Red Apple Painting

'Apple Glow' 7x5 pastel

I was in the mood last week to paint some fruit. I really want to paint some pears and just have fun with color. I think I will pick up some pears at the grocery store for this week's paintings.

I have joined the world of Facebook this weekend and I am having a lot of fun connecting with my old friends as well as my new artist friends. If you are on Facebook, stop by my page. I plan to post each month's paintings in an album as well as share some other photos that I don't post to my blog. I'd love to have you as a friend!

Sand Dunes on the Carolina Coast

Here is another 5x7 pastel painting I did while on my recent cruise. I think being out in the sea air helps me evoke a plein air feeling to my paintings...even when they are from a photograph. This is actually some dunes along the South Carolina coast near Beaufort. It is painted on UArt paper with Terry Ludwig pastels.

Colorado Waterfall...Agnes Vaille Falls

'Hiker's Reward' 10x8 pastel

This is Agnes Vaille Falls near Nathrop Colorado. A couple of summers ago we did the short but steep hike to the falls. It was a gorgeous, crisp summer morning and the sight of the falls was the perfect end to a fun scramble over the boulders. For this painting I tried to be bold and loose. It is painted on Wallis Belgium gray paper. I tried to make use of my Terry Ludwig neutral set as well as some of the other neutral colors I have for the rocks. I like how the use of neutrals really help my colors to stand out.

The Forest in Spring

'The Forest in Spring' 8x10 pastel

It is funny what I end up painting when I can paint whatever I want. I flip through my reference photos and pull out the ones that strike me. Yesterday it was apples and today it was this forest scene. I have had this photo for a few years now but it just hit me today for some reason. This is painted on Pastelbord. I tried to do a watercolor underpainting but for some reason the water just beaded up. So I did an alcohol wash instead. That worked out better.

Pink Wildflowers

'Pink Wildflowers' 6x6 pastel

Today's painting is another one I painted while on the cruise. On the first day at sea I painted a few from my photos. This was a field of wildflowers, perhaps cosmos, that was growing on the side of the highway. They were growing in front of a large field of cotton...which will have to be another painting. The lavender color of the cotton was just beautiful next to these flowers.

Twilight Harbor

'Twilight Harbor' 11x14 pastel

I am caught up on commissions so this week I get to paint whatever I am in the mood for. It was actually hard to decide what I wanted to paint today.I have a few ideas I want to try but I need to warm up first. This is a twighlight scene overlooking a harbor. The sun has set and the lights are starting to come on....a very peaceful time of day. This is painted on a homemade surface someone gave me. I believe she said it was from a recipe by Paul DeMarrais. It has some texture and was interesting to work on.

Lounge Chair Plein Air

Here is the plein air set up I took with me on the cruise. All I brought were two small cigar boxes, a piece of foam core and some paper. I made a glassine envelope to put the finished paintings into. All of this fit nicely in a messenger bag. I worked on my lounger looking out at the islands. It worked great and I had enough supplies for me paint some quick plein air studies.

Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas USVI

'Harbor View' 5x7 pastel

I have returned home from a wonderful Caribbean cruise. The weather was absolutely perfect....blue skies, sun and warm turqouise water. I couldn't have asked for a better time. I didn't get to paint quite as much as I planned but I did several plein air paintings from the deck of the ship inlcluding this one of Charlotte Amalie Harbor. Tomorrow I will post a photo of my plein air set up. I need to do laundry and load my photos. I will be sharing more paintings all week.

Sapphire Beach, St Thomas USVI

'Paradise' 5x7' pastel

This is likely my last post for a week. I will be on a cruise with very slow and expensive internet access. I am bringing my pastels in my newly down-sized travel kit. I plan on painting every day. We will be visiting Sapphire Beach again as well as some others so I hope to get some great reference photos too. I hope everyone has a great week. Please plan on coming back to see my new work!

Cardinal in Winter

'Winter Color' 5x7 pastel

I am keeping with the color red it seems. Here is a bright spot of color on a dreary winter day. It actually isn't dreary at all here in Georgia. It is a beautiful day. I am just about packed for my cruise and tying up loose ends so I can totally relax....well at least try to totally relax!

Poppy Close-up

This is a small 4x4 painting I did of a poppy. My goal was to give a quick impression of the poppy in the field. I put it in a gold frame which works well for this little painting. It is a lot easier to do these quick impressions in a small painting. It would be a challenge to get the same feeling on a larger scale.

North Carolina Poppies

'North Carolina Poppies' 5x7 pastel

I have painted this field several times and It always inspires me. My plan this summer is to try to set up in the field and paint plen air. The only problem is this 'field' is actually the median of a busy highway. I still might give it a try!

Iris Pastel Painting

'Thinking of Spring' 7x5 pastel

I just felt like painting a flower today and this purple Iris was just the thing. This one is on LaCarte paper. I actually tried it first on a piece of Canson I had but it was just awful. Even though I tried to keep it simple I put too many layers and made mud. I am not one to give up so I tried it again on LaCarte. I really enjoyed working on this paper!

A Day at the Beach

'A Day at the Beach' 10x20 pastel

This is the demo painting I did for today's workshop. Our theme was A Day at the Beach. We began by painting shells and then I shared some ideas for painting sand. We then painted beach scenes from all over including Alaska! I enjoyed sharing with everyone and will be looking forward to the March workshop on painting skies and clouds.

Blue Ridge Mountains

'Mountain Memories' 11x14 pastel

This is the painting I did today for my workshop. I had four students new to pastels who wanted to paint landscapes. We fit a lot into 3 hours but everyone left with two paintings. I think everyone did a wonderful job and hope they can return for more! Tomorrow's workshop will be a lot of fun as well....we are having a 'Day at the Beach' and painting some beach scenes. I am looking forward to it! Now to go pack for the cruuse!

Nesting Cardinal

'Hidden' 5x7 pastel

This momma cardinal is well hidden down in her nest! I have painted nests with eggs but this is my first bird in the nest. I found the photo in the wet canvas reference image library. Thank you to the great photographer. I usually like to work from my own photos but some shots you just don't have to opportunity to get so I appreciate a resource like the RIL.

We are Siamese if you Please....

I wanted to share a couple of photos I took today of my Siamese cats enjoying some sun time. The one on the top is Maya Blue. She is 8 months old and just full of herself. The boy on the bottom is Tobi. He loves to pose for me. I will be painting both of these.

Pink Water Lily

Today's painting is one I did a few month's ago on Monet Night at my pastel class. This one is just 4x6. I have some new paintings but I don't want to post them until after my workshops this weekend.. No spoilers!

Siamese Cat

'Blue Eyed Boy' 5x7 pastel

Today's painting is a quick study I did last night of my seal point siamese Tobi. I usually paint Tobi with his eyes closed mostly because he is asleep in most of his photos! This painting is done on Wallis paper that I have mounted to adhesive backed foamcore. They are perfect to take to class. I need to make up some more to bring with me on the cruise.

Love and Chocolate

'Love and Chocolate' 4.5 x 4.5 pastel

“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt!"

Charles M. Schultz

How true! In my case it tends to be a LOT of chocolate. I am truly a chocoholic. I love dark chocolate the best but I am not too picky. The theme on Daily Painters today is Valentines Day so I decided to paint some chocolates. Now I need to find some to eat!

Water Lily Study

'Togetherness' 6x6 pastel

This water lily painting is a study in using analogous colors. Several month ago I painted the same lilies using the different color schemes. I have sold the monochromatic study. I walked past this one today in the studio and it caught my eye. These are my absolute favorite colors!

Monarch Butterfly

'Magical Monarch' 11x14 pastel

I never get tired of painting Monarch Butterflies. They are truly magical. This painting is on LaCarte paper from a photo I took last summer in the gardens of the Art Institute of Chicago.