Sultry Sunset

"Sultry Sunset" - pastel  8x10

The winter has been brutal this year.  Never-ending snow and the temps have been in the single digits for what feels like weeks.  There is no place left to put the new accumulation of daily snow.  I needed a break from it all, so my mind wandered off to a late summer evening where the humidity is thick and juicy, making the distant trees look blue.  The weeds are tall and dry, grasses are still lush.  The sky is a warm salmon pink.  Off in the distance crickets chirp.

I know those days will be back again before I know it.  Six more months to go.

This painting was done from my imagination in the studio.  Too cold to go outside.

Pastel Demonstration

I was very inspired by Wednesday’s demo by Liz Haywood Sullivan.  So much so, that I immediately went to work painting.  I had wanted to paint all week anyway, but finding time is always a problem in my world.  Finding inspiration is not. Luckily, my granddaughter spent some time at the babysitter’s and with her grandfather, allowing me some uninterrupted time to complete this painting and to photograph it as I went.

First, I decided to reuse a piece of Wallis paper which I had painted on a few years ago, with less than mediocre results. 

I brushed it off, leaving a ghost image on it.

Using a sketch done from a photo I took last spring, I blocked in the basic shapes.

I laid down the darkest and lightest areas first.

Then, using alcohol and a brush, I liquefied the pastel in those areas, making large areas of solid color.

From there, I began to actually paint, putting down many light layers of pastel.

And after some tweaking, the finished product. 

"The Last of the Snow" 

12" x 18"

It felt wonderful to get something accomplished and I have to admit, I think it came out pretty well.