Painting for Different Strokes

Wheat Farm

8 x 18 soft pastels on Kitty Wallis Professional White

by Miki Willa

based on gray scale photo provided by Karin Jurick

I really enjoy watching all the wonderful interpretations of Karin's biweekly photos on Different Strokes From Different Folks blog. Every once in a while, I decided to try my hand. For this one, Karin provided us with a gray scale photo of a Pennsylvania farm and asked us to use our own favorite palattes. This was great for me. I loved the photo, and I knew it would lend itself to my favorite complimentary palatte. This was quite fun to paint. I really like the lost edges in the distance and the cripsness in the nearer buildings. I also had a lot of fun with the size.

Jefferson Memorial at Night

Jefferson Memorial at night

9 x 12 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

by Miki Willa based on a photograph by Karin Jurick

This is my most recent painting for Different Strokes from Different Folks.

I have not done a night scene before and found getting the value of the sky right a bit tricky. I know and love this spot, so I could see it in my mind at all times of day and night. This helped. There is quite a bit of street lighting and lights from the monument, as well as reflected light from the tidal basin. This usually keeps the lower atmosphere lighter than the vault overhead. It is also very difficult to see stars there, because of all this light.

When I lived in Northern Virginia, I really enjoyed this memorial more than almost all the rest. It is built on a grand scale with a very large statue of Thomas Jefferson in the center. It is right on the edge of the Tidal Basin and the walkway is lined in Japanese Cherry trees. In early spring, the trees are all in bloom, making it a photographers paradise. I have many wonderful memories of my time spent in and around this memorial.

If you want to learn more about the Jefferson Memorial, please go here.