Third time's a charm

Early Morning Frost 12x9 pastel, copyright 2011

This one is from the same spot and the same sunrise as the previous two landscapes, but looking in the opposite direction.  Despite the resentment of this night owl for having to get up at this hour, it really is a magical time.  In particular I have a fascination with watching the shadows on the trees slowly slide down to the ground as the sun creeps over the edge of the hills behind our house.  Every clear morning it's the same, yet somehow different.  I've tried to capture that a bit of that idea here.  While the previous pastel was all about the light, this one became all about the mood.

As a historical aside, nearly two years ago I painted this same barn.  It amazes me how much progress I've made since then, and I get exciting thinking about how much better I can get.