Day 3.
I made it!  I don't think I have ever painted  3 days in a row!  I have to say I feel like painting every day is already allowing me to learn.  On the way to pick up my son from a friend's house last night, I saw a pretty scene of the lake with some canoes.  Normally, I would keep zooming by and think that would be a great scene to paint.  This time, I stopped, ran out and snapped the shot.  I plan to try and do more of that.  So I gave it a whirl tonight.  I learned to make by distant hill a little darker this time and I also tried graying areas out a bit with a light muted purple- I suppose it is a purple gray.  I also enjoyed using a Girault pastel to glaze over my water.  I recall Marla Bargetta- (I love her work!) recommended Girault's for glazing, so I gave it a whirl and they work great lightly blending on a last layer of color without too much slopping off onto the color beneath.
I still got frustrated making the trees- I feel like they are sloppy and not well done and I am not sure how to rectify that other than to keep trying and reference some of my pastel how-to books.
I listened to Otmar Liebert while painting- very relaxing!
The book  I reading that I LOVE is called Daily Painting by Carole Marine.  It is incredibly well written and loaded with pics and all sorts of tips on how to be a better painter.  I have read about 10-15 pastel/art books so far and this one is one of my favs.