My easel this morning prior to work.  

An explanation of the board:

I have printed my photo in various tonal, value and color versions.

The faint, foggy version gives me the lost and found edges, and highlights the primary focal point or "star" of this potential painting.

The accurate colors are represented in a photograph which is placed to the right of this.

An ethereal painting by Richard Schmidt is also on the board as a stylistic reference point.

My value sketch and the toned paper are at eye level, with my monitor placed to the right showing a black and white value photo of the scene.

I start to block in some shapes with some light and dark values.  I try to give the whole composition my attention rather than just focusing on a single area.

Next, I have put a field sketch by Richard McKinley up on the board next to my painting.  I was fortunate to obtain this from Richard at a workshop with the Arkansas Pastel Society in Hot Springs last fall.  I have used this painting as a stylistic reference  many times.

It helps me remember to stay light in my application of pastel, and to keep the light moving through the forest.

Roughing the composition in - trying to stay light - building the focal point.

Nearly finished, so will stop for the day.

I'm finding this support difficult to work with.