Saturday, December 5, 2009

Cold Outside!

18 x 8


pastel with water under painting

Temperatures in the 20s and 30s make me look for warm subject matter. This palm tree painted from a photo I took in Temecula, CA, along the Butterfield Trail.

I used a piece of Wallis paper that had a crease in it, making it the perfect support for a quick study. First, I did a gesture drawing with graphite. Then I lightly put in pastel in big blocks of color and value. I used a wet brush to push it into the paper and soften the edges. Once it was dry, I added a bit more pastel on top.

Baby, it's cold outside
! Perhaps some snow in the forecast!

2 comments:

Celeste Bergin said...

have you moved to Florida? haha! I do like your idea..to paint palm trees while we are in the cold. And Dean Martin is a favorite of mine!..he makes me think of the Palms too.

Katherine van Schoonhoven said...

Lol! Just thinking of sunshine on this cold day.