Warner Creek Winter Reflections

   Warner Creek flows south along a rock wall that catches light only in the mornings. The low angle of winter light makes beautiful reflections along the cliff at this time of year. When the trees are leafy, the area is very shady but in winter it is bright and full of color.
   This pastel was started a while ago but I knew it had some problems. After Christmas several unfinished pastels, or ones that I was just not happy with, were taken out, set up where I could look them over and get comments from others as they walked by, and maybe finish. This was one of them.

   The dark areas need some softening. The reflections in the water and beautiful colors in the snow shadows were the reasons I was interested in the scene. The dark cliffs were distracting and the trees were a bit stark. A few careful changes brought it to a place I'm more happy with.

The trees, cliff and bridge are not competing with the water at this point. I might try this scene in oils and see what happens. The exposure on each of these photos is slightly different. Improving my photography skills is on the 'to do' list!