Palo Duro Evening – Pastel

8×8 on Uart

Seasons are changing and with it,  my palette.  I tend to focus on the colors that are surrounding me (or at least the ones I wish were!) Here in the Texas Panhandle, we don’t get as much Fall color as areas with more trees and cooler weather…we do have beautiful light, cool nights, gorgeous sunsets, and earthy colors.  Depending on the weather in the area, it can be hot until Thanksgiving or snowing next week! This year the weathermen are predicting a lot of snow this Winter so of course, I’ll be painting it. 🙂

The above painting was from a reference image I took while hiking with my family this summer.  I went beyond the “local color” of the picture and added my own flavors of Fall.  To do this, I first converted the picture to black and white so I wouldn’t be tempted to follow what the picture was telling me.  I focused on the values and shapes and went from there.  Sometimes this works and sometimes it’s a total failure.  Even in “failure” though I learn a lot – possibly more than when I’ve had success.

The past few weeks I’ve been in “back-to-school” mode and haven’t had a chance to pick up my pastels as much as I did this summer.  I have a pastel waiting for me on the easel right now though and so off I go to paint!  You should, too! 🙂

xxoo

Bethany