Sky holes

First Date 9x12 Pastel

I've been reading through a book by Albert Handell, and I'm on the section covering sky holes.  Sky holes are the little spots where you see the sky through the leaves of the trees.  In his book he says the holes closest to the trunk are much smaller than the holes you would see at the end of the branches, and that the sky holes should be a darker value than the sky itself.  I thought I'd give it a try using this information.  I decided to make the sky a light lavender/blue and using my new Terry Ludwig pastels, I chose a slightly darker value of the lavender/blue.  I really enjoy testing out the techniques I read about. 

This is the book I'm currently reading:

This painting is a scene from Oxford, Md.  I was told by a fellow student in my pastel class that the couple in the scene goes there every night (weather permitting) to watch the sun set, and that many many artists have captured them on canvas.  I'm happy to be added to that list.  I chose the title "First Date" because I feel that's what they're really doing - - recreating a "first date" night after night.  How romantic!