"lift your eyes"

"lift your eyes " 18"x18" pastel on toned Uart 320

I usually stick with 5"x7", 9"x12", or 12"x16" sizes for my paintings. It can be costly framing a pastel painting because they need to be covered with glass. I prefer  to use museum glass, which has very minimal glare and shows true color. 

Today was an emotional day for me, with sad news of several dear friends. With emotion, I turn to the sky to express it. I pushed myself to do a larger painting - 18"x18" - my feelings called for it. It needed to be powerful. 

I used Uart 320 and toned the paper with black Art Graf Viarco . 

They are water soluble, but I chose to use rubbing alcohol with a large brush so it would dry faster. 

Here is my palette. I kept it to a minimum .  I used some reference photos I had taken of the sky at the end of a stormy day recently where I live. This is where I started.

 I worked on the painting most of the morning and decided to take a break.

 I came back to it later in the day and worked some more on it - sometimes it's difficult to know when to stop - I didn't want to over work it. Finally I got to a point where it felt complete. I actually feel tired after painting this one. I have a special connection with each painting I do..... little pieces of me.

Have a blessed day.