PSA Show & Gapstow Bridge

I went to the PSA show at the National Arts Club as I do every year.
This year I did not get free pastels, so bummer.

The work is, as always, top-notch.

The materials fair was also happening.  Vendors with all the different pastel brands were there with their wares on display for testing and sampling.

It's a good thing I already have that set of Terry Ludwig lights......

Let's take a moment to talk about HENRI ROCHE pastels.
They were there.
They had their pastels set out NEXT TO TESTING PAPER just like everyone else.
I picked one up and made a mark on the paper to feel it.

The lady guarding the Henri Roche pastels yelled at me.
She said to me, "Let me do the swatches.  These are Very Expensive."

Well fuck you Henri Roche.

I might not look like much, I might look too-young, I might not look expensive as I am literally dressed in painting clothes with well-used plein air gear hanging off my body, but I happen to know my way around soft pastels quite well fuckyouverymuch. I should, after having used them for years, spent thousands of dollars on many different brands (so yes I know all about how expensive they are), I literally have many thousands of Very Expensive Pastels in my studio.

I'll say it again:

FUCK YOU HENRI ROCHE. 

YOU SUCCEEDED IN TURNING AWAY A HOPELESS PASTEL JUNKIE. 

I WILL NEVER BUY YOUR PRODUCT.

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I met Carol Peebles.
She is one of my heros.
She is also very, very nice and she even recognized my name from Facebook. :)

A lot of Her Stuff is the same as My Stuff!

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Since the day was perfect for painting, I went to Central Park.
I went back to Gapstow Bridge and repainted the scene I did a few years ago.

For this painting I needed to really work with that revolutionary takeaway from my plein air workshop-- not paint thinning! None! Solvent for cleaning brushes only!

And you know what it is AMAZING.  I'll never plein air the same again.  It works SO WELL to just use from-the-tube consistency for the entire painting.  I have seriously never done this before.

I did not do an under-drawing, but I massed in all the basic shapes and worked on top of it.
The tree branches might have needed a little paint-slacking but generally that tube consistency is...... amazing.  It is oil paint feeling like oil paint in a whole different way.

When I was setting up there was someone on the bridge with a bunch of balloons, so I added them in.  It gives a nice pop of color.

8x10 oil on panel, 2 hours

I had company at the bridge.  These Guard Geese hung out with me the whole time.
The bridge is definitely theirs.

They like plein air painters though.