Flowers in the Fog

'Wild and Free' 10x8 pastel

These flowers were growing in front of a house near Madaket Beach, Nantucket. They were so beautiful but as the fog rolled in the colors became even more brilliant against the fog. I have a similar idea for a painting that will include the house and I want to do it Large!

If you are in the Blue Ridge Georgia area Saturday be sure to stop in High Country Art Gallery to see me paint some wildflowers! Plan on staying in town for Marsha Savage's solo show opening at the old courthouse. The reception is 4:00-6:00. I will be painting at the gallery starting at noon.

If you have enjoyed viewing my Nantucket paintings you may wish to visit a blog I set up for my Nantucket art and a bit of family history now and then.

Summer at Sanford Farm, Nantucket

'Summer at Sanford Farm' 8x10 pastel

Another wonderful Nantucket discovery...Sanford Farm. It is an old farm preserved by the Nantucket Conservation Foundation and is now open to the public. It is laced with trails and we had a very enjoyable afternoon discovering the quiet beauty of these fields.

Large Wildflower Painting

We had a different class experience last night. I taught my lesson on Carlson's 'Theory of Angles' and did my demo painting but then my students wanted me to paint another one. I certainly didn't mind because I was on a roll but I felt bad that they didn't paint. They assured me that it was good to be able to watch and hear me think out loud about my painting process. I do enjoy watching demos myself so I can appreciate that. I happened to have this large for me 12x24 ready to go. I had done a watercolor underpainting already. Here is the finished painting. I had fun and hope that everyone learned something!

Beach Roses Painting

'The Sweet Scent of Summer' 8x10 pastel

I can smell the sweet scent of the Nantucket Beach roses mixed with the fresh salty air. The dunes around the island were covered in blooms adding color to the soft greens of the grasses. I was anxious to paint them but the roses gave me fits! had the right colors...a bright pink from my new Richeson set, but I didn't like my arrangment of flowers. I brushed them out at least three times and had to finally take out some fixative. But in the end I feel like I captured the day I wandered around the dunes of Jetties Beach.

Madaket Daisies

' A New Day' 11x14 pastel

It was just about the end of the blooming time for these daisies but there were still a few flowers hanging on to greet the morning. I was in heaven that morning shooting photos of the wildflowers as the fog rolled in. This is at Madaket Beach on Nantucket. Can you tell I was loving the fog??

Cape Cod Wildflowers

'Blue Skies Ahead' 8x10 pastel

I shouldn't admit this but I found these Queen Anne's Lace growing free and wild next to a dumpster! It was in Hyannis at the ferry dock. As we waited for the ferry to arrive I scouted the area for photo ops. I saw this great little patch of wildflowers blowing in the sea breeze. You just never know where you might find beauty!

Wildflower Walk

'Wildflower Walk' 8x10 pastel

There is a place on Nantucket called Tupancy Links. It was a golf course and now is a great place to walk and find wildflowers like these! This has been the week for wildflowers! Both galleries I am in sold paintings and one is working with a client who wants several so I had to bring more over today. I love to paint them so it is a pleasure!

Next Saturday August 1st I will be doing a demo at High Country Art Gallery in Blue Ridge Georgia. I'll be there starting at noon. Come by to say hello if you are in the area and stay for Marsha Savage's opening of her show "It's the Journey" at the old courthouse in Blue Ridge. The opening reception is from 4-6. It will be a great day of art!

Fog Over the Marsh

'Fog Over the Marsh' 8x10 pastel

Today's painting is another Nantucket Island scene. I really took advantage of our 2 hours of fog! This marsh is on the way to Madaket. My cousin tells me that fog is born at Madaket and it sure did seem that way. Everywhere else seemed clear until we got to Madaket and we just watched the fog roll in at Madaket Beach. I love to paint moody scenes!

Nantucket Meadow

'At Bartlett's Farm' 8x10 pastel

One afternoon we stopped at Bartlett's Farm to pick up a cake to bring over to my cousin's house. Getting into the car I spotted this little meadow area next to the parking lot of all places. It was filled with flowers. This little section had some yarrow and spent dandelions. It was a wonderful spot!

Sconset Beach Day Painting

'Rhythm of the Tides' 8x10 pastel

On my birthday last week we borrowed my cousin's van and drove all over Nantucket. One of our stops was 'Sconset. I love the beautiful rose covered cottages perched at the edge of the sea. We didn't go out on the beach but stopped for some photos. I saw these white umbrellas in the distance and knew they would be in a painting! I can imagine myself in a chair under one of those umbrellas enjoying the day.

Nantucket Painting...I'm Back!

'Madaket Lace' 8x10 pastel

I am back home from a most wonderful trip to Nantucket Island. I have so much I want to paint and can't wait to do more. Nantucket is beautiful in July with all the flowers in bloom. The air is perfumed with their smell! We had wonderful weather the whole time although they were calling for rain. We were lucky to have blue skies and just right temperatures. We had one morning of clearing rain and we borrowed my cousin's van to drive out to Madaket. The surf was wild and the fog was beginning to roll in. I LOVE the fog and what it does to the landscape. I took a few photos before it burned off and chose this scene as my first Nantucket painting. It is 8x10 on Uart paper with a turpenoid wash underpainting.

Nantucket Daisies

'Daisies by the Sea' 8x10 pastel

I am leaving in the morning on a trip to Nantucket Island. Last year while doing my family tree I discovered a cousin I never knew who lived on Nantucket. Actually I discovered I had roots all the way back to Tristram Coffin one of the founders of Nantucket but that's a long story! We went last summer to meet my cousin and had such a wonderful time that we are going back. This time my parents are coming so I am very excited. I am bringing a sketchbook but no pastels and of course my camera. I will try to post while I am away but if not, please come back next week....actually July 22 is my blog's 4th anniversary and I just might have a surprise!

Water Lily Pastel Painting

'Contemplation' 12x24 pastel

Would you believe this painting started out as a view of Monument Valley under a cloud filled sky? I started it last week in class and wasn't happy with it at all. It had several issues that even brushing out and redoing didn't make it any better. At one point it morphed into the Blue Ridge Mountains. I liked the colors but the painting was boring. So it occurred to me to use some alcohol and wash it all in. I had a lot of pastel build up but I didn't brish it off and just did the alcohol wash. I was left with a lot of texture and not much tooth to the paper....just enough to create my impression of a pond filled with water lilies. I wish the small computer image did justice to this large (for me) painting!

Wildflowers of the Southwest

'Desert Beauty' 8x10 pastel

When I was out in New Mexico last month these pretty white flowers were everywhere. I was calling them the Queen Anne's Lace of the desert! I have to look up their name now but it was something like spectacle plant because the seed pods look like tiny eyeglasses.

Yellow Water Lilies

We went today to the High Museum to see the Monet Water lily exhibit. It was a small exhibit but the paintings were Huge!

It was interesting to see them closeup. I was most interested in how thick and textured the paint was. Even though Monet intended for them to look spontaneous some of them actually had as many as 15 layers of paint. I can't wait to paint some more waterlilies! This one is 5x7 with a watercolor underpainting.

Lace and Hollyhocks

'Lace and Hollyhocks' 8x10 pastel

Here is the second painting I did of the Hollyhocks and Queen Anne's Lace. They had a hard time but finally chose the landscape version. The purples I used were Terry Ludwigs including one of my new confetti sticks. That was great to use on my flowers! Tomorrow morning I am going to the Monet exhibit with friends. I am looking forward to a fun day!

A nice article about me

I wanted to share a new blog I discovered recently. Laura Tetrault is a wonderful artist who shares her work as well as other artists she discovers on her blog, London Art Girl. I am honored that she chose to feature me this week on her blog. Have a look if you haven't already discovered it! Thank you Laura!

Hollyhocks & Queen Anne's Lace

'Where the Heart Finds a Home' 8x10 pastel

I finished two paintings tonight, this one and another 8x10 that is a more intimate view of this scene. I was asked to paint some purple hollyhocks with Queen Anne's Lace and I will let them decide which one they prefer. At first I thought it was an odd combination though they have their reasons, but on doing research I came across pictures of beautiful cottage gardens that had the two flowers growing in the same area. It was a lot of fun as always!

Koi aceo Painting

'Koi Magic' 3.5x2.5 pastel & watercolor

Here is a mini painting I did at the lake this past weekend. I have a stack of minis with watercolor underpaintings just waiting to be finished! My daughter gave me a good idea that I want to try with this watercolor technique. As soon as I am caught up on pet portrait commissions, I will be giving her idea a try!

Pastel Journal Creative Spark Winner!

'Closer In' 8x10 pastel

I am excited to share that my painting 'Closer In' won the Pastel Journal's Creative Spark contest for June. It will be featured on this week's Pastel Journal blog and I will share the link as soon as it is posted. You may recognize these flowers from a larger painting I have shown. The challenge was to reinterpret a painting and come up with a fresh idea. I decided to focus in on a few of the flowers and show them how I imagined them from an insect's point of view. What a fun challenge and I am thrilled to have my painting recognized!

Good News!

I found out that my painting 'Make a Wish' will be in the brochure for the upcoming Southeastern Pastel Society Open Exhibition at the Marietta Cobb Museum of Art. This painting and one of my nest paintings will be in the show. The opening reception is October 3, 2009 which seems far off but I know will be here before I know it!

Water Lily Acrylic Painting

'A Peaceful Place' 8x 10 acrylic on canvas

In between painting water lilies and preparing for this weekend's workshop I have been working on a few commissions. Since they are all surprises I haven't been able to post them yet but I will be able to soon! Today's painting is an acrylic version from one of my photos of Perry's Water Garden. It is fun trying the same subject in a different medium!

Poppy Miniature Painting

'Poppy Surprise' 3.5x2.5 pastel

I am back from the lake and had a chance to paint some small aceo size paintings while on the houseboat. I painted in the morning while the wind was calm. I had my travel size watercolor set and a very small box of pastels. I did about 15 little watercolor underpaintings. Once they dried I started to add pastel to some of them but it was getting quite windy so I had to put them away. This is one I managed to finished. I am getting better at letting the underpainting work with the pastel instead of covering it all up!

Water Lilies and Dark Water

'Mysterious Beauty' 11x14 pastel

I am so glad to have so many water lily references photos. This one is actually from one of our VIP road trips where we pulled off the highway somewhere in South Carolina to take photos of a mini swamp filled with lilies! Today I am headed to the lake for the weekend. I plan to relax and just read and do something with all the beads I bought out in New Mexico. I did bring along a small box of pastels just in case! I hope everyone has a relaxing and safe 4th of July!

Sand Dune Painting

I'm calling this painitng 'Dune Shadows' because it was the shadow patterns that attracted me to this scene. It was Autumn at the beach, actually one of my favorite times to be on the beach. There was color in the grasses and the air was crisp and cool. It's the perfect time of year to explore. This painting is 5x7 on Wallis paper.

Two Poppy Paintings!

If you read my earlier post you will see that these paintings have gone through some changes! I decided that they would work better as two smaller paintings rather than one 11x14. The top painting is actually square 6x6 and the bottom is 8x10. I went from sand dunes to 2 poppy fields. You have to love the versatility of pastels!

Poppies on the Hillside

'Hillside Poppies' 14x11 pastel

Pastel can be so much fun! I just totally changed this painting from it's original state by brushing it off and starting over. It started out as a demo painting I did to illustrate how to start a painting with big shapes. It was a beach dune scene and I liked it because of the shadow patterns but it wasn't exciting me. After I brushed it off I looked at the dark mess on my paper and envisioned this poppy field. Ok......change of plans. I am looking at the painting and I see that it is divided in half and really would work better as two paintings. Stay tuned!