Homage to Rudy

Homage to Rudy | Pastel | 6x8

My dear friend Suzi Long, Artist extraordinaire, lives in lovely Mendocino where she has a balcony which is visited frequently by a sea gull.  She calls him Rudy. He seems to be ubiquitous as we’ve run into him at every beach painting site, even in Monterey at one of the Plein Air Conventions. Here he is, again at the beach; or perhaps this is his first cousin once or twice removed!

Painting Notes:  A good set of pastel pencils is essential, not only for the initial drawing.  When a drawing requires accuracy, I find it is the tool to use. Only problem I continually experience is that the pastel inside its wooden sheath seems to easily shatter, either during the sharpening process or perhaps during transporting it during my plein air outings.  I sure wish some company would create a better casing so the whole pencil stick is usable.