Warmth and sunshine

Top of the Dunes 9x12 pastel, copyright 2011

A snow day from school seems like a good day to huddle in the studio and think about summer.  After fives straight snow paintings (don't worry, I'll post the rest as they dry) a change of pace was needed.  This is a scene from one of our three day weekends, a quick trip to Indiana Dunes and Chicago.  The largest and most recent dune is bare of vegetation on its summit (hence the name Mount Baldy), but grasses and trees sprout along its slopes and on the adjacent dunes.  It's well over a hundred feet to the beach below, offering an excellent view of Lake Michigan.  And the nearby cooling tower, which is a bit disconcerting.

Originally there was a tree to the right, but it just wasn't working.  My husband pointed out that it was making a mess of the horizon line and throwing the whole thing off balance, so out it went.  It's good to get some feedback!

On a technical note, this is on Richardson paper, which is new to me.  It has a deeper texture than the colourfix paper I was using before.  This means it can hold many more layers of pigment, but also that the pigment doesn't blend as readily.  It takes a little getting used to, but with good results so far.