Happy New Year!

'Tiny Treasures #1' and 'Tiny Treasures #2' 5x7 pastel

Wishing all of my readers a very Happy and Creative New Year! Thank you all for your support and encouragement in 2007. I appreciate it very much! I have written down my goals and plans for 2008 and I will share them with you in the coming days. Today's post is one of my homework assignments....painting with just white, black and gray. I got to use my new set of Great American Grays for the bottom painting. The top painting is the same nest only in color. It is painted on Ampersand Pastelbord. The black & white painting is on Wallis paper.

Lavender Fields

'Purple Haze' 7x5 pastel

I had a relaxing Sunday. I started packing for our upcoming Caribbean cruise. It's fun to take out your shorts and bathing suits when it is cold and rainy outside. Then I spent the afternoon painting with Jayne and Holly. I did this little lavender field. It's from one of my photos I took at the Purple Haze Lavender farm in Sequim Washington. You don't need to go to France if you want to paint lavender! I also did my black and white homework assignment which I will post next. I wish there was more time to paint all that inspires me. I am full of ideas but there just isn't enough time!

Playing with Color...Sunset Marsh

'Fiery Marsh' 10x8 pastel

I had some fun with color and intensified the colors of this sunset over the marsh. I had to try my new Terry Ludwig sunset selection. The colors are wonderful in this set. Today I spent the entire day organizing my studio. It was a warm day so it was pleasant in the studio. I think I am organized for the new year now!

Sunflowers and Daisies

What could be more fun than paintng two of my favorite flowers...sunflowers and daisies! This painting is 7x5 on belgium mist Wallis paper. I have some more sunflower arrangements I want to paint and can't decide what size to paint them. I want to experiment with different color vases and background colors too. Maybe I'll do them as minis. I also want to try painting a cat large...16x20 to get myself in the mode of big animals for the pet portraits I will be working on next week.

Georgia Coast Marsh

'Shark Tooth Point' 8x10 pastel

Today I wanted to try a paintng on a piece of Wallis paper in Belgium Mist. I just got a new pack. I haven't painted on the belgium mist since the Albert Handell workshop. Albert encouraged me to paint on white. He said it would make my colors more vibrant. I have used white ever since. But I felt like a change so here is a marsh scene on the belguim mist.

I wanted to thank Miki Willa for nominating me for Katherine Tyrell's Best Painting on a Blog Award. I love Katherne's blog 'Making a Mark'. She does wonderful work and always has something good to share with her readers. I am honored to be nominated and though I didn't make the final five...it is still a great honor to be included with some fantastic artists! You can still vote for your favorite. Check out Katherine's Blog here.

Haybales in the Snow

'Georgia Snow' 8x10 pastel

No we didn't have a white Christmas here in Georgia. This painting is from a photo I found in the wet canvas reference image labrary. I have painted haybales in the spring and summer so I wanted to try a winter scene! I haven't painted in a few days so hopefully I will have some time tomorrow to get dusty!

Some Hydrangeas..Floral

'Hydrangeas' 8x10 pastel

Here is a bit of color for a winter day. I painted these flowers over the weekend from a photo...I wish I had a nice arrangement of Hydrangeas...they are one of my favorite flowers. I had a very nice relaxing Christmas with my family. We went up to the mountains and it rained all day....a bit cooler and it would have been a white Christmas this year! Now I need to get painting. I am planning on starting two dog commissions and I do want to paint with my new acrylics too.

A Sweet Holiday Greeting!

'Sweet tooth' 5x7 pastel

Wishing all of my friends, family and blog visitors a wonderful Holiday Season! Thank you for making a stop by my blog a part of your routine. I have enjoyed sharing my work and getting to know many of you this year!

Winter Sunset

'Winter Sunset' 5x7 pastel

Here is a little one I painted Friday night at Jayne's. I also painted some flowers which I will be posting next week. I am late posting today because I was on a marathon 12 hour shopping excursion with my sister! I had a few last minute things to buy but we went everywhere! I am tired tonight! I did get some more brushes and paper for my stay-wet palette so I will try that next week sometime.

Low Country Marsh...Acrylic!

'Peaceful Morning' 12x16 acrylic on canvas

Christmas seems to have come early for me this year! I wanted to try acrylics so I bought a few tubes and some brushes. I made time today to play with them and painted this marsh scene and another small beach dune scene. It's very interesting to try a new medium. You get so used to your materials and how they work. This really made me think! I do need to figure out a better palette. I had a tray but the mixing area was too small so that was frustrating. I had some trouble with photographing the painting. In real life the colors are warmer. It was a fun experience. If only there were more hours in the day for me to do all that I want to do!

Winter Landscape Pastel

'Through the Woods' 11x14 pastel

I debated about saving this painting for my Christmas post but I seem to be on a 'winter' roll and have a couple more snow scenes I want to paint. I think this can qualify for my 'cool color' painting on my pastel homework list. I did this on an Ampersand Pastelbord with a watercolor underpainting. This board was very rough and grainy which was strange because most of the boards I've used have been much smoother. I do like how it takes an underpainting though!

Tabby Cat Pastel Painting

'Deep in Thought' 7x5 pastel

At least it seems as though my cat Jennifur is deep in thought. She is usually quite alert even when at rest. She's a very smart little cat. I have her trained now to the sound of me making my evening mug of hot chocolate ( a bad habit!) She likes a squirt of whipped cream so now when she hears the kettle whistle at night she comes running. How can I refuse her!

Yellow Naped Amazon Parrot

I had a special request for a painting of an Amazon parrot. I love to paint birds of all kinds and it was fun to use some of my bright greens on this beautiful guy. Now I am in the mood for a moody landscape. It is dreary and gray here in Marietta today and even though we don't have snow, it sure does feel like a snowy day. I might just try to paint a snowy landscape.

Welcome to my Studio!

We are having a virtual Studio Tour Day on the Daily Painter's website. I actually do have a nice large studio but since it isn't heated it tends to become a storage room in the colder months. I just run in and get what I need or put something away and run back out! So you can imagine it gets pretty unorganized until a warm day when I can go out and straighten it up! I find I do most of my painting in this little corner of my basement. I have an easel I keep set up but for smaller paintings I paint right at my desk. I know it looks totally unorganized but I do have a system and believe it or not I know where everything is! I definitely have a storage problem with my pastels but looking at the top photo I just had a brainstorm! I need my dad to make me another big box and I can stack them when I am not painting. I hope you enjoyed a look into my little painting corner!

Fall at the Seashore

'Fall at the Seashore' 8x10 pastel

I wanted to do a beach scene today and this one just called out to be painted. A perfect combination of two of the things I most enjoy painting.....weeds and beaches. Well I wouldn't really consider them weeds though there are some who don't care for the Seaside Goldenrod. I think they add a nice touch of Fall to the seashore.

Miniature Sunflower Painting

'A Dose of Sunshine' 3.5 x 2.5 pastel

Here is a dose of sunshine on this dreary winter day. This is a mini painting I did yesterday. I painted a bunch of them to give to my family for Christmas. I like the colors in this so I think I might try it larger. That's why I love minis....you get to work out a painting before going larger. Today I had a very nice Sunday. I met with clients and their dogs to discuss some pet portraits. I am excited to be able to paint 16x20 portraits of their beautiful dogs...a greyhound and an adorable Jack Russell Terrier. Then I painted with Jayne and Holly and we were all productive. Both Jayne and Holly painted dogs and they were fantastic!

Scratch Art Feather

I finally had a chance to play with the new scratchboard and tools that I bought last week. True to form, I jumped right in without doing any kind of practice or reading on scratchboard methods. This feather is the result. In hindsight there are things I would do differently but it was a fun learning experience and I will definitely do some more. Next time I will print out my reference photo in black and white. I think that will be a big help. I should probably do some practice pages just playing with the tools to see what they really can do. But that wouldn't have been fun for my first time! I am too impatient sometimes. This piece is 5x7 on Ampersand Claybord. I added the color with water color washes.

Eye Candy! New Pastels!

Yes, Santa came early for me this year with a delivery today of some new Terry Ludwig pastels. I was like a kid in a candy shop opening up these boxes! I can't wait to play with them. In case you are interested...this is what I ordered. At the top are the two sets of Intense Darks. Next is a set of Assorted...Terry's choice. I love this set. There are several colors I have not seen before including some wonderful pinks and blues! At the bottom is the Sunset set...I love all of those colors! I shouldn't have a problem doing a 'warm' painting with this set! Now the only problem is there is no room in my box for these! I also have a new set of Great American Greys that won't fit either. I guess it's time for a redo of my box!

Poinsettia Time!

'Pointsettia 2007' 5x7 pastel

I painted a similar pointsettia last Christmas so I thought it would be fun to do another one this year. Maybe I can use this for one of my homework assignments...we are supposed to do a warm paintng and a cool one. I might do this in cool colors like blues and purples. I hope I have time this weekend to get out my oil paints...I feel like trying a marsh scene with oils.

Island Relaxation.....Sanibel

'Island Relaxation' 12x16 pastel

The Waterside Inn on Sanibel Island has the best location....right on the beach! The beachfront is lined with coconut palm trees. When I am there I feel like I have been transported to a Caribbean island. In fact, this stretch of beach reminds me of a stay we had on Barbados several years ago.

Siamese Cat in the Studio

'Studio Cat' 5x7 pastel

I love the colors of a seal point siamese cat...so much so that I decorated my studio with the same colors. These colors relax and inspire me. Speaking of colors....I just ordered some new Terry Ludwig pastels....they are on sale. I got the sunset set, the 60 piece darks (you can't have enough of those!) and a 60 piece assorted grab bag set. I got a grab bag set last year and had so much fun using new and different colors.

Southern Palms Plein Air

'Southern Palms' 10x8 pastel

Here is one of my plein air painitngs from Creighton Island. There were the most wonderful palm trees on the island...totally natural and ungroomed. I took many reference photos of these palms for future paintings. I am getting into the 'cruise' mode now with our annual January cruise just a month away. I have to put together a plein air pastel kit to take with me so some Caribbean practice paintings are on my list of things to paint!

Great Egret

'The Great Egret' 7x5 pastel

Here is a small study of Great Egret. What a beautiful and proud bird! I love his delicate plumes....the ones that were once so coveted for ladies hats. I am not sure what I want to paint next...I am working on a few ideas so stay tuned!

Tabby Cat Miniature Painting

Here is a miniature painting of my sweet Tabby cat Jennifur. It measures 2.5 x 3.5 inches. Jenny is a tiny cat but she has a big attitude. She thinks she is as big as the other cats in the house. She likes to cuddle on my lap on the weekends while I drink my coffee and browse the internet. I like the close-up view of Jenny and I think I'd like to do a similar view in a larger format.

Miniature Pastel Paintings

Just in time for the Holidays! These little paintings make great gifts. You can find small frames for them or mat them and put them in larger frames for a bigger impact. Each painting measures 2.5 x 3.5 inches. I do these small paintings for color studies for larger paintings or sometimes just for a change of pace. I will be listing them in my Ebay store on auction this week in case you would like to bid on one.

Golden Marsh

'Golden Marsh' 12x16 pastel

Jayne suggested I keep a log of the stories behind my commissions because they would make a good book! This is definitely one for the book. I had the pleasure of doing this painting for a sea captain who was holed up in the Georgia marshes during a hurricane. He fell in love with the beauty and peacefulness of the marsh and wanted a painting as a reminder of that time. I had painted a similar scene but he requested that the grasses be more golden.

Today I am working on some miniature paintings. I also went to Dick Blicks with Corey and we bought some art supplies to experiment with. We bought a set of gouache colors and scratchboards and tools. I've been wanting to try scratchboard for awhile so we'll see how that goes!

Golden Retriever Pastel Painting

'Tucker' 8x10 pastel

I am discovering that doing pet portraits can be a challenging experience. Of course the first obstacle is trying to capture a likeness from an often times bad photo. For this painting of Tucker, my client was thrilled that I captured his look and his face....but she was very concerned about all the colors she saw in his fur....why did I use purple and green!!! He's a light tan colored dog! She also didn't like the background color and I didn't even think to ask in advance what color she wanted! Oh well, lessons learned. Now I have to decide whether I will 'fix' this painting for her or just try it again.

Mountain Wildflowers

'Mountain Wildflowers' 8x10 pastel

I just finished two pet portraits so I wanted to do something less structured and free....what else but a field of wildflowers! I love painting wildflowers. I have another one planned with more of a moody sky.

Isle of Palms SC Beach

'Beyond the Dunes' 12x12 pastel

On our way back from our last trip to the South Carolina coast, we stopped at Isle of Palms to see the beach. I loved all the bright colored umbrellas and the people enjoying the beach. What a contrast from the quiet State parks we had just visited. I enjoy both kinds of beaches. I just needed my umbrella, chair and a good book!

Low Country Marsh

'Sailor's Warning' 7x5 pastel

I love the little sailor's poem about the weather ...Red Sky at night...sailor's delight. Red sky in morning...sailor's warning. I named this painting 'Sailor's Warning' because it was a good predictor of the weather that morning on the island. The winds picked up and blew fiercely all day!

Jazzpurr the Cat

Here is a 5x7 pastel painting of my cat Jazzpurr. I painted him at our painting party yesterday. I need to keep my camera handy so I can capture the cats in paintable poses! Now I have to change gears this week and paint some dogs for a commission. I'll post them when I finish.

North Carolina Mountains

'Vance Mountain' 8x10 pastel

News! My paintings are now hanging in a new restaurant in Murphy, North Carolina. I have to thank my dad who noticed that the newly opened restaurant had nothing on the walls. He showed the owner some pictures of my work....and I now have 12 paintings on display! The name of the restaurant is Sophie's Cafe on Highway 64. Please stop in if you are in the area. The restaurant is named after the owner's dog Sophie so I am also going to paint Sophie...look for that soon!

Today we spent a wonderful day at Jayne's for our pastel class's First Annual Christmas Party. Everyone in our class was able to attend and we had a wonderful time. We all participated in a round robin painting and I won the raffle and got to keep it! I will proudly hang it in my studio. We all also exchanged 2.5 x 3.5 mini paintings with one another and Marsha surprised us all with our own original Marsha Savage!! What a special surprise. Thank you everyone for sharing a wonderful day...I am looking forward to our 'Spring Fling' at Barbara's Studio!

House Finch Nest

' Treasure in the Ferns' 16x20 pastel

This nest painting is a commission that I recently finished. The couple wanted a large nest painting and this one is 16x20...larger than life. It really was fun to paint and quite striking in real life. I had so much fun with it that I think I am going to paint another large nest painting.