Flowers by the Sea

'Flowers by the Sea' 7x5 pastel

I had a great day today. It was our pastel class 'UnChristmas Party'. All of my classmates met at Jaynes for a wonderful time of eating, drinking wine, painting and having fun. Jayne and Holly planned some fun games. It was so nice to get together with good friends! Then I went shopping for a new bathing suit for my upcoming cruise. How fun to shop for a bathing suit in the middle of winter! This is the painting I did today at the party. It is from a photo I took in Maine in Acadia National Park. I loved these bright orange flowers that dotted this field by the sea.

Sunrise at the Beach ACEO Sold

I love sunrise at the beach when it is still and the ocean is calm, reflecting all the beautiful colors in the sky. It's fun to do these mini paintings. It gives me a chance to just play with color. This painting measures 3.5x2.5 and is on Uart paper.

Seagull Impressions

'Seagull Impressions' 10x10 pastel

Today's painting is just a quick impression of a couple of seagulls in the surf. I love laughing gulls. I know some people think of gulls as nuisance birds but when you are land locked like I am...the sound of the laughing gull means I am at the beach and that is a very good thing! I am in beach mode now....gearing up for next weekend's mini workshop on painting the beach.

Magen's Bay Palm

'Magen's Bay Palm' 20x10 pastel

Here is the finished palm tree painting. Check out the demo slide show below to see the tree come to life. This was painted on Uart paper 500 grit. I didn't use any underpainting for this and just began painting with soft pastels. I used an assortment of Terry Ludwig and Diane Townsend pastels. My goal was to leave the background loose and undetailed and focus more on the tree. I chose this long narrow format to showcase this tall thin palm tree.

How to Paint a Palm Tree Demo

Black Cat...Green Eyes

'Green Eyes' 7x5 pastel

I am back to my regular way of posting. I prefer it this way and heard from may of you that this is a better format as well. I couldn't resist trying to paint this black cat's striking green eyes. I think it would be a good exercise to do some close-up paintings of cat eyes only. That might be fun too!

Beach Path

About This Painting:
I am getting ready for my upcoming workshop on painting the beach. I have some fun ideas planned and should give us all a little winter warm-up!

Media: Pastel
Size: 5 in X 7 in (12.7 cm X 17.8 cm)
Price: $95 USD

How to Purchase:

Buy this painting on PayPal
Price: $95 USD
Or, send me an email

Sanibel Island Palms

Sanibel Palm

About This Painting:
I am getting the itch to visit Sanibel Island again. My favorite time to visit is in the summer when the water is warm and I feel like I have the beach to myself. Maybe this summer!

Media: Pastel
Size: 7 in X 5 in (17.8 cm X 12.7 cm)

How to Purchase:
send me an email

Crow Creek

About This Painting:
I am trying a different format for postingmy blog entry. I'm not sure if I like it but I will give it a couple of days!

Media: Pastel
Size: 5 in X 7 in (12.7 cm X 17.8 cm)
Price: $95 USD

How to Purchase:

Buy this painting on PayPal
Price: $95 USD
Or, send me an email

Sunflower

'Sunshine Ahead' 5.5x5.5 pastel

This sunflower was painted on a sample piece of Unison board I had. I am not sure I care for this surface. It seemed rough to me but like anything new I believe it is important to try it more than once. I remember not liking LaCarte at first but now it is one of my favorites!

Cat Portrait

This is a commission I just finished. I had so much fun painting this beautiful cat. It is 11x14 on LaCarte paper. You may have noticed that I rarely paint cat's eyes but in this case it was unavoidable. I really enjoyed it actually and I don't think I will avoid them anymore!

Moon Snail Shell

On some beaches I find plenty of moon snail shells. On the beaches of the NJ Shore I have found some very large ones. I think they are beautiful and they are even more beautiful when alive. The colors are so vibrant and they have a nice gloss. I found this one alive and took a picture before putting it back into the sea. I love sea shells!

This pastel painting is 4x6 on Uart paper.

Summer Woods...Birch Trees

'Summer Woods' 24x18 pastel

This is a big painting for me and whenever I do a large one I always wonder why I don't paint large more often because I really enjoy it. I know the answer of course...I just don't have enough time. But this weekend I had some downtime. I have been wanting to paint this for awhile. It is from a photo I took last summer on a hike in Acadia National Park in Maine. The forest was so dark and mysterious and so very GREEN! But this little stand of birch trees was like a light in the forest. I tried to make all of the greens interesting but it was a very lush forest and that's is how I want to remember it. Take a look at the slide show I did below of the painting in progress.

Slide Show for Painting Summer Woods

Pink Poppies

'Taos Pink' 7x5 pastel

The VIPs got together to paint yesterday after a trip to Blicks. I got some new pastels which I will share tomorrow. Jayne worked on a car....she has the patience for that chrome! Holly and I worked from photos she took of wildflowers in Taos New Mexico. I haven't painted pink poppies yet so I had to try them. We will be going to Taos this May on our New Mexico Adventure. We are actually going to Albuquerque for the IAPS pastel convention but we will be doing some exploring in the area before the convention. I can't wait to get back out to the Southwest!

Sleeping Siamese Kitten Sold

'Maya Asleep' 5x7 pastel

This painting went through some interesting stages. First I used Uart paper and I rarely use anything but LaCarte for animals. I did the initial drawing with vine charcoal and I liked it as a drawing. I almost just left it as it was but I figured I will just start sketching the cats more often and I should use color on this one. But I decided to refine the drawing some more with some charcoal pencils I had. I wasn't totally thrilled with the result and chose to add my pastel on top of the charcoal drawing. I bought some new pencils and charcoal so I can play around with drawing some more. It was fun!

Dragonfly Painting

'Blue Jewel' 7x5 pastel

I always enjoy painting dragonflies. I did this one on UArt paper and used some irridescent pastels which are showing up as little specks in the photo. It looks cool in real life. I wasn't sure if I could do my wing technique on this paper using a push pin....but it worked out fine.

Twilight Beach Walk

'Twilight Beach Walk' 8x10 pastel

I love walking the beach at sunset. Sometimes just after sunset is the very best time. The sunset watchers disperse leaving the beach to the birds. It is so peaceful and the colors can be amazing.

Maine Beach Roses & Daisies

'Seaside Surprise' 7x5 pastel

This little painting is from a hike we took this past summer in Acadia National Park...Maine. The hike led to the sea and right at the edge of the rocky beach was this pretty little area filled with daisies and beach roses. Did it ever smell good! I am planning to do more work in progress slide shows and I think a wildflower scene would be a good one to do. This is done on Uart paper with no underpainting.

Southeastern Pastel Society Demo

'Dreams of Winter' 16x20 pastel

This is the demo painting I did for the Southeastern Pastel Society last night. It was very exciting yet intimidating to be painting in front of the artists who have inspired me for the past four years....and answering their questions too! But I got through it and received some positive feedback so I am pleased. This is probably the last snow painting I will do for awhile (now watch we get a snow storm in Atlanta!) But I put my winter pastels away and will start to gear up for my cruise in February.....dreaming of blue skies and turquoise seas!

Appalachian Pastel Society Workshop

Here I am doing a demo at this weekend's workshop in Asheville. I am demonstrating my snow making tip which I promised I would share with you after the workshop. I will do that in tomorrow's post. What a great weekend I had! Thank you to all of you for making the workshop a success. I'd love to see your winter landscapes if you try some more!

BluePointe Sushi

'BluePointe Sushi' 6x6 pastel

I was recently at a private party at BluePointe restaurant in Atlanta where my cousin is a chef. They are known for their sushi and since I had never tried sushi before I thought is was a good time to try it......well this little morsel was amazing! I think it had lobster in it. It was pretty too so I took a picture and had a chance to paint it today.

Winter Morning

'Winter Morning' 8x10 pastel

I had so much fun this weekend in Asheville. I did the program and a workshop for the Appalachian Pastel Society on painting the winter landscape. We had a fun day of learning and painting and I want to thank everyone for their warm and supportive welcome. There was a big turnout for the meeting and 18 people came to the workshop! I had a great time sharing some snow painting tips and everyone did some wonderful paintings. I got some very nice feedback so I am happy that it turned out so well. Next is my demo Monday night for the Southeastern Pastel Society and after that.....I think I will take a little break from painting winter!

Marsh Mystery

'Marsh Mystery'        6x18            pastel

I am back from Asheville and had a fantastic time. I will give a full report with some photos as soon as I can load them. Thank you to everyone for such a warm welcome... stay tuned for my report!

Here is a painting I haven't shared yet. It is an autumn marsh scene and I used a different format which suits the marsh nicely. I need to try that more often.

Water Lily Miniature

Here is a miniature pastel painting of some pink water lillies. It measures 2.5x3.5 and is a part of my water lily series. I love to mat and frame these little ones.

Painting Winter Demo and Workshop

I am headed to Asheville later for Saturday's demo and workshop on painting the colors of winter for the Appalachian Pastel Society. I am looking forward to meeting everyone and a fun day of painting. Then on Monday evening, I will do a winter landscape demo for the Southeastern Pastel Society. I have had so much fun painting winter scenes the last couple of months and it will be fun to share with others my love of the winter landscape. Here is a collage of some recent paintings. Picasa has a cool collage tool!

Marsh Dawn

'Marsh Dawn' 8x10 pastel

This painting illustrates how we can find beauty anywhere. We were on our Autumn painting adventure and driving down a major highway one morning. It was very early just after sunrise and the light was warm and misty. Out the car window we could see the marsh. It looked so beautiful that we had to pull over for pictures. This is a scene that people rush past every morning on their way to work. How nice it was to savor it!

Magen's Bay Boat

'Magen's Bay Boat' 5x7 pastel

It was back to class last night and we were focusing on composition. Marsha had us do three thumbnails from our photo changing an element in each. I was slow moving and only got to paint this small 5x7 study. Marsha asked me what I liked about it and what I disliked or wanted to change. What I like....I enjoyed working with these caribbean colors...gets me in the mood for my February cruise. I didn't like how the top of the seagrape tree followed the line of the distant hills so I changed the shape of the tree. I may try the other compositions with the same photo.

Self Portrait Day on Daily Painters

Ok I confess...I don't paint portraits ever so it is totally out of my comfort zone to attempt a self-portrait. But it is Self Portrit Day on Daily Painters.com and I wanted to give it a shot! I wish I had more time to spend on it because I see some things that need fixing but this is a very busy week for me as I am preparing for two Demos and a workshop on painting the Winter Landscape. I will be doing a demo this Saturday for the Appalachian Pastel Society in Asheville and then another demo for the Southeastern Pastel Society next Monday eveing here in Atlanta. I am much more comfortable with painting snow thankfully!

Jennifur my Tabby Cat

'Jennifur by the Door' 5x7 pastel

I tend to paint my siamese cats more often and neglect my beautiful little tabby Jenni. She is the one who sleeps on my pillow every night. She loves cuddling up in my robe or on a blanket and of course like any cat, she loves a good sun spot!

Poppies in the Mountains Sold

'Poppies in the Mountains' 7x5 pastel

I am so glad I was able to get photos of the wonderful field of poppies near my parent's home in North Carolina. It's nice to be able to bring a bit of summer into the studio today especially after all of the winter paintings I have done lately.

'After the Storm' 8x10 pastel

Today was a rainy and moody day here in Georgia. This was the perfect scene to paint today. I have put together a collection of pastels that I have been using for my winter scenes. I found an empty poker chip case that I lined with foam to keep them in. Now all we need is some snow and I'll be ready!

Pink Lotus Blossom

'Summer Pink' 5x7 pastel

While I had out the pastels for the other small water lily painitngs, I thought I'd paint one more. This weekend I will be spending time getting ready for my workshop and demo for the Appalachian Pastel Society. The 10 day forcast is calling for snow in Asheville....how appropriate for a workshop on painting the winter landscape!

Winter Landscape

'Snow Country' 8x10 pastel

Painting this snow scene was like icing a cake. Nice sweet pale colored icing covering the grass, the road and the trees.... mmmmm it's making me hungry for a cupcake!