Catching the Light at Central Park, NYC

I know the light is going to hit the back, before it shifts. So I start off by applying  a wash of luminous yellow green for the underpainting. The flowers in the front are in the shade, I have plenty of time to work on the foreground.

This #3 Kolinsky sable brush is just right for the flickering leaves.

The difficult part is to see if I can create just the right balance of lights & darks from the setting sun.

For speed, nothing beats a few strokes of pastel over watercolor.

Pastel is the perfect medium for a quick application of colors.