January Sunrise

I have had the privilege of viewing many, many gorgeous sunrises on my morning walks. Sometimes we stop and stare, open mouthed, and wonder if it is even possible to have so much color in the sky...and will anyone else even believe it without seeng it for themselves?

Today's pastel is from a photo I took a year ago. I may have "pushed" the color a little bit, but it is essentually the same vision that was presented to me on that cool morning. There's something almost fantasy-like about how this one turned out. Even though there are some things I would do differently if I were to do it again (I probably won't), I like it anyway. I can almost feel the light beginning to caress the landscape.

Thanks for your comments on past paintings...they truly are "friendly" and I appreciate the support! :)

Kitties on a Red Rug

On our daily walks Paulene and I pass by a house that almost always has a cat or two on the porch. One season there was a large fuzzy batch of new kittens that we watched grow up. Slowly the numbers decreased and I hope those little ones were adopted somewhere. We always look for the the kitties, and one day I saw four of them napping on the front porch all together. My camera was in my pocket, so I quietly walked a little closer for a better picture. They were onto me...one stood up ready to bolt if necessary and the rest were peeking at me to be sure they were still safe. I snapped the photo and moments later all of them dispersed throughout the yard.

I decided to try painting from that snapshot, and spent a little while getting the drawing right, but as soon as I laid the first marks of color on the paper I had to stop and sigh loudly. Or maybe more than that. It was the wrong side of the paper! Arrrrggghhh. The wrong side of Canson paper has a very textural surface and the other side is smoother. I prefer the smooth. So now I had to decide whether to continue or start over or just forget about it altogether. I let it sit a day to decide. Finally, I accepted the challenge and am calling it a learning experience...how will it look if I just use the extra texture? Now I know, and since I am sharing this, you do, too.

Kitties on a Red Rug 8 x 10 on Gold Canson paper

Steam Light

When walking past this view at 7:00 AM I loved the way the morning lights and shadows played with the steam and the town below. I took a photo with my cell phone and then tried to render it in pastel. It was a fun exercise!

Steam Light 8 x 10 pastel on orange Canson paper

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Wallflower Butterfly

I was thinking of Spring again today, and since it's not warm and sunny outside I decided to continue with happy, Springy art to help pass the time until the real thing arrives. I took the reference photo for this piece last spring. This butterfly came along and posed so gracefully for me while I was photographing the flowers. I call it the Wallflower Butterfly not because he's shy, but because that's the kind of flowers that it landed on!

Wallflower Butterfly 8x10 pastel on blue Canson paper

Daffodil Time

Just to stay "loose" and keep in practice, I did today's daffodil arrangement in less than an hour. Daffodils do very well around here because the deer ignore them. They're such a cheerful introduction to Spring!

Daffodil time 8 x 10 pastel on grey paper

Red Dahlia

Note to self: Do not wait so long between art projects or the dreaded "fear of the blank paper" syndrome will set in!

To jump back into my art I decided to render something playful and simple. This red dahlia is a bloomer from my back yard last year. Dahlias remind me of my Virginia girls because one year we were taking family photos and the girls wanted to pick and hold dahlia blossoms. Now I think Sophie and Elanor whenever I admire the blooming dahlias. Love you, girls!

Red Dahlia 8x8 pastel on gray canson paper