Parklands 4

Parklands 4, watercolor and pastel on watercolor paper, 

6x8 inches

Getting more abstract, and bringing more color into the mix. Just for the fun of it :-)

Parklands 3

Parklands 3, watercolor and pastel on watercolor paper, 

8x8 inches

"Parklands 3" turned out to be a painting/drawing that is gaining with the momentum I am trying to achieve.  I love when a serene and quiet scene has an element that seems to be going at a totally different speed, if you look hard enough.  Not to spell it out but with this scene, it is obviously the foreground. I continue to have fun, looking with an open eye, for ambiguity in a world full of color and shape.

Parklands 2

Parklands 2, watercolor and pastel on watercolor paper, 

8 x8 inches

This photo reference was from a solo hike I did back in December when the weather had been gray for too many days. I got my rump out to explore a relatively new park in the Louisville area.  The only problem -- it was a long drive from where I live.  By the time I arrived I was claustrophobic from being in a car by myself, so I walked for quite a while to shed that feeling. And I took some very serene and still photos.  There wasn't another human to be found, which left the landscape begging for attention. Not a difficult thing for me to do.

The pastel on this drawing became a bit whimsical and active. I'm starting to miss larger scale drawing all of a sudden, despite the fact that I am quite content still with painting small. 

Shoreline

Shoreline, watercolor and pastel on watercolor paper, 

6x8 inches

As my research and exploration continues with pastel, I have discovered an interesting technique that seems to be not altogether uncommon among pastel artist, and that is applying an under painting of watercolor.  I went and bought some new watercolor paper and a few colors and brushes to explore this technique. I stated in the previous post that I  know little about pastels, but I absolutely know NOTHING about watercolor. Luckily, my mistakes won't show as the pastel becomes the top layer. Plus I hope to become looser and more abstract with practice.

Pastel over watercolor adds a beautiful, playful level of layers depending on your method of application (smear or not to smear, that is the question). So far, it has been a lot of fun to "play" with, and I feel it is working for me right now.  It allows me to be out of my cold, basement studio and upstairs at a table where I am quite comfortable.  I can "prep" a drawing by painting in the evenings when I am tired, and then continue working on them in the mornings before leaving for work at my 8-5, with the lively pastel when I am...not tired. 

Just for the record, my watercolor paper is acid-free, cold pressed (140 lb.).  I like the texture so far, but I am still a newbie. I will be working on pastel as long as the weather is cold, or I get bored, whichever comes first :-)  Contact me if you are interested in purchasing. 

French Landscape

French Landscape, pastel on paper, 5x8 inches

I have been looking online at some abstract landscapes done in pastel.  I find myself enlarging sections of them and looking at the layering of color, completely amazed. I have to admit, I have done very little work in pastel, but I have always wanted to learn. So, throwing all caution to the wind, coinciding with me not wanting to paint in my freezing cold studio, I found  a reason to work upstairs again with a new medium. This photo is from my sister's collection of her tour de France back in July, that I had on my list of photos to paint from. It was a simple scene to start a small pastel journey. I left the photo unedited so you can see the small size and the bound sketchpad that I am working on.

Near Sleeping Bear

Near Sleeping Bear, oil on gessobord, 6x8 inches

I declare this my favorite painting I have done so far of over 150 posts !!! I worked for a long time on this one trying to get it  right, and I feel accomplished.  Before I started it though, I had a larger gessobord picked out to paint on. I ended up putting it away feeling intimidated by the jump in size ( I know... I need to jump this hurdle, and soon). Now, all I wish is that I had done a larger version of it. But, it's still my favorite!!

Northern Michigan

Northern Michigan, oil on gessobord, 6x8 inches

With the 30 day challenge over, I gave myself one day off to rest 

(!!).  When I resumed Sunday morning, I literally asked myself what I wanted to paint and the answer was "more Michigan". Even though I normally like the cold, I do believe each of these lake paintings is giving me more sanity to handle the cold, and handle my extremely cold studio (have I mentioned my cold studio :-))

I am learning more about painting light. When I returned to painting back in April/May, I worked on technique and color, which was more difficult for me than I remembered. The muscles were hibernating.   Now, I am trying to continue improving in these areas and expand my ability and focus on light.  Light has such an enormous impact on the viewer. It will always strike a cord or set a mood whether you are viewing work close up or from across the room.