End of the Day

9 x 12 soft pastels on Canson Mi Teintes pink paper

Miki Willa

I did two very different projects today. I had another piece of the pink paper so wondered what it would do for a sunset. We have seen so many beautiful sunsets here. This one was on the North Shore. When we first moved to Hawaii, we would take drives around the island just to look at the water. Sometimes we sketched, but most of the time we took photographs. I am so glad we have all these reference photos. For a long time, I didn't try to paint sunrises or sunsets. I was sure I couldn't begin to express my feelings about them. I was also unsure about my ability to "get them right." For me, this one really captures the awe of seeing the sun setting slowly into the sea. I am really pleased about getting the highlights in the water. The horizon line is a bit skewed, but it works for me. It is really fun to have my paintings sit where I can look at them throughout the day. I was not sure about this at 6:30 this morning, but by 3:00, I really liked it.

On a completely different note, I also decided to do a quick sketch based on one of the 36 views of Mt. Fuji that Hokusai did. Tomorrow, I will do a post about his life and his art. Think of this as a teaser. I was limited to my school set of Crayola colored pencils, so I don't have the colors all right. I think I captured the feeling, however. He was a very interesting character. Come back tomorrow to learn more.

In the style of Hokusai

Crayola colored pencils in sketch book

Miki Willa

This is a very shameless advertisement. We are leaving Hawai'i, so we have a wonderful house for sale. I know someone out there is planning/desiring to move to Paradise. Please contact me and I will get you all the information.