Recent Landscape Pastel Paintings

This is one of my latest efforts in pastel landscapes called "Pretty in Pink". It depicts a scene from Yellowstone National Park, though not the picture that national treasure usually brings to mind. Yellowstone is not all geysers and paint pots. The northeastern quadrant along Blacktail Plateau Drive between Mammoth and Tower Roosevelt is a beautiful area in August when the firepinks are in full bloom. This painting is 18"x24" and is on Wallis paper.
"Pagosa Sky" comes from a hike to Four Mile Falls just north of Pagosa Springs, CO. I liked the diagonals working in the clouds and the meadow. The painting is 18"x 24" and is on Wallis paper. Hey Mont, recognize yourself?
This small 8"x10" pastel is from a trip to Sky Valley, GA last fall. I used the reference photo in a Maggie Price workshop to experiment with underpainting. I used 4-5 different values of purple to paint in the scene getting the values correct, and then came in with the appropriate object colors. The underpainting helps lend continuity to the overall picture.

Great news!!

I had a nice surprise in my mailbox today. I found I had 2 paintings accepted into the Richeson 75:Landscape, Seascape and Exteriors 2008. The pieces accepted are "Sugar Cane Blues" and "Sept-ember". The first painting is shown in my July 27 post and the second in the July 25 post. I am pleased and excited as this is an international competition. The exhibit is open September 12-November 4 in Kimberly, WI. Yes, I have a smile on my face right now.

More Pastel Paintings

This piece is called "Sugar Cane Blues " and it has been a winner for me. It is from a picture I took on a trip to Haiti in 1984. I won first prize in the Appalachian Pastel Society and 2nd place in both the Lake Norman Art League and Mooresville Artist Guild Shows.

"Max Patch Trail" shows the view from the Appalachian Trail in this section of North Carolina near Hot Springs. It is 11 x 14" on Amersand Pastel Board. The photo was not great so I used the opportunity to add to it-like all the clouds in the sky and the atmosphere in the distant mountains.

A spot on the coast of Wales provides the inspiration for this painting. I found the design and the texture of the rocky coast of interest. This pastel is called "Isle of Fecundity" and is 12" x 18" on Wallis paper.

Putting a Human Face on it

Pastels are a verstile medium. I decided to try adding figures to some paintings.


This piece is called "Wo Sind Wir?" or "Where Are We?" I've used a technique of underpainting with the complementary color to give an area "pop". For example, the green jacket in the foreground figure was first underpainted with red, then I used green pastels rubbed lightly over the surface so the background color shows through. This painting is 12" x 16" and is on Wallis paper. It won an honorable mention in the Fall 2008 Piedmont Pastel Society Show juried by Maggie Price.

"Baguette Brunch" was an exercise in doing a portrait. It is 9" x 12" and was painted on Ampersand Pastel Board.

These Colors Aren't Pastel, Are They?

I wanted to experiment with using my pastels in a looser, more colorful way. How could I use less detail, but still show the viewer what I wanted to show? See what you think.

"Luminous Flux" won 3rd prize in the Mooresville Artist Guild's spring show in 2007. It sold at their Blue Moon Ball fundraiser.

This piece is called "Sept-Ember". It is 8" x 10" and is done on Wallis paper. My son asked, "Why are the trees blue?"

"Nap at Logan Pass" is a colorful piece that was chosen as a purchase award in the Lake Norman Art League's fall show in 2007.

This small (5" x 7") painting was entered in the Lake Norman Art League's postcard contest sponsored in part by the Arts and Sciences Council. I was awarded an honorable mention.

Beached for the Winter

This painting was done for a poster contest, Boats of Lake Norman, put together by the Lake Norman Art League and sponsored by ASC North. I was juried into the poster along with about 9 other artists. The poster and the original paintings were exhibited in local venues as well as in the Christa Faut Gallery in Cornelius. This painting was also accepted into the North Carolina Pastel Society's juried show in 2007. It sold at that show.

Pastel Landscapes

These are some of my earlier pastel paintings. I have been hiking and camping in a number of national parks and wilderness areas and these places provide many beautiful landscapes to paint just a little off the beaten track.


"Autumn Passage " shows a point on the trail to Spence Field in the Smoky Mountains National Park. It is 20" x 24" on Canson paper. This piece won 2nd place in the Mooresville Artist Guild's spring show in 2006. It was also juried into the North Carolina Pastel Society's show in 2007.

"Rocky Mountain Vista" was painted from a camping trip to the southern Rockies with the Sierra Club. I like the cool of the distant mountains and sky compared to the warmth of the golden grasses in the foreground. The painting is 19" x 26" on Canson paper.

"Alpine Afternoon" originates from the same Rocky Mt. camping trip as the painting above. It is 9" x 12" on Wallis paper.


This painting depicts the River Taff that flows through Cardiff, Wales. Many years ago I had a scholarship to spend a year there studying medical photography. I used to ride my bicycle along this path to get to the hospital where I was training.

Paintings from St. Georges Island

All of these paintings came from a wonderful trip we took with family to St. Georges Island in Canada. Margaret and Randy were incredible hosts. I have more images to work from.... This painting is called "St. Georges Summer" and is 17.5" x 23.5 " on Canson paper.

This is called "Morning at St. Georges" and I've made notecards as gifts for family and friends from this image. It also hangs in our host's house.

"Call of the Loon"

This is an 18" x 24" pastel painting on Wallis paper called "Rock Cove".

Shell Game

It is amazing the things you can find right there in your house that make good subject matter for a painting. This pastel is done on Wallis paper and is 18" x 18" in size.

Symbiosis

This pastel is a foray into the still life genre. I have mostly painted landscapes but this plant arrangement in my house had some interesting shapes and colors.