Emma's Surprise

The contrast between light and shadow on the diners in a West Village cafe initially drew me in. While taking photographs three people entered the frame, each with their own story: what were the women laughing about? What was in the bag? What were the diners discussing? I wanted to capture their stories with pastel.

I started with a gesture drawing of the building and diners en plein air, which included notes on color and my feelings about the scene. I painted my submission at home from a photograph supplemented by my notes.

I began the actual painting with a wet underpainting on Uart 400 using NuPastels to set up the value structure. Then I painted with a variety of soft pastels (Blue Earth, Terry Ludwig, and Unison).