This is a waggish take on all those Painting with the Expert shows; I can hardly claim to be an expert pastel painter, as this demonstration will show. If I have any skill, it is in persevering in the face of hideous intermediate results to finally achieve something that is marginally acceptable.

This lesson is about taking inspiration where you find it.

Since I started painting, I've been noticing book jackets more than I used to. For instance, I really like this painting by Mitzura Salgian on the cover of Anne Perry's mystery, Highgate Rise. I like the rainslick streets and the glow of the gaslight.

I've decided to see if I can get the same effect. Since I'm copying someone else's painting, I won't be able to do anything with the results, however good it turns out. But it's a learning experience. (Larger versions of each pic lurk beneath waiting for your click. They will open up in a new window.)

	I place some lines to show me the relative position of the objects in the scene, notably the close lamppost, the far lamppost, the carriage and the big building.
I lay in colors in their approximate places. I decide to ignore the bay window on the building to the far left and seriously simplify the large building across the street.
	I'm using Strathmore 500 charcoal paper, 12x18. This has a significantly different texture than Mi Tientes.
This is the same as above, only I've smudged the color into the paper with my fingers. Isn't it weird how little detail you need to actually convey the concept 'carriage'?
	I put some lights in the various windows. The color has to be smudged back to a reasonable glow; straight pigment is too garish. A few highlights spell out where the wheels are and I add some shading to the building and some reflected light on the wet pavement. The lamp gets a flame.
More highlights and details on the carriage and lamppost. I add a few details on the building to the left, which reflects a gaslight outside our viewpoint, behind the artist. The flash makes this lighter than it actually is, so I adjusted the contrast on this image to show you the true values.

This is where I stop. If I were going to continue, I would darken the darks, straighten up the lamppost, and shine up the reflections to increase the overall contrast of the picture.

Compare with original. Mitzura Salgian clearly is in no danger from me yet.