If my goal for the day’s sketch is complicated, it helps a lot to make a preliminary sketch or two. That way I can work through some of the challenges without worrying that I will wreck my work. My preliminary sketches are often in pastel and usually take 5 to 20 minutes. Today’s sketch of a path through a thicket of graceful cottonwood trees at the Telluride Town Park was definitely complex and so I developed this preliminary sketch to use as a guide. Since I did not finish the painting, I am posting the preliminary pastel sketch.