A New Challenge for a Pastel Painting

I finished a pastel yesterdy, and hadn't got around to signing it, or photographing it so I could post it. As I wrote that, I thought, that's not smart, if I sign it and photo it I can include it in this blog. So the picture you see is a desert scene and while I am not fond of the desert except for when the wild flowers are in bloom, this pastel gave me the opportunity to try some soft colors. I have to admit, there are desert scenes that are beautiful, but in the summertime it is no place to be unless you love being roasted alive.

Since I had finished the desert scene pastel, I wanted to start another. I began going through my pictures to see if there was something I wanted to paint. I decided that I wanted to try an evening sunset scene, so that I could paint the soft pink and mauve colors that the setting sun dappled in the clouds. The real challenege in this painting is not the clouds, it is the meadow and trees in the foreground, because they are very subdued. The difficulty was to make the entire picture look alive and inviting and not just the clouds.

Well I am more than half way through and beginning to work on a large oak that hangs into the picture and adds additional perspective, as well as giving the painting more depth. I decided to add some mountains beyond the tree line, just for interest. They may not be in the picture, but we artists can make stufff up to balance our painting the way we want to paint it.  You will perhaps have an opportunity to see that one tomorrow if I finish it.

My goal in painting different types of scenery and subjects is to improve my color sense, and make myself comfortable with taking on any subject I have a desire to paint. I have painted a swan, a horse and a squirrel, so as not to confine myself entirely to landscapes. Landscapes are definitely my favorite, and I am very pleased with several that I have painted.  I have painted 16 paintings in just a few months, so I guess you could say, I'm hooked!