Cloud Study

Cloud Study      6" x 6"     Pastel       ©Sheila Ashley Liston

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DAY 13 of Thirty Paintings in Thirty Days, September 2017 Challenge

This is a perfect location for watching sunsets from a parking lot in the middle of my town. With pastels in hand, I can set up an easel there or simply observe from my car. Clouds bring some interesting challenges,while appearing simple at the same time. Like a four year old child, clouds are in constant motion. Just when I think I have the colors down correctly, they shift again. I've been told that one of the best ways to paint them it to first study their colors and make color notes. 

The beauty of painting 30 paintings in 30 days is that one learns to make color decisions quickly.  As anything that we want to do better, practice is the key. How many times have we heard this before? The act of doing these small paintings in a short time has taught me to find new stragegies that work for me. For example, I like to have my boards prepared in advance and my pastels laid out in a order that makes sense to me. I'm learning to work more efficiently in choosing my color palette before starting the work and laying those pastels aside.