"A Moment of Quiet" a pastel painting

I finished this painting today.  It only needed calculated tweeking here and there.  Toning down some areas, punching up the focal point, putting highlights in the water, shadows beneath the rocks.  This is always the fun part - it is like putting icing and decorations on a cake.

I am also doing a few tweeks to "Oh Mountain".  My husband told me an area bothered him.  I agreed.  Since it doesn't look remarkably different from the last time I posted it, I will not show it again.

I've been entering a juried pastel show.  I had to enter three paintings on a CD and mail it off.  It will be juried.  If juried into the show - then I would drive down the accepted one(s) to the San Francisco Bay Area (Los Gatos, California) to be judged again for awards and hang in the art museum for a month. 

I also go an e-mail invitation to participate in a 3-day plein air event and show near our Truckee house in September.  We have to submit 3 paintings on a CD - but they must be plein air and only done within the last year.  Then a jury selects the best and tell them then can participate in the event.  I don't have very many pastels done en plein air - and most I wasn't happy with.  But I'll dig through my stack of paintings and enter anyway.  At least that way I'll still be on their mailing list for next year!

Next week I am going to start a 6-week series of pastel classes in Auburn with Margot Schulzke.  I took class from her before and it was great.  I will enjoy the re-inforcement and the guidance she can give me.