You guessed it - I'm packing up to head off to teach another workshop! Next week, I'll be teaching five days in Acadia National Park and around Mount Desert Island (Maine) for the Acadia Workshop Center. This will be my fifth year teaching there, and I have enjoyed it every time.
But before I go, I thought I'd keep my skills honed by doing a few small pieces. Trina and I visited some friends at Cobscook Bay State Park yesterday, and after a picnic lunch, I did the following pastel from their campsite. The salt marsh really was that acid green color! I used the Belgian Mist version of the Wallis paper, and it works well with a straight application of pastel. I never use a liquid wash with this toned paper.
"Salt Marsh Point" 5x7 pastel
Today, as the rain moved in, I played a bit more with the water-miscible oils. I tried a synthetic brush this time, and it worked pretty well. It's rather new, though, and needs to get worn down a bit to suit me. Also, I am continuing to use just water. I'd rather not tote around a special thinner for water-miscible oils. I measure the water by the drop. It doesn't take much to get the paint too thin, so I need to control the water carefully. Mostly, though, I just use it straight out of the tube.
I'll write more from the road next week.
"Rainy Day Lupines" 3x3 oil
"Rainy Day Fir" 3x3 oil
