Band of Trees, 20 x 24, Rives BFK

Partial underpainting and hard pastel

I spent the day at my new studio doing this companion painting to Colorado morning. This time I decided to use alcohol to give myself solid color in the shadow areas. The result was a really dark underpainting!  I began by putting hard pastel in the un-painted areas, then moved to Giraults and soft pastels. I started with the same aqua for background mountain and road, which didn’t work real well as the road had to be darker. But a little of it shows through and I like that. I struggled with the dark, particularly the area under the trees. But it’s probably easier to lighten than it is to fill in a lot of little orange holes!  And I’m pleased with the way it came out. I kept feeling that it needed warmth and the last thing I did was to brush burnt orange into the foreground and the shadow area behind the fence. Really liked it!  I decided to add the two poles and the wire at the last moment as well and was glad that I did. Would love to hear your comments!  Let me know if you are having problems. jeanhirons@comcast.netNow, to get ready for England!