Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Pine Mountain State Park

"Pine Mountain Sunset" 8"x12" pastel on sanded paper
When we arrived at Pine Mountain State Park the misty rain had stopped. At dusk, the clouds lifted and the sunset glowed along with the lights of Pineville far below.

The next morning the sun shone on the old growth forest along Honeymoon Fall Trail and I thought, "wouldn't it be fun to create a triptych to emphasize the height of these trees." And so I set up on the edge of the creek. Thank goodness I didn't slip on the rocks and dump my whole set up into the creek. These are quick sketches that will need a bit of tweeking before they're ready for my show.
"Old Growth 3" pastel
"Old Growth 2" pastel
"Old Growth 1" pastel
"Honeymoon Falls" 12"x8"

Southeastern Kentucky received 4 inches of rain the day before we arrived, otherwise Honeymoon Falls would be dry since we've had a very dry summer. I've never been happy with any of my drawings of rocks but thanks to the influence of Albert Handell I approached this drawing with more confidence. Sometimes its best to not overdo a piece. Pick the correct color and stroke it on there.