Color, and More Color

This morning, an art group that I'm in had a members' get-together, which was very pleasant.There was a lot of talk about art, and sharing of information, as it was an informal meeting. The host, whose name is Libby Stevens, works in pastel, and this is what she gets to play with on a daily basis:

Makes me want to pick up on pastels agajn!

In other news, I had less studio time this afternoon because of the aforementioned meeting, so I worked on two pieces that didn't require too much time or intensity. The barmaid painting features super-hot color because of the lighting, and it makes me excited to try something so radically different from what I normally do.

Bartending, Baltimore, detail, © 2016, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

I also washed a glaze of asphaltum over the wooden table in this one, and then went back with a clean brush and picked out some lighter areas:

An Embarrassment of Riches, © 2016, work in progress (click on image for larger view)

...and added in a little more wood grain on the right side. Tonight I'll sketch in the beginnings of two more Virginia Vineyards.