Mirror Lake in the Uintas

Mirror Lake

It has been really hard this summer to find time to draw. There always seems to be someone who needs me, and I haven't made it down to my art room in awhile.  Until the past few days. When I finally was at the end of my sanity, I locked myself in my room for just one hour, and started this drawing. I felt SO much better afterwards. It was amazing. I could deal with all the things going on again and didn't feel so overwhelmed. Lesson to myself - drawing is therapy and I need to get proper doses of it.  Because I have done so many portraits lately, I decided to take a break and do something totally fun with no pressure. I wasn't kidding when I said I thought landscapes would be easier. I can't believe how much easier they seem. That being said, I see things I want to change or try next time, now that I am looking at this, but it was kind of a free exercise to see what I could do with my newer pastels and all of the techniques I have learned.  And, strangely enough, some of the techniques I learned for portraits helped with this. 

It took me a few days of locking myself in my room to get this done, but I did it. This is from a photo of Mirror Lake in the Uintas.  I took the photo 3 years ago and have wanted to draw it for a long time. I think it was a good one to try. 

Now I just have to decide what is next.  Portrait, landscape, or something else?