Sound of a Coming Storm, 2014 – Michaela Harlow – Pastel on Deckle Edged Paper, 16″ x 20″

Oh how I love these summer days. Heavy air, charged with electricity. A horizon blurred by thick, July haze. Golden fields still-to-be mown. And then, in late afternoon, blades of grass begin to stir. The sky darkens. Anticipation. Sound of a coming storm.

 A bit of process today. How it usually begins is with a sketch on this heavy-weight, cold-press watercolor paper. It’s for more than watercolor, you know. The paper has great tooth and can handle heavy fixative use.

 And another shot. Drawing lines back into damp pigment after rubbing them out with stump and palette knife and fingers. So many layers. I lost count. But there are windows back to the base. If you look closely, you can see them. And of course, not too heavy. Not too opaque. I try to always preserve some transparency in places to keep it luminous.

  Fan whirring above the work table today. Hot, humid and storms on the horizon.

…