I was cleaning up my studio for Boulder Open Studios a couple of weeks ago and came across some of my oldest pastel work that I had buried. It was really fun to see how my art has grown and changed over the years. I started out copying paintings from books and then finally graduated to my own photos. This could be one of my husband's photos since we share photos. He takes much better photos than I do. This painting (it's really more of a sketch) is now hanging on my studio wall as a reminder of how much I've loved pastel for a very long time and how much improvement I have made. I'm thinking I should try to find this photo and do the painting again. It might be an interesting exercise.
I haven't stopped plein air painting. I love it. The weather is getting colder although we're having a very nice week. I'm going out this morning to paint in Longmont with the PAAC Boulder group. I went last week and my painting was a complete failure. Well, maybe that's too strong a word. It will be totally wiped off and painted over, however I learned a great deal from the process. First - stay small. My paper was too big for a short time outdoors and I felt like I had to use it all. I did not have to use it all! Second, Don't try to paint the world. I tried to put way too much information into the painting. Focus! What's the story about and focus on that. So see - it wasn't a failure after all - just a bad painting. In addition, it was a truly beautiful day and place with wonderful company to boot. It was a great success after all.