5th Art Trail Contest entry. Color Challenge: Orange Tuesday - Pastel #3

Combining 3 challenges into one for this piece; intended primarily for the 5th Art Trail contest

Nude
Pastel #3
24x18
06/13/2017
Pastel

This week my plan is to produce one pastel a day. I was planning on drawing the flowers outside this morning but I do not have the right colors. I went onto Steemit and remembered this weeks art trail contest, so I decided to do that as my pastel for today. I was considering sending a nude I had already done, but I want to utilize these challenges to improve my skills, so I created an original piece, beginning early this morning and ending roughly around noon.

There is a very cool Reddit called "Sketch Daily" that I used as a reference. http://reference.sketchdaily.net/en/ They are timed for up to 10 minute sketches but you can download the images if you need more time. They had some beautiful, classic pornography images on there that I was considering working with, but I chose this particular image because it seemed an interesting composition of fun shapes, with a cheerful, likable subject.

I like looking at the untouched paper in these so here you go. Not sure I should have set up this way because my pastels slid on the floor at one point. Messy messy.

So I just start in with abandon. I tend to dislike my nudes when everything is too organized and thought out, so I just go in with the brown and grey and decide where things are going to be.

I start getting frustrated because I wanted both feet in the image but I would have to move my lovely composition to make it look right. I remembered the color challenge so I grabbed an orange stick and went to war.

Slowly I rearranged my design to my satisfaction.

Now we start getting to the end zone and I have to start making tough decisions. What should I smooth out or correct? What should I leave vague and pastelly? Should I add this, take out that? Are there any last minute details that will improve the composition. At what point am I; an artist that is never really finished; " Done for now".?

I take off a little here, add some shadow and some white and work in the corners. Ok...letting it go out into the world, hope the world is kind.

Thank you again for organizing this project. I cannot wait to click the tag after posting this to see all the great entries. :) Dania