Winter Calm SOLD

This pastel sketch of winter woods in January was the beginning of my winter woods series. This pastel is not completed but there is enough information for a large oil painting. I chose pastels to do this sketch because the box of pastels I used (Sennilier 80 box set) would limit my choices to what was available in the box, quite a challenge for me. I probably used less than half of the colors available and I was very pleased with the outcome. I used colors in this pastel that I may not have thought of if I were using oil paint. Although I used the horizontal format in this sketch, I did several pencil sketches in this same area the week of this snow storm with a vertical format as well. It was so cold I had to keep getting in and out of the car to warm up! I have begun a large vertical oil painting and I'm considering a long horizontal piece as well using the pastel palette I used in "Winter Calm".

Dogwood

Inspired by a Dogwood tree in my neighborhood one autumn, I was immediately drawn to the intense yellows and the interesting shapes of the leaves. I walked right over to the tree and got lost in the color. Since I was drawn to the shape of the bright yellow leaves I decided to crop the design of the painting which gives the image an abstract feeling while simultaneously remaining a recognizable tree.