Day two hundred and forty-three: My work this afternoon led me to stare closely at a large pastel by Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917), an activity which led, in turn, to a discussion with my co-worker Sharon about creating art with pastels. I commented that I had never really tried it – even on my digital drawing pad – but that I thought it would take some serious experimentation with the settings to achieve anything close to the rich texture and layers of color set down by Degas. I was right. Rather than attempt to reproduce the entire picture, I decided to try just a small detail of the woman’s arm. Not only did this allow me to play extensively with the vibrant colors and the variety of pastel settings in my painting program, it is much more akin to the view I experienced while gazing deep into the surface of the artwork.
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