"Autumn Cascade" is pastel on sanded tinted paper, 26 1/2 by 19".  I know I'm not alone when I say I get inspired by the amazing fall trees here in central NC this time of year.  I particularly love how the golds pop against a silvery gray sky, even better when there's been rain.  When I started this piece I knew I wanted to capture that glittery feeling but I didn't want to render a realistic tree.  I wanted to do something more stylized and graphic.  Working with pastels on a dark paper gives quick and dynamic results and moves the painting in a very definite direction.  I ended up carving out my forms using negative shapes (the spaces between things), and I left parts of the dark background showing through to add interest and clarity.  I wanted the image of the tree to break free toward the top so there's a lot of the paper showing there.  Here is a snapshot of the process.

I haven't posted in a while but I have a couple of paintings that are close to completion.  They'll be posting soon.  Happy Monday!