Something I re-learned in 2016

Pastel. My original favorite medium beckoned me to stop using oil paints for a while. Although framing a pastel painting is more difficult (sealing the surface, making perfectly cut mats with spacers, using glass in the frame while still handling a fairly fragile powder media) the colors and reaction of the pastels to the surface is so exciting. The easy part is covering a fresh new pastel with glassine and adding it to the pile, no drying time is necessary.

After a weekend workshop in NYC with Nancie King Mertz I was energized and inspired to get back out with my plein air pastels. Early Fall beauty at the Tifft Nature Preserve with my Niagara Frontier Plain Air Painters friends made it easy to find good compositions. Choosing just one view to paint was hard, but the yellow tree leaning into the lazy creek became my subject. The fall sun was low and trees in the park were tall.  It was more about the brilliant yellow leaves in nature than the sun or shadows.


Autumn Glitter, 12.5x9.5, pastel. c. 2016 K. Schifano