Walk away

Sometimes it's necessary to walk away from a painting for a bit when it isn't working well. I decided to do this with the roses posted below. Repeated attempts to get them right were only leading to frustration. I haven't given up entirely, just set them aside for a bit, to come back at a later date with fresh eyes.

The arrival of a set of new pastels early in the week was a welcome distraction. A box of top quality half sticks in 10 shades of blue was immediately opened and played with, resulting in the quick study seen here. I had never really grasped what "buttery texture" description meant until now. They are truly a pleasure to work with. The only problem is that I would now like to have an entire set, some 500+ colors, which at $4-5 each is not realistic at this point. Someday though, someday.