Spring in the Desert - pastel

Here is a pastel completed a few days ago, based on a photo taken while on the Ironwood NM drive.  The fields of poppies - they are just irresistible for photography subjects.

This was done using primarily Nupastels, with a few softer MV's and Senneliers for the sky and poppies.  A combination of scumbling with the sides of the softer pastels, along with short strokes, is what I used for the sky.  I admire the way some pastelists are able to accomplish their blending by using this technique, and the Strathmore seemed well-suited to practicing the technique.  I also discovered that, with this paper anyway, it works best to put in the sky colors and then apply the sparse, branching foliage and stems over it; adding blue skyholes ran the risk of smearing the darker colors.

Spring in the Desert

9x12",  Strathmore Artagain paper