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Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Four Paintings, One Day

"Doe Mountain Colors"
5x7, pastel -

"Doe Mountain Shadows"
5x7, pastel

"Cathedral Rock Shadows"
5x7, pastel


"Red Rock Crossing Rush"
5x7, pastel

Yesterday, my workshop had a painting blitz. In the morning, we went to Doe Mountain and painted two scenes from the same location. In the late afternoon, we went to Crescent Moon Ranch and painted a couple of scenes down by Oak Creek. It's interesting to see how the light changes over time. I've put the images in chronological order so you can see the difference.


For the morning ones, I saved the pastels I used in my first painting and used them again in the second. I'd done a lot of work to figure out what colors worked best for the red rock shadows, and it made sense to use them again.

For the evening paintings, I was pretty tired by the time I got to Number Four. I just wanted to do something quick and easy. I'm always amazed at how well a painting can turn out when you're tired and no longer thinking. (Sometimes we think too much when we're well-rested!) I really like the movement in this one.