Autumn At Thousand Springs

Autumn At Thousand Springs

5x7, soft pastel

Day 25 of 30

It was a gorgeous morning to paint at a Thousand Springs near Hagerman Idaho.  The day was still cool (not like the 94 degree temperatures we had later in the afternoon).   Vendors were just beginning to arrive and set up their wares.  The festival this weekend should be fun...now we're off to paint the sunset. 

The Long And Winding Road

The Long And Winding Road

8x10, soft pastel 

Trying to become an artist is tough. Oh sure...you can have the occasional success.  But (at least in my case) it's immediately followed by lesser works.  Keeping one humble. Very, very humble. 

I am officially declaring to the universe that am not a landscape artist. And, I don't think I ever will be.  Not that this revelation is bad.  There are other genres to focus on.  The whole point of this entire year is to challenge myself and try to learn how to paint with pastels,  I just need to find my niche.

In today's case, I had a great composition (at least I think it is, and thank you Danielle for the reference photo)...and I completed a good solid notan under painting.  In fact, once I did the under painting I thought, "wow,  this is going to be a good one".  But capturing the essence of the view and the appropriate colors eluded me.  

The path to becoming a good artist is a long and winding road for sure! Oh well, as I've said before...there's always tomorrow.