I wanted to get back to my alligator junipers, so I went out again yesterday with the pastels. It was colder -- 50 degrees -- so the session wasn't as long, even though I picked full sun to sit in. These beautiful, ancient junipers are a real pleasure to draw. In fact, they are better suited to drawing than painting. They have such wonderful lines and graceful curves, the way the older branches poke out of the newer bark.... Pastel is the perfect medium for this. You can paint or, in this case, you can spend time getting the drawing right and THEN paint.
I'm using Art Spectrum paper for these juniper paintings. It has a rougher texture than the Wallis sanded paper, and this also seems to suit the junipers.
"Alligator Juniper in Evening Light", 9x12, pastel.
