36 Views of the Golden Gate Bridge

In between phone calls today I was sketching.  Noodling around with a pastel series that I’m developing of views inspired by the Golden Gate Bridge under the full moon.  You can see traces of the Golden Gate Bridge’s glow to the left of the image above.

I live less than a mile from the bridge on the ocean side and the Golden Gate has always resonated with my sense of place, particularly at night.

Pastels are easy to pull out and work with, unlike oil paints, which are much more involved and complicated.  And pastels dry instantly, so there’s an instant satisfaction.

I was a bit frustrated by the range and quality of colors that I had available in my studio.  Then a sudden yearning struck me.  A deep desire for the big Crayola box of 72 colors came ringing back from my childhood.  I wanted that pretty new box of unbroken crayons with the built in sharpener in the back.  And I wanted it bad.  But I didn’t get it then. So I decided I to go for it today.

I ordered a set of 120 Winsor & Newton soft pastels that come in a beautiful wooden storage box.  They are precious and lush pigments from a factory in England founded in 1832 that serves by appointment of HRH the Prince of Wales.

This was no longer a frivolous kid’s desire but a necessary tool of my trade, and a tax deduction.  I can’t wait for them to arrive!

Tags: Ann Rea pastels, Crayola, Golden Gate Bridge, Winsor & Newton

This entry was posted on Friday, February 25th, 2011 at 8:08 am and is filed under Collector's Journal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.