Happy Accidents (experimenting with pastel techniques)
"Standing Alone" 12 x 18 Chalk Pastel on Watercolor Paper Click here to buy print: http://www.redbubble.com/people/nikihilsabeck/art/6334869-1-standing-alone-pastel It was that time of night where I was tempted to just call it a day and get some sleep, but felt guilty because I hadn't painted yet. Lying on the floor with my feet by the heater, I grabbed my chalk pastels and a large piece of Canson watercolor paper. I find it helpful to tape paper down on some type of board earlier in the day, so I have one less excuse to get out of painting. I figured I would work large and simple, use complementary colors, and toss the piece out at the end if I didn't like it. I used one of my photos of a simple, beautiful Egyptian pitcher as a reference. I didn't have much in the way of light, which also freed me from agonizing over details. I worked quickly, and had a complete (first stage, anyway) painting within a half hour. I finally felt justified in drifting off to sleep....