Thursday, April 12, 2012

Crabapples at Arlington

Crabapple Blossoms, Arlington National Cemetery 7x5 pastel, copyright 2012
NFS

In late March my daughter went on a class trip to Washington, D.C.   She was very excited about it, and took more 500 pictures.  Many of the photos were flowers and random buildings that caught her eye - we've taught her well!  The cherry trees bloomed very early this year and were just past their peak when she arrived, but the crabapples were in their full glory.  This pastel is based on photo she took at Arlington National Cemetery specifically because she thought I would want to paint it - and of course she was right.

I plan on painting several of these smaller sized pastels to practice for our vacation out west this summer.  The plan is to take a pad of paper and a box of pastels along, stopping along the way for these quick little studies.  Working this small takes a bit of an adjustment, and like the 6x6 oils I've already done, requires me to simplify rather than fuss over details.  I'm looking forward to seeing how it will work out.

2 comments:

  1. Another lovely painting.

    That's great your daughter has been trained to take reference photos for you :)

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  2. Thanks Sue! She's more interested in doing decorative type art, like painting on fabric, but she's been one of my biggest fans and supporters. This one got framed and hung in her room as a thank you. ;)

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