Fralinger's Salt Water Taffy

'Sweet Treats' 5x7 pastel

I had a request for a new salt water taffy painting and I was happy to oblige. Would you believe I have a few pieces of taffy stored in the freezer for painting purposes. For awhile you could buy Fralinger's Taffy at the Cracker Barrel. I haven't been to one in a year so these were left from my last box. This is another painting done from life. I am really enjoying that. I have another still life set up of sea glass in a shell for a commission that I will be working on this weekend.

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How to Paint a Cat in Pastel Demo

Turner Beach Sanibel Island Painting

'Magic Hour' 8x10 pastel

I've painted this beach in oil but I wanted to do a pastel version. This is Turner Beach (Blind Pass) on Sanibel Island. We come here for the sunset but I always like to turn away from the sun to see the warm glow on the sand, trees and water. It is also the best time of day to take nice family photos on the beach.

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Yellow Star Thistle Painting

'A Sea of Yellow' 18x24 pastel

By looking at the last three posts it would seem I was on a 'red' kick. I'm not sure why. Here is some yellow for a change! This is a large 'weed' painting at 18x24. It is from a photo on the wet canvas reference image library. I had to look these up and found they are Yellow Star Thistles...considered a noxious weed in the western US. They sure do look interesting though!

Painting some Plums

'Plum Trio' 5x7 pastel

I am working on a large 'weed' painting but I couldn't resist the call of these three plums to be painted so.... I set them up on a stool next to my desk and painted them. I really enjoyed painting from life instead of a photo. I would like to try to make that a part of my painting routine.

Ouray Poppies Mini Painting sold

I like to do these small paintings as color studies for larger works. Sometimes I do another version of a painting I just finished while I still have the pastels out. It is freeing to just be able to play with color and not worry about how it will turn out. And often, I end up liking these little ones more than their bigger siblings! These were poppies we came across on ahike this past summer in the mountains of Ouray, Colorado. This painting is 3.5 x 2.5 on wallis paper.

House Finch Pastel sold

'House Finch' 5x7 pastel

I haven't painted a bird in awhile. I don't know why...I really enjoy paintig them. I have a big bird painting planned with some gulls and terns. I can't wait to try that one. We worked today on getting my studio painted. We also added some new lighting. I will be having some beginning pastel students come over to paint starting in March and I want to have everything just right!

Creighton Island Pastel Painting

'Moment of Serenity' 24x12 pastel

I painted this view from my cabin on Creighton Island at least 20 times and I never get tired of capturing the many moods of the marsh. This was the 'Golden Hour'...when the sun turns everything it touches into gold. It doesn't last long but it is a spectacular time of day. This large and long format suits this marsh scene perfectly.

Sanibel Island...Bowmans Beach sold

'At Bowmans Beach' 8x10 pastel

I had a request for some Sanibel paintings so I had to comb through my Sanibel reference photos. I decided on this view of Bowman's Beach. What a beautiful spot. I would love to set up my easel and paint here someday!

A New Dragonfly Painting sold

'Blue Jewel' 7x5 pastel

Time for another dragonfly painting. I wanted to try my new pearlescent pastels. I had enough layers to be able to etch the veins on the wings. I want to try the same technique with some sea shells.

Storm on the Marsh

'Storm on the Marsh' 7x5 pastel

This Low Country marsh scene is painted on my own prepared support. I like how the texture of the pumice mixture gives the painitng so much interesting texture. We finally decided on our Spring Break get-away trip. We plan to look at some art schools for Corey and then have some R&R on Harbor Island, SC. Caitlin wanted a beach and I didn't want to drive to Florida so we all agreed on this spot. It will be nice to have a family trip but I would love to be able to share it with my VIP's Jayne & Holly. Maybe they will want to come down too!

Cactus Flower #2

'Desert Warmth' 6x6 pastel

I love painting these cactus blooms. I have another one I want to do from a photo I took out in Taos this summer of three backlit yellow flowers. I'll put that on my list!

Tabby Cat Pastel

'The Blue Blanket' 5x7 pastel

Here's a new painting of my cat Jennie. I am excited about a batch of new photos of my cats. They like to lay in a nice patch of sunlight and the other day I was ready with my camera and got some great shots!

Small Wildflower Study

'Summer Field Study' 7x5 pastel

I had trouble posting to blogger yesterday and even this morning but I tried on the laptop and it went through. Very strange! It was a busy weekend with a trip to the outlet mall with my daughter and working on trip plans. We are trying to plan a quick spring break weekend for April. Of course I would like to go where I will be able to paint! And our summer trip plans are in limbo again! The cruise we had booked went up in price with a fuel surcharge and we decided we didn't want to pay that much......so back to the drawing board!

Tropical Palms

Here's another painting from my recent Caribbean cruise. I am going to make it a goal to paint more trees. This is a portait of some coconut palm trees. It was a breezy but beautiful and warm day. I am going to go through my reference photos to find a variety of trees to have ready for my painting exercises.

This painting 'Tropical Palms' is 5x7

New pastels for Valentines

My sweet husband knows me well! What could be better than two new boxes of pastels for Valentines Day! Who needs another box of chocolate or more jewelry. Not when there are pastels to drool over! I got the Mount Vision red set and the Great American pearlescents. I can't wait to try some dragonflies with those! I have to finish my dog commissions first before I can play.

Siamese Cat Painting sold

'Siamese Royalty' 7x5 pastel

Here's a new Siamese cat painting. I loved this pose of Tobi. It's so typical of him. This painting has been sold but I just took a lot of new photos so more paintings are in the works!

Chocolate Covered Strawberries Pastel

'Decadence' 6x6 pastel

What's more fun than painting chocolate covered strawberries? Of course eating them! I think this has to be one of my all time favorite treats. I think for Valentine's Day I will have to make some more!

A Tree Portrait

'Summer Tree' 16x12 pastel

Last night at class we all painted a tree. Marsha gave us all the same photo to work from and then she did a demo for us. It was fun to see how everyone's tree was different even though we all were painting the same tree. What I discovered.....I actually don't mind paintng trees and when I thought about why I didn't paint them more often I realized that I don't take many tree reference photos. I will have to be more aware of that when I am out with my camera. I do think I would like to practice more trees. I'll add it to my list!

Hershey Kisses Pastel Painting

'The Chocolate Fix' 6x6 pastel

I wasn't going to do it...I wasn't going to paint kisses this year or even buy them! But my will wasn't strong enough. When I saw the Hershey kisses on sale yesterday I broke down and bought a bag. And of course I had to try to paint them. These little chocolates are just what I need for a choclate 'fix'. Now if I could only stop after eating one!

Magen's Bay, St. Thomas USVI

'Perfect Paradise' 5x7 pastel

One of my favorite beaches to paint is Magen's Bay. I have a stack of reference photos I took and every once in awhile I will take one out and use it for a painting. I love the view of Magens Bay from the rocks on the right side of the beach. They make a perfect foreground for the gorgeous water. I painted this one while on my recent cruise so I was feeling the effects of the caribbean air while I painted on my lounge chair!

The Raven...pastel painting

'The Raven' 5x7 pastel

It's been awhile since I painted a raven...one of my favorite birds. I had a special request for this one and today was a perfect day to paint him. I got together with Jayne to paint in her studio. I love her new lighting. I am going to have to look into getting the same light fixtures for my studio. I had a productive afternoon painting this raven and a 6x6 cactus flower which we decided actually makes a nice companion to the raven. Thanks Jayne for a nice afternoon!

New Marsh Painting 'A Colorful Day'

'A Colorful Day' 8x10 pastel

Another relaxing weekend with no big plans! I am planning on finishing my Jack Russell Terrier painting but that is the only 'must do'. I am hoping to get together with Jayne to paint depending on her plans. I have a list of paintings I would love to try. I just have to decide what I do first.

Reading on Deck

'Reading on Deck' 5x7 pastel on pastelbord

Here is something different for me....a person! I have all these photos of people reading, eating and relaxing on a cruise ship that I want to paint...but I am always reluctant to try because it is really outside of my comfort zone. I know I need to practice painting things that stretch and challenge me so I will try to do that at least for one painting a week. Yes...that means trying some architecture too!

Mussel Shells....My Andrew Wyeth Assignment

'Beach Blues' 5x7 pastel

For this session of pastel class, Marsha asked us to read about an artist we admire. I have a few books on Andrew Wyeth on my shelf and since he is one of my favorites, he was my choice. I have always liked his work but after seeing an exhibit last year at the High Museum in Atlanta, he rose to the top of my list. I don't paint anything like him but I just love his choice of subject matter and his compositions. I have a thing for bleached & broken shells, feathers and stark rooms. My son Corey loves Wyeth too but his favorites are the dead animal paintings. Part of the assignment is to also try a painting in the style of your artist. This painitng isn't really in the style...but in my book there are several mussel studies. These are mussels I saw on a beach painted in my style. This was a lot of fun and I have more beach flotsam to paint!

Aspens in June

'Aspens in June' 12x9 pastel

This little aspen grove was a couple of miles from the cabin we stayed at this past June in Colorado. I LOVE aspen trees. I have done a winter painting of them so here is my summer impression. I would love to go out to Colorado in the fall and stay at that same cabin and paint....one of these days! This painting is on pastelbord with a turpenoid underpainting. I love using the pastelbord!

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Sanibel Island...Sanibel Breeze

'Sanibel Breeze' 11x14 pastel on pastelbord

One of my very favorite places...Sanibel Island and the Waterside Inn. I remember this day as being very breezy with whitecaps on the usually calm Gulf. I can hear the breeze rustling those palm fronds...wish I was there! I tried a different approach for this painting. I read an article about Kim Fancher Lordier (love her work!) and she does a value underpainting with dark purple Nupastel and Terry Ludwigs with a Turpenoid wash. I tried it and will definitely try it again. It sure had an ugly stage but I like the end results.

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Price: $195 USD
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Jack Russell Terrier...color study

I am getting ready to work on a commission of this adorable little Jack Russell terrier. The finished painting will be 16x20 but I wanted to work out the colors so I did this 5x5 study. I got the go ahead from the owner so hopefully I will finish the painting this week.

Queen Anne's Lace...18x24

'Summer Song' 18x24 pastel

Here is another large painting for me. As you can probably tell, I love Queen Anne's Lace. I just went through some of my older reference photos and found some close-ups which I want to try. I did my preliminary drawing for the dog commission I have been working on and tonight while I am in the 'painting large' mode and I will work on the dog.

Beyond The Storm

'Beyond the Storm' 18x24 pastel

I love having a weekend with nothing pressing to do. It is a time for me to paint larger since there are no time contraints. I have been wanting to paint some of my favorite scenes in a larger size. This one is 18x24. This little photo doesn't have the same impact as seeing it in real life. I really like the freedom of working larger. I hope to do another large one this afternoon. I am having fun!

Warm Glow over the Marsh

'Warm Glow' 14x11 pastel on board

I invented a new underpainting technique today much to my alarm. I wish someone was here to see my face when I sprayed my painting with window cleaner...yes you read that right! Let me explain. I started this marsh painting last night and it was originally all red and bright orange. It is based on one of my Creighton Island plein air pieces but I was trying to change the colors. I hated it! I am not one to give up easily so I decided I would spray it with fixative and try a different color scheme. I picked up what I thought was my can of fixative and sprayed my painting very liberally. It didn't look right though....it seemed too wet. Then I realized I had picked up a can of window cleaner!!! I read the ingredients...water and alcohol...oh that might be good I thought...so I took my finger and smeared the pastel and waited for it to dry. I got a nice underpainting to put my lighter colors on top. Maybe I'll try window cleaner again!