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Friday, January 03, 2014

What to do When it's too Cold to Paint Outside

'City Sidewalks'. 5 x 7. Pastel

I had good intentions. I wanted to paint the snow outside. I wanted to feel the cold so I would remember it. I had plenty of layers and the sun was out. But it didn't last long. By the time our errands were run the sun was gone. It was about 9 degrees so I decided to stay inside. I was still itching to paint though.

What do you do when it's too cold to paint outside? Paint inside of course! Yesterday I painted the view out my window and that is always a good option. Today I decided to paint from my camera. I didn't even bother to download the photos. I just chose a photo and painted from the screen. The 2 inch photo is the perfect size for a reference. Too small for getting picky with detail.

I used my great little travel kit and sat in the warm kitchen. Here is a picture of the pastels I used for this painting. It is so liberating to realize that you don't always need hundreds of pastels to paint a painting!

 

1 comment:

robertsloan2art said...

This is an incredible nocturne! One of the side effects of your little palette is that the color comes out sparkling clean and intense - all the effects of the light intensified and reading true even with stronger colors. I love the way you captured the feel of a Chicago evening in this. It's glorious. I'm just stunned.

It brought back some happy memories this time. I did have some good times there. Truly evocative piece!