The Forested Lava Dome

This painting was a bit of a turning point for me. I realized that I often avoided doing plein air work with my most comfortable medium. I have always found it inconvenient to bring pastels with me, and after noticing that I was losing followers on Instagram when I posted my sketches, I started to feel that I was not staying true to my artist description as a pastel artist.

I cannot emphasize enough that carrying pastels instead of watercolors or oils feels like a real burden. Still, I knew I needed to get over that hesitation and try plein air with my favorite medium again. Another challenge I face is that I cannot easily color match with pastels the way I can with watercolor or oil. I am sure I do not have all the colors that appear in nature, but I think that will always be part of the pastel artist’s challenge.

When I began this piece, I was terrified. My subject was a forested lava dome in the caldera, and I told myself it did not matter that I could not perfectly match the colors I saw. I decided to use what I had and be creative. I focused on value and distance, and used colors that did not make logical sense but felt right to me. It made me happier and more relaxed as I worked.

The scene could easily have appeared lifeless, with its vast dried brown field, but I think my color choices brought it a sense of energy and warmth. The small detail of the two cars in the composition became one of my favorite touches.

Soft Pastel on Rives BFK Paper. About 2.5 h painting