And Now for Something Completely Different

acrylic on 12 in by 16 in canvas

I decided to take a break from the lessons in the Varvara Harmon book to paint my own composition. In this case a painting based on a photo from my collection of inspirations for pastel paintings. I found the photo online at Wet Canvas, in their reference image library (http://www.wetcanvas.com/RefLib/showphoto.php?photo=58375). I thought this photo might be a good chance to try out what I have learned so far and another chance to practice painting fine lines. The results with the liner brush are still hit and miss, but overall I am very happy with the outcome.

I did the painting over a couple days. The first day was spent working on the clouds/sky. Here is what it looked like after day 1:

I thought the skies needed a little more punch so I decided to try a glaze with alizarin crimson. Since I have never done a glaze before I searched online for instructions. I got a little too heavy handed in spots, but I think the glaze helped convey the stormy atmosphere.