The Magic Hour

'Fleeting Light' 18x24 pastel

This was one of those magical moments. We were in an unfamiliar place trying to find the beach. It was late afternoon and the light was fading quickly. We drove down a side street and were lucky to discover we had not only found the beach, but the light was just gorgeous. We jumped out of the car, cameras in hand and hurried to take some photos as the last of the light began to disappear. The clouds and distant sand were glowing with the warmth of the light. I think this has to be my favorite time of day and I wanted to capture this moment in a painting. This painting is 18x24 (large for me) on Wallis Belgium Mist paper. I used an assortment of Terry Ludwig and Diane Townsend pastels. The clouds are my own 'gray' mix that we will be talking about in my upcoming workshop on painting the sky.