It wasn't raining today, so I went outside and did a landscape for today's daily painting. Unfortunately, there aren't very many good views in my yard--something that has prevented me from doing a lot of quick landscapes. So I set up the easel in the driveway and focused on a view across the street. Working outdoors is full of surprises. The wind blew over my easel, with the paper face down on the pavement, knocking off most of the pastel! A neighbor stopped by to look, which turned into a conversation. The workmen next door began backing their truck toward me, so I had to move everything away and then move it all back. In spite of this, I managed to get something that sort of resembles a landscape painting. The hardest thing for me is to impose some sort of composition on the chaos of the world. My natural inclination is to just plunge in mindlessly and paint whatever's there. Must try to think about the golden ratio more! Once again, the painting is in pastel on paper treated with acrylic pastel ground and light blue paint.
