Underpainting Sunlight and Shadow by Maggie Price

"San Simeon Bluff"  pastel by Maggie Price

"As a general rule, on a sunny day, colors in sunlight are lighter in value than colors in shadow. The darkest color in fall sunlight will appear lighter in value than the lightest color in full shadow. This simple method helps you analyze areas of sunlight and shadow, and keep your values (light and dark) and temperature (warm and cool) clear throughout the painting."   This tutorial-demonstration is from the book,"Painting with Pastels" by Maggie Price.

Foothills Snow, Pastel by Maggie Price

Step by step demo by pastel artist and author Maggie Price. Maggie writes: "The subject of this painting is in the foothills of the Sandias, across the valley and up a winding road from where we live. I like the interplay of the high desert foliage against the snow, and in this scene I particularly liked the arroyo, where the snow had already melted and the darker value of the dirt provided a nice warm contrast to the light snow colors. Most of all, my eye was caught by the shadow, which is a major focal point for the painting."