Fall River Lake, Kansas

Fall River Lake,Kansas 8 x 10 pastel on Canson paper, textured side

Lake Hasty

Lake Hasty, 8 x 10 pastel on blue Canson paper

The sun was already sinking, so this pastel was done quickly, in only 30 minutes. It was a very hot evening in eastern Colorado

Watching for the Bear

Watching for the Bear, 8 x 10 pastel on orange Canson paper

Sonora Bridge Vista

Finally, my first published artwork after waaaaay too long! At our campsite the day before, I had time to sit and paint an image of our view. There were a few things I didn't like about it, so it is now called a "study", and today, using that reference, I repainted it to share with you here. My favorite parts of the picture are the colorful sage bushes in the forground. The southwest certainly has wonderful shades of green that look beautiful against the reddish colored rocks and soil!

Sonora Bridge Vista 8 x 10 pastel on gray Canson paper

Sarah wondered if using pastels is called drawing or painting, and the best answer would be "both". Pastels can be used for drawing, and many people use them that way, but when the entire support (paper) is covered with color, it is called a painting. Drawing is generally done with lines, whereas the way most pastel artists use the medium is by applying it with broad strokes and blending on the paper....sort of like painting with your fingertips. That's the way I work, and so I refer to my finished pieces as paintings. Good question!

Promises, Promises

This past month has just flown by, and I've not dedicated any time to paint with my pastels! I could list excuses and reasons why, but I don't think I will.

However, my pastels are coming with me on our 6-week road trip across the USA and back, and I AM going to be finding times to sit and render my own interpretations of the gorgeous landscapes around me! The photos of the finished work might be taken with my camera phone to post online here, but I'm not going to complain about that, either. I'm just planning to enjoy my trip, paint as much as I can, and share my work as much as possible. This will be my first venture into "Plein Air" painting (as opposed to indoor studio work) and I'm looking forward to it. We leave in 3 days!!