Monday, July 18, 2016

Sunset in oil pastel

I recently completed this large painting of a sunset which was inspired by Palo Duro Canyon in the Panhandle.  In reality the sunset actually occurred in New Mexico but the foreground was too distracting to be a part of the painting so I took artistic license and added the mesas in the foreground. I have been working with oil pastel to see how the medium performed on a larger piece than I normally paint in soft dry pastel.  I am expecting to complete the framing without the glazing necessary for dry pastel.  I photographed it on my patio under the dappled light of the huge oak in our yard.  I like the effect of the shadows.