Morning Sunlgiht in Oil and Pastel

"Back Alley Sunlight II", Pastel, 18 x 24 on Pastelboard

It's been a busy couple of weeks!  I had to drive from Maryland to Saratoga Springs last week which took all day because I ALWAYS get lost in Maryland!  I don't know why.  We had a short visit with my brother who flew up from Key West which was fun.  So, a long explanation for why I haven't painted or posted in a while.  I am working on a few things this week.  The above painting is a large pastel version of "Back Alley Sunlight" which I painted in oil a few weeks ago.  I wanted to see how I could portray that bright early morning light in another medium.  The blues are not as electric as they appear in the above jpeg but the darks ended up brighter and more saturated than I anticipated (even though I used mostly greyed down pastels).  I decided to go back again and try another version with less chroma and more emphasis on the light part of the composition:

"Back Alley Sunlgiht III", Pastel, 9 x 12 pastel on sanded paper

I prefer the composition in the version above.   Below is the original oil (9 x 12) which is really a combination of the top two!

And More Thick Paint

"Back Alley Sunshine", 9 x 12, oil on linen board

I have to say I really like working with the thick paint.  I like the texture and it is a lot more fun to push the paint around on the canvas.  I decided to work with a limited palette so that I could focus on just the brushwork in this painting.  I forgot how many grays you can get with  just a few colors plus black.  This was done with Cad Yellow Medium, Cad Red Light, Alizarin Permanent, Ultramarine and Mars Black.  A lot of painters do not use black and I think, for the most part, it is not necessary or helpful to use it when painting landscapes plein air.  If used as a low saturated blue, however, I think it helps create mood and atmosphere with a wider range of grays.