"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.

... Almost done ...

I went through stages where I didn't like this painting.  Now I like how it is coming along.  I've been learning a lot.  I removed a lot, and re-did a lot.  I think I finally started to get the willows looking better now.  I like the rocks I added.  Next, I need to do just little touches in the water and rocks, then I think I'm done.  I'm going to name this similar to the last one - just reverse the words to - "A Moment of Quiet".

Everything I do is a learning experience!

It's funny how I thought the rocks were OK on the first painting - the one in watercolor.  But now, I don't like them anymore.  So, I removed some.  And I moved one big one up and eliminated a bush on the left.  And I'm contemplating placing a few invented rocks at strategic areas.  I need a rock to act as a pointer to point the viewer's eye to the focal point ... which at this time is beginning to be developed - the yellow bush and dark tree behind it.