Blue Mountains, Palouse

1999, oil and oil pastel on paper, 10" x 24" - $1,200.

Although based on an expansive vista in Eastern Washington, “Blue Mountains, Palouse” required a great deal of cropping to make the highlighted ridge in the left top corner the main event. (See photo reference.) I used a technique that combines paint and oil pastel. First, the composition is worked out in a monochromatic underpainting on a primed sheet of paper. Then oil pastel is applied over the underpainting. Because of the paper's texture, the oil pastel “sits on top,” permitting the dark blue of the underpainting to show through nearly everywhere. (See detail.)