Although it never seems to rain here, it was hazy and overcast for the first part of the morning. As we drove toward the mountains we could hardly see them until we got close. I liked the hazy look of the background, though. Some of the trees in the foreground were extremely dark which made a nice contrast. As I was working on another pastel (not the one below) a teacher from the Art Center came by and when I told him I was fairly new to pastels he gave me wonderful free advice about safety and materials. He liked what I was working on and that of course pleased me. I’m eager to try some of the techniques he told me about. He recommended looking at the Degas pastels at the Norton Simon Museum so that’s what I did in the afternoon. They of course were wonderful–very subtle.
San Gabriel Morning 9 x 12 pastel on paper
