A Portrait and a WIP

"Louis and Rosa Mae"

11" x 14" frame - original pastel and charcoal pencil on Canson

These are my paternal grandparents. They lived in the southeast Missouri town of Sikeston. I have many fond memories of visiting them when I was younger. They ran a farm for many years where my cousins and I had lots of fun - getting into everything and learning lots!

Here is my current work in progress on the easel. It is the grain elevators along the railroad tracks at Bellaire, which is just across the highway from me.

(Thanks for your encouragement awhile back, Mark.)

It started with a toning of red oxide acrylic paint.

Then I sketched in the outline of the silos and building.

I layered in the sky and worked darkest darks out to the light on the sunny side of the shapes.

I have a dilemma as the photo was taken from the parking lot in front of the co-op building and I caught just the top of the building...I had included it in the painting, but if you don't know about the configuration of where you stand to look at the monsterous towers from below, you won't know what that funny edge is on the bottom of the painting. It's interesting to me, I feel the need to leave it there, but to a viewer, who doesn't have the experience of "where I stood" it will be confusing. Therefore, today's challenge is taking that part out and continuing the elevators down to the bottom of the painting.