The vibrant colors of these fishing floats were enough to attract my attention, but in addition was the challenge of representing the shiny translucence of the glass balls. I always use sanded papers for my paintings, but when tackling a shiny subject I select a very velvety finished paper such as Pastelmat. The paper holds several layers of pastels, but allows for a very smooth blended surface. I love the juxtaposition of the smooth shiny glass and the rough textured twine around the balls and had fun painting the contrasting textures.
