Low Country Palm Trees

'Palm View' 12x16 pastel

I will leave you with this Low Country Palm painting. I will be back to posting next Saturday when I return from my Creighton Island painting adventure. I hope I get lots and photographs and finished paintings to share!

Announcing the 1st Annual Open Studio Art Sale

of the Vanishing Image Painters

If you are in the Atlanta, Georgia area on Saturday November 10th I'd love for you to stop by. We will feature the paintings of three local artists... myself, Jayne Bachman and Holly Brinkley. There will be framed and unframed pastel paintings in all price ranges. It will be a wonderful opportunity to purchase original art....which makes great holiday gifts! The sale will be from 10 am until 4:00pm.

Happy Halloween...a bit early!

'The Raven' 5x7 pastel

I painted this Raven from a photo I took of a pair of ravens at Arches National Park. I thought he looked like a good subject for Halloween...and since I will be away next week I am posting him early. I was so taken with the ravens on this trip to the southwest. At the Grand Canyon there were hundreds of them riding the thermals over the canyon. I wanted to buy a souvenir and the only thing they had was a big raven puppet....very realistic and actually kind of spooky. He is now my studio mascot.

A Content Siamese Cat

'Contentment' 5x7 pastel

I love to paint this cat! I haven't painted him larger than 5x7 though. Only 2 more days until my Creighton Island Adventure! I am all packed and just have a few odds and ends to take care of. The weather was looking iffy but today the extended forecast is looking better. I always have the whole range of weather whenever I travel and I always make the best out of any weather condition so this trip will be no different. I will be posting Thursday and Friday then not again until next Friday as there is no internet on the island!

A Pile of Pears

'Pile of Pears' 8x10 pastel

We are going to be painting fruit tonight in class so I thought I'd get some practice with these pears. I had fun with these trying a new technique I read about in Bill Creevy's Pastel Book. He has all kinds of interesting things to try with pastels and other materials. For this one, I used pastel pencils at the end to make some lines/scratches on my pears...click the photo to get a closer look. The best pencil was actually a broken one the just scratched and exposed the under layers. I will be trying this again!

Fall Colors Birch Trees

'Fall Color' 8x10 pastel

I had a little time this afternoon...a dark rainy day and everyone fast asleep! I decided to paint a quick fall scene. Both Aspens and Birches are my favorite trees so I couldn't pass up this Autumn birch scene.(from the wetcanvas image library) This is on Lacarte paper with an assortment of Terry Ludwig and Great American pastels.

Sleeping Cat Pastel Painting

'Cat Nap' 8x10 pastel

I wasn't planning on painting today. I had so much to do to get ready for my trip next week...but I happened to see this photo of my cat, Jazzpurr and I couldn't resist. I cut a piece of my trusty LaCarte paper...my favorite for animals...and set to work. It was a fun and relaxing painting to do.

UPDATE....I promised I would let you know when I received word about my exhibit at the Art Station, Mountain View. I will be showing with 6 other artists next September 2008. (at least I have plenty of time to get ready!) The show is called "Seven of seven" and we each will hang seven paintings in the show. I am excited about this opportunity!

Cloudy Day at the Marsh

'Quiet' 8x10 pastel

I just remember the peace and quiet while painting at this location. There was the sound of a slight breeze whispering across the grasses and the call of birds....nice peaceful sounds.

Jayne, Holly and I met today and had a very productive day making plans for our first open studio sale in November. I am in the process of making a blog for our little group...so more on that to come!

Trees in the Marsh

'Friendship' 5x7 pastel

Here is a little marsh painting I did on Ampersand Pastelbord. I am really enjoying working on this surface! I didn't like the first version so I brushed the whole thing out and started over. I only wish they weren't so heavy. I want to bring them on my painting trip but put several of these together and they are heavy!

Sanibel Island Stormy Day

'Approaching Storm' 5x7 pastel

The Gulf is usually calm off the Sanibel coast but on this visit we experienced a tropical storm so it was rough and very windy. I really didn't mind the break from the hot sun and the treasure washed ashore after the storm made it all worthwhile. I actually found a beautiful little Lion's Paw shell!

Monochromatic Marsh!

'Violet' 8x10 pastel

Last night at class we worked on using a limited palette on a simple composition. We could choose a monochromatic, complimentary or anagolous color scheme. I chose monochromatic using what else but purples! It was a fun exercise and really made me think about something that has been in the back of my mind anyway. I really want to be able to take a scene and be able to apply different color palettes...not always just what I am seeing. We tend to get comfortable with our favorite colors and I want to be able to do something different sometimes! So I will be practicing more. Today I did about 15 very quick color studies using different color schemes...I plan on doing more of these. I think it will be very helpful. In the meantime....my daughter likes the purple marsh and wants it for her room!

Some Good News

I came home from class last night to some good news in my inbox. I had these two paintings accepted into a juried exhibition at the Art Alliance of Georgia Art Center in Woodstock, Georgia. The show will be November 3-December 1, 2007 with the opening reception on November 3rd. (I will be just getting back from Creighton Island).
That was a productive visit to the Southeastern Pastel Society meeting in September where I picked up the brochure for this show as well as the Art Place 2008 gallery schedule into which I was also accepted! Good news is always nice! Now I have to get packing for Creighton Island!

Sunflower Close Up

'Summer's End' 8x10 pastel

I couldn't resist painting a sunflower today. Thank you to Lisilk for the great reference photo in the wetcanvas.com image library. She always has shots that speak to me. I got some new books today that I can't wait to curl up and read. One is Bill Creevy's Pastel Book. I can't believe I never got that one. I want to try some of his techniques...especially the ones with fixative. I also got a book called 'Portrait of an Island' by Mildred & John Teal. It's about the natural history of Sapelo Island which is a Barrier Island off the Georgia coast close to Creighton Island where I will be painting in two weeks! I love books like that...I always like to know as much as possible about the places I visit. It makes the experience so much richer.

Today's Painting....a Dragonfly!

'Blue' 5x7 pastel

I am really enjoying this Dragonfly series. They are really very beautiful and interesting. Wouldn't a large dragonfly paintng be cool??? I really need to order a set of the Great American pearlesent pastels. I am just trying to think of how else I will use them....butterflies, flowers even seashells would sparkle with these...Ok I convinced myself!
News Flash! I just received notice that I have been accepted into the Art Place at Mountain View's 2008 Gallery Show schedule. I don't have the details yet about my show date or who I will be showing with but I am honored and excited by the recognition. I will keep you posted when I get the details.

Snowy Egret Miniature Pastel

'The Morning Stroll' 2.5x3.5 pastel

I painted this miniature Snowy Egret painting last week. I like the colors of the sea in this one so I think I will do a larger version. This is Ernie....the Snowy Egret who likes to hang out at the Waterside Inn on Sanibel Island. I missed seeing Ernie this summer....maybe we will get a chance to visit in December when we head down to Florida for a wedding.

click here to bid on this painting

Low Country Live Oak Tree

'Southern Beauty' 16x20 pastel

Our Creighton Island paintng trip is getting close and I wanted to try some moss covered oak trees for practice. I had a piece of Canson board in burgandy that I though I might as well use. I am not a big fan of canson paper but I thought maybe the thicker board would be better....well I was wrong! It was the wrong side of the paper (which is actually what canson considers to be the right side) So I fought with all those dimples the whole time. If you enlarge the photo you can see the texture of the paper. I'd like to try another tree on a different surface. I spent the day today getting the rest of my trip supplies..a new sleeping bag and lantern and some fleece paints. I want to be ready for all kinds of weather!

Path to the Beach

'Beach Therapy' 18x24 pastel

Every time we walk along a beach some ancient urge disturbs us so that we find ourselves shedding shoes and garments or scavenging among seaweed and whitened timbers like the homesick refugees of a long war.

-Loren Eiseley

I seem to be in a beach painting mood this week for some reason! I don't usually paint large but I had some time last night so I took out one of the few big pieces of Art Spectrum paper I have left in my stash and did this beach path. I did a simple underpainting with nupastels...sprayed it with water and spread the pastels with a sponge brush. The idea was so cover the paper so I wouldn't have to use too many layers of my soft pastels....so I left a lot of the underpainting showing through. I discovered that this method works great on this paper and I think I like it again!!!

Low Country Dune Sunrise

'Daybreak' 8x10 pastel

What a treat it is to stay near the beach. One of my favorite things to do is get up early, make my coffee and go walk the beach looking for treasures. Even better is to be able to share the experience with friends who enjoy the same thing. That's what Jayne, Holly and I did on our trip to Harbor Island, South Carolina last fall. I would love to go back again!

Little Siamese Cat Painting

'Siamese if You Please' 5x7 pastel

We are Siamese if you please......We are Siamese if you don't please .....We are from a residence of Siam........ There is no finer cat than I am !

I had a request for more Siamese Cat paintings and since they are my favorite cat to paint , I was happy to oblige. Now I can't seem to get the Siamese Cat song from Lady & the Tramp out of my head! I want that for my ring tone!

Nags Head Outer Banks, North Carolina

'Stormy Dunes' 16x20 pastel on board

Here is the finished painting of Nags Head dunes. I was there a few years ago and the weather was the same so it was fun to use this reference photo....it took me back to a wonderful vacation on the Outer Banks. The house we rented was called Moon Dune and the view from our deck was very similar. I'd love to go back and paint on that deck! This painting is done on a 16x20 PastelBord which is a new surface for me to work on. I really enjoyed it and best of all it is so easy to frame...I put it in a 16x20 frame right against the glass and it looks great! See the post below this for more about this painting.

New Beach Painting

I thought I'd share a photo of my latest painting on the easel to give you an idea of how I work. The painting is a scene from Nags Head, Outer Banks North Carolina. The reference photo was sent to me by a collector who thought I might enjoy painting it. They were right! It was a great scene to paint. The colors of the sea oats were so beautiful and that stormy sky was wonderful! Thank you and thank you to the photographer as well. For this painting I used Pastelbord which is a coated masonite surface. It allowed me to play with the clouds, spraying them with water, letting it dry and adding even more layers! Fun! You can see in this photo I taped the board to a larger piece of foamcore so I could paint all the way to the edges. I also did a small color study. You can also see the pastels I used for the painting...about 40 total and a mixture of Terry Ludwigs, Great Americans and Giraults for the grasses.

Sheep Pastel Painting

'Heads or Tails' 8x10 pastel

A friend and fellow artist sent me some wonderful sheep photos. She lives near a farm and was able to take some great photos of these guys. Thanks Wanda! I am going to have fun painting from these photos. Here is my first painting. I had to decide where to crop and I kind of liked the one sheep's backside next to the other two. It was fun to paint something whimsical!

Southwest Landscape

'Winter Colors' 19x27 pastel

Here is a change of scenery from my usual marsh scenes. I did this painting a few weeks ago as an experiement with bold colorful underpaintings. It is done on a full sheet of Art Spectrum paper which really isn't my favorite but it worked well for the underpainting. I just blocked in areas of color and put the paper on the floor and squirted it with water. Then I brushed in the colors using a foam brush. I really didn't add to much to the painting...just a few quick layers of pastel.

Autumn Marsh Practice

'Early Afternoon' 8x10 pastel

It's fun to try to paint the many moods of the marsh. On this particular day I was treated to all kinds of weather. It started out cloudy and then the wind picked up, blew the clouds away and ended in a picture perfect blue-sky day! I am getting so excited to get back to the marshes and the scenery on Creighton Island....a Barrier Island off the Georgia coast. I am also excited to report that we've booked a cruise for January. We got a great deal for a ship that leaves from Charleston...so no long drive to Florida this time! I haven't been to Cozumel since I started painting so I can't wait to spend the day at Nachi Cocum painting and lounging on the beach. (not sure if I spelled that right)

Dragonfly #3 sold

'Jewels at the Pond' 5x7 pastel

Here is my third Dragonfly painting. I never realized just how many beautiful colors these dragonflies are. I found many reference photos in the wetcanvas library. Thank you to the talented photographers for their great photos!

Another Dragonfly sold

Deep in the sun-searched growths the dragonflyHangs like a blue thread loosened from the sky.~Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Silent Noon

I had a great response to my recent dragonfly painting and I have a commission for two more. For this one, I recropped my reference photo and tried a horizontal format. I will post the second one next. This painting is 5x7 on LaCarte paper.

North Carolina Country Landscape

'In the Summer Fields' 10x10 pastel

I took the reference photo for this painting up near my parent's home in Murphy North Carolina. I loved the old barn nestled in the field of Queen Anne's Lace. I painted this while listening to a Django Reinhardt CD. Ever since Jayne had one playing in her car when we were in the North Georgia Mountains, I associate his music with the countryside! Isn't it funny how music can do that?

Dragonfly Pastel Painting sold

'At the Pond' 5x7 pastel

I've been wanting to paint this dragonfly for awhile. I took his photo at the gardens in South Carolina...It wasn't easy catching one still enough for a photo! I painted his wings with a pearlescent Great American pastel. It really sparkles nicely in real life. I'd like more of these pastels...I'll put that on my wish list!

Autumn Salt Marsh

'A Beautiful Day' 10x8 pastel on board

Here is today's painting...another one in my 30 minute series. This one is on gessoed gatorboard which is so nice for these quick studies. I need to spend time this weekend preparing more boards. The texture of the pumice & gesso works great as marsh grasses without me painting every blade of grass.

Blue Sky Day

'Blue Sky Day' 8x10 pastel

One of the things I'd like to do with my paintings is to simplify more. I'd like to be able to look at a complicated scene and just put in what's important and let the viewer fill in the rest. That's not as easy to do as it might seem! This painting is approaching what I have in mind. I'll be working on this goal in the coming weeks.