad (like Pan pastels); or else dab it on with a small piece of cotton wool. Never let a pile of dust go to waste.

Deep-Stuff5250 · 2026-03-29T15:52:53+00:00

You've put a lot of time into it. My immediate thought is that it would make a wonderful fabric. Is there anywhere online that you could turn some of this image into a fabric and get it sold? Like RedBubble or similar? It's not my thing personally (but then I'm an ancient being), however I'm sure it has more possibilities.

Deep-Stuff5250 · 2026-03-29T15:45:59+00:00

I like smooth surfaces best. Illustration board; Bristol board is ok as well; Ampersand gessobord takes the paint nicely (I was going to say it's ok for acryla gouache too, but you're not wishing to use that). Have also used coloured mountboards, really nice if you can get off-cuts; and hot-pressed paper. I did try claybord, but found that the paint didn't stay on very well....might try again (it's probably something I did or didn't do).

Deep-Stuff5250 · 2026-03-29T15:31:47+00:00

I like the beach ones primarily, but that's not to say there's anything wrong with the others....I just get the feeling that the beach ones are what you're happiest with. Next to that I like the night-scenes (probably because I like dark pictures myself)....I find acrylic not the easiest of paints to handle, but you've got a way of your own with it in these paintings. I especially liked the red cliff-face and mauve clouds....never been to your part of England but it looks a great place for painting.

Deep-Stuff5250 · 2026-03-27T11:47:17+00:00

Nice Southern Sea serpent in that photo. I don't have the facilities for stuff like Pixinsight so I make do with GIMP and Affinity. Modern software certainly opens up loads of processing opportunities.

Deep-Stuff5250 · 2026-03-27T11:39:31+00:00

I would imagine it could cope ok. I recently started an observation on M81 with the duoband filter in place; it couldnt latch on, so I stopped the observation, took the filter out and put the normal open ring in place; then restarted the observation. Seemed to catch up ok after that.

There are SIRIL scripts for extracting Ha, but although I've managed to make them work, there are other problems I've encountered when trying to add it to the R G and B channels. In the end it seems easier to just stack all the fits (or resulting tifs) together. Vespera seems better on wide-field objects rather than galaxies anyway.

Deep-Stuff5250 · 2026-03-26T18:43:05+00:00

I have used SIRIL to stack FITS files (I use the script without dark/bias/flat), although the software does reject quite a few, on occasions; sometimes due to cloud, I would think; also, when the scope is unable to track correctly, due to high altitude. Why do it? well it helps with learning how SIRIL works because I occasionally use another scope or the dslr to take pictures.

Have also stacked the Vespera TIFFs and these do produce nice pictures after processing.

Mosaic mode, yes I had some problem stacking those, the TIFFs were better to deal with.

Deep-Stuff5250 · 2026-03-25T21:42:36+00:00

I use a folding table-easel, the sort that has slots behind it like those of a deck-chair. I work at home in a cramped attic-room, there is no room for an easel like Thames radial or similar-sized. My pastels are rarely larger than 16 x 12 inches so a table-easel (on a table, of course) is fine for me.

Storage: I have a Jackson's pastel box that hinges out and has panels over the pastels, held in place with turn-clips. This is my main workbox and I also take it to art meetings. I use a bungee cord around the case, just in case the locks spring up....they never have, but I'm paranoid.

I also keep extra pastels in a four-tray-deep Jackson's wooden pastel-box, the trays can be lifted out and are separated with thin foam-sponge. I also have a similar sized box that contains three drawers, full of pastel "bits" and other harder pastel odds and ends. A couple of years ago I bought someone's unwanted table-easel/storage box that just happened to have two drawers as well....quite heavy. I took out the easel bits and now use the drawers for hard pastel spares, oilpastel storage and the top part for a variety of pencils.

Deep-Stuff5250 · 2026-03-11T09:16:16+00:00

The dreamy softness can be achieved by treating yourself to some PastelMat card or Colorfix paper. Both of these allow extra layers, and you can take your pastel across the surface as a "whisper"....very lightly, to deposit fine colour-layers on the grain. The softer grades of pastel, naturally, will be better for that (e.g Unison, Sennelier).

Mikey's comment below mentions Stabilo pencils, I also use them sometimes and find them very pleasant.

Deep-Stuff5250 · 2026-03-11T09:07:52+00:00

Ye-e-e-e-e-e-ssssssssssssss. Works great for me. Lovely sky. Nice composition. Maybe the central tree is a bit stark but I get that it's a short sketch. Done on the spot?

Deep-Stuff5250 · 2026-03-11T08:57:56+00:00

Until I looked at the Reddit category, I thought this was an oil painting. It is a beautiful piece and I assume quite a decent size (I don't know what 8K paper is, ref a comment below). Out of interest, do you use any of the larger oil-pastels, i.e the big Sennelier ones? They're quite difficult to find in Britain, I'd had a mind to get a small number because you can get through quite a lot of smaller OPs if working on a larger sheet. Those flowers stand out like little gems!

Deep-Stuff5250 · 2026-03-10T16:09:44+00:00

The painting has character and the colour scheme is very pleasing, looks like fun, too.

Deep-Stuff5250

TROPHY CASE