Starting off the Month of March with Another 30 Paintings in 30 Days.....I Hope

September Sway 16x20 pastel available $264.00

I came across this photo and just fell in love with the colors in the grasses and the dramatic reflection and knew I just had to paint it.  I went out and bought a 16x20 pastelbord because I felt this one should be larger than what I normally paint. I started with a quick sketch with vine charcoal.

Using a nupastel in spruce blue, I filled in all the dark areas rubbed it into the board and applied it once more.

It was time to begin working on the sky still using nupastels and also some Rembrandts in various blues, pinks, violets and green.

I added two shades of orange working on both the sky and the water simultaneously. When a color was added to the sky, I immediately added it to the water.  I did some blending along the way to give a smoother look.

Next came the really fun part. The greens! I used 5 different shades of greens for the back trees and also the grasses. It's at this point that the painting starts to all come together.  

Time to bring out the crème de la crème or in other words, my Terry Ludwig and Sennlier pastels. The Terry Ludwigs are the perfect shape for pressing in grasses and the Sennliers are velvety smooth to add chunks of color.  It was at this point that I thought I was finished, but after walking by it a couple of times I felt it needed a bit more.  Can you spot the differences in the 2 paintings below?