Taking Flight and a View of the Night

Been working on a night scene for a while...
"Luminous Night"
12 x 16 pastel on paper
Click here to view on my website

"Luminous Night" is a painting of a night view of the Grand Tradition in Fallbrook, California.  The popular event destination features stunning grounds, complete with a small lake.  The gazebo is a popular spot for dancing, especially at the annual Fourth of July celebration.

I painted the piece above using wet pastel sticks on Canson Canva-Paper, layered with dry pastel for a textured, impressionistic effect.  I've often been inspired by Van Gogh's night Cafe scenes, and enjoyed creating the reflected light using abstract shapes and contrasting lights and shadows brightened with color.  I've learned that although light and shadow are important in painting a night scene, it's the color that really brings it to life in a pastel painting.

I've also been busy filling my website and Etsy shop with smaller pastel paintings, many of which feature some of our local birds:
"Finch"
Click here to view Etsy listing
"Dove 2"
Click here to view Etsy listing
"Dove 1"
Click here to view Etsy listing
"Calm"
Click here to view on my website
We get a lot of birds here in Fallbrook, and a couple of our favorites include the doves and the finches.  They are fun to watch at the bird feeder, and seem to get along with each other.  

We also see plenty of birds down at the beach-- we know it's a nice quiet day down at Oceanside Harbor when the birds outnumber the people, which usually doesn't happen until the fall weather makes an appearance.

I've also been adding to my Vango portfolio-- everything on my Vango page is also available through my website.  Either way, shipping is included in the price!

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