Pastel Art

A trip to the California coast inspired "Morrow Bay Saturday". It was sprinkling when we first passed this spot. The sun came out when we got to the parking lot and I ran back and captured the scene in sunlight.

I learned how to make my own textured boards in a Susan Ogilvie workshop. This painting and the following one were done "en plein air" at Anne Springs Close greenway in South Carolina.

The San Juan mountains near Pagosa Springs, CO are the subject of this 8 x 10 pastel on textured gator board. It is a simple piece, but don't you just want to walk out into the meadow?

Still More Paintings

Evening Shadows is a scene near my house. I am attracted to landscapes with strong light and shadow. In the photograph there is little detail in the shadow areas; they are essentially black. But because I have seen this area many times, I know that this same shadow area is full of color and detail, though muted. It is my favorite section of the painting.

Yet More Paintings

The light and shadow patterns with intense fall colors make for a dramatic scene. This painting is on Wallis paper and is 8"x10".

Point Lobos Fog is from a family trip to the California coast. I figured out why there are so many plein air painters out there-what a plethora of scenes to paint! This was done in the studio back home and is 18"x24" on Wallis paper.

New Post with New Paintings

Lake Norman's shores are red clay, so on windy days the water takes on a reddish hue. It makes for a good fall painting. I've used my favorite Wallis paper, this time a white paper which I underpainted with the complementary color to the object color.

This small 8"x10" pastel began in one of Maggie Price's workshops, but I got very little done on it during the allotted time. Back at home I pulled it out and began using line to add color and form with no blending.

Local Color

This sycamore tree is being undercut by the waters of Lake Norman, so the painting is called "Jetton Park Holdout". We have red clay around here, hence the red tint to the water. It is on green Canson paper and is 12"x18".

Autumn Leaves 2 is from a series of photos taken of colorful fall leaves. The black background gives a lot of pop to the bright colors. It is done on Wallis paper and is 8"x10'.

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.