Illustration Friday- "The Blues"

It's funny how life works sometimes. I've been kicking around ideas for the weekly illustration theme. While doing so, I was slashing loose drawings with these Rembrandt oil pastels. I tried ironing the drawing onto another surface, but it wouldn't transfer. So I drew into it some more. Then I started trimming off edges right and left, till all that remained was the central image. Then a phrase from a discarded library book page surfaced, and fit the image, so it got added. Oh, OK, so it is The Blues. I was trying way too hard. When I slowed down it caught me.

Marching on, into Muddy Waters

I joined Wet Canvas, and thought I'd better just work with what's at hand, so hauled out these Rembrandt oil pastels.
It can only get better from here, judging from these beginnings. I put some gesso on the page first. Of course I know I ought to be using a real support: one of the expensive sounding papers, or masonite but consider it my freeing-up exercise.

Tonight there were spectacular sunsets across the valley, but still enough heat to keep birds gathered underneath a nearby palm.