Often when I plan a pastel painting, I choose the final size of that painting, whether it be 9x12, 12x18 or larger. This time, while planning my latest pastel, which will be 12x18, I chose a smaller 4x6 size as a "test" version of the larger painting. Many artists do this, but this is the first time I created a small version of a larger work.
Here is the 4x6 pastel:
Below is the underpainting. I chose to do an underpainting of the complementary colors. The underpainting was done in watercolor:
Here are two reference photos. Same photo, but the image on the left is color-saturated to bring out the bold colors:
By doing a test painting, I have been able to take notes to address the modifications I would like to make to the final work.
Stay tuned for the final version!