"Into the Andes"

"Into the Andes"

Pastel on paper

30” x 36”

2006

 

This pastel drawing is particularly joyful to me. It was intended as a house warming gift for a brother in law. I used a photograph of the Andes mountains for the composition but changed the overall color scheme of the work as the Spirit guided me. The mountains were made in one cheerful quick sitting of singularly “in the zone” painting. All colors seemed to come out right the first time. I cannot describe the feeling of stepping back a few paces after concentrating on the details and to behold at once exactly the depth and effects desired. I now know why Michael Angelo yelled “parlame!” (talk to me) to the David (or was it Moses?) after finishing it. The most difficult part in this painting was making the viewer focus on the horse and rider while accompanying him into the valley. This required some experimenting with color schemes to match the overall feeling of Autumn in the painting and of modifying the intensity of the landscape around the rider.

 

 

Done