Garden Symphony- 16 x 20 – pastel
Glittering Garden – 16 x 20 – pastel
I had made a trip to Gibbs Gardens, in Ball Ground, GA with a couple of girlfriends right before the leaves disappeared for the winter. Gibbs Gardens, a 220 acre residential gardens with streams and ponds and bridge crossings with hundreds of varieties of plants has the north Georgia mountain views in the background. Knowing this place was a landscape artists dream, I took many reference photos.
I came across a few pieces of Gatorboard that I had previously applied gesso and fine pumice gel. Since they were already cut and prepared, I was ready to go.
I started off with a pencil sketch on the prepared surface. 
Then, referring to my value study and reference photo, I painted the scene in gouache right on top.
This gouache underpainting would be a perfect 1st layer to capture the light gleaming through the leaves.
After drying, I skimmed soft pastels on top. 