Lighten Up!

I purchased a pad of white "pearlized" paper that had a nice feel to it. Perhaps it would take pastel well? Hmmm, not as well as I thought, since I can't apply very many layers. However, it will give me an opportunity to work lighter, and try suggesting my subjects with as few strokes as possible. For this piece I am using only the side of the pastel for broad areas as well as thinner lines. It was enjoyable, so I'll work with that technique for a while. It does help me to "lighten up". :)

Holiday Cactus Shadows

Ken unearthed a portable, swinging arm lamp today for me to use in still life set-ups. I've never seen that lamp before and he doesn't remember where it came from, either, but it's perfect for my use. I set up my first lighted still-life today and loved the dramatic shadows that were thrown onto the surface below. Woo Hoo! I'm going to have fun with this. The number one subject today was a little Holiday Cactus with one large bloom. The plant is potted up in a cute polka-dotted yellow vase.

Holiday Cactus Shadows, 6x6 pastel

Missouri Daylilies, take 2

There. I like this one a lot more than yesterday's version. :)

Missouri Daylilies

I should have been making dinner. In fact, I headed toward the kitchen with initial thoughts of preparing food, but then my mind skipped out on me and thought about daylilies on the roadside in Missouri.

Before I knew it, I was in my work room and hastily scribbling bright bands of color across a piece of dark paper...just a memory of some of those daylilies that thrilled me this summer. This little piece took all of 20 minutes, maybe. It was rather fun, and I think I'll approach this subject matter again soon. Maybe quiet the sky down a bit, though.

Missouri Daylilies, 5x5 pastel on black paper

Dinner tonight was hashbrowns, black bean, tomato and salsa scramble in tomato-basil tortilla wraps. It took less time to prepare than the pastel did. :)

Jade Survivor

I pruned my big Jade plant today, and decided to use this little survivor to do a small still life painting. It was quick and fun.

I Surrender!

Poor Woody. He's had quite a day. Those pinecones came a little too close, and his portrait artist nearly killed him, too! He's definitely ready to surrender.

Before I was even half way into the picture today, I knew that I had a mess on my hands. Since there was no turning back, I just kept applying more color, willy-nilly, used the black pastel to boldly go where he probably shouldn't have gone, and splotched in a "background". Yeah, poor Woody. It was kind of fun, though, after I let go of it, so to speak, and just doodled around for fun. :)

A change of scenery was needed, so I pulled out a photo we took this summer in Missouri. This is the valley of Adam-Ondi-Ahman. Yes, the far back field really looked that blue in the distance. (When I showed him this pastel, Ken thought he was looking at a lake. Even when I showed him the photo reference, he still didn't recognize the place.) We visited on a very hot afternoon, and only stayed at the overlook a short period of time, but it was a gorgeous setting.

No Respect for Personal Space

I noticed that Woody was alarmed no matter who was posing with him. But it did seem as though the fruit were a little too close for comfort.

"No Respect for Personal Space", 8x10 pastel on black paper

The Woody Challenge

Over in LaPine there is an old chunk of wood which acquired an artificial personality years ago. I stuck feathers in the "head", glued on googly eyes, and painted a mouth. He is the Woody guy...I know, not very original. Poor Woody is stuck with the same frightened look full time, so I decided to use him as a model in several still-life arrangements. He looks rediculous in all of them, and I am looking forward to rendering his escapades in pastel.

Here is Woody, the original, as is.

I thought that rendering him in pastel might be a challenge, and boy, is it. I made a couple miserable attempts today, but I haven't found the right method yet. Rather than staying with a realistic image, I want the freedom to change things up a bit and keep it sort of whimsical, but still kind of recognizeable as a piece of wood. There's my challenge. If I can get the values right (the lights and darks), then maybe the colors can be whatever I want them to be. Stay tuned for my "Woody Challenge". I wonder how it will turn out?

Lake Tahoe Drive-By

Today's challenge was Ken's choice! I asked him what I should paint and his first suggestion was Lake Tahoe, so here we go.

The reference is from a "drive-by" photo we snapped this summer as we, well, drove by the lake on our way to Yosemite. It was getting later in the afternoon and you can see the shadows falling on the left hillside. Many years ago we were fortunate to be able, with most of our family, to ride a small pleasure craft through these waters and right past this little island. Our captain was a kind relative of our son-in-law and we had a great day cruising and even swimming in this this beautiful (COLD!!) lake.

Lake Tahoe Drive-By, 8x10 pastel on yellow Canson

Yosemite Falls

Seven months ago I was in this place below and taking my reference photo! Lovely Yosemite Falls and the Merced River below it. I climbed the trail to the top of this Falls many years ago and thought I'd die along the way. It was the hardest hike ever. Of course, I wasn't in the best shape that year to start with, but I really thought it would be easier. Phew! I'm glad I did it, though. Now I'll have to be content with trying to paint it in pastel, and dream of the day when we can go back there again.

"Yosemite Falls and the Merced River", 8x8 pastel on yellow Canson

Cold Virginian Stream

Sitting home today, nursing a cough that someone else was sweet enough to lend me. Bah! (Cough Cough) Trying to lose it without giving it away myself.

Anyway, art was NOT calling me, but I decided to approach it a little bit anyway, remembering the counsel: "Paint MORE OFTEN". So today's offering is a quick sketch of a stream we have walked by many times with cute little girls in Virginia. Those cute little girls are now learning to use chopsticks in Korea, but I associate this place with them anyway. Maybe I should call it: "Winter in the Reston Greenways" instead?

"Cold Virginian Stream", 8x10 on yellow Canson paper

Imaginary Scenes

Today I worked on some no-stress "pretend scenes". Meaning, they are not real places...at least none that I have ever visited. Without the concern of getting the water or trees or hills the same as a particular place, I felt more free in just moving color around. It was a nice exercise that I think I will be doing more of to lose some of the fear of reality.

In the first one, the trees got overworked and lost their freshness. I'm much happier with the trees in the second piece because I used fewer marks on it.  I added some pretend flowers in the field, and now it's probably my favorite one of the day.

"Wet Field", 5x5 on black paper

"Two trees in the field", 5x5 on black paper

"Marshland", 5x5 on black paper

Hetch Hetchy and Advice to Me

Ugh. This was one of those days that nothing seemed to go right with my art. I did several attempts at a scene and didn't like any of them. Then I was browsing some online art and looked at the blog of a pastel artist that I really admire: Karen Margulis. Today she posted advice that someone gave to her once. The advice was to "Paint More Often". Karen took that advice and has been painting daily for 6 years. DAILY! Naturally, she has learned so much through the experience, and has become a wonderful painter.

"Dear me: Stop being so hard on yourself. Stop judging your own work against professionals who have put in years of labor to get where they are. Keep working and keep learning."

With that in mind, here's today's effort. (At least the one I will show you). This is a scene from a hike in the Hetch Hetchy in June. It's a part of the Yosemite National Park that most people don't go to see because it was flooded years ago to build a dam. The colors are off and the composition lacks something, but even in the yuckiness I have learned a few things. I guess that's progress.

"Hetch Hetchy", 5x5 on black paper

Fruit Cup on a Stump

My kids would recognize this cup...over the years it has held a lot of hot cocoa while we camped on the property! Today, it's a "fruit cup". There are things I like about this piece, and things I don't...but it was a good exercise anyway. I might revisit the composition another time.

"Fruit Cup on a Stump", 5x5 pastel

Pinecone with a cherry on top

While we were visiting in LaPine last summer I spent an afternoon photographing still lifes designed with the things we had on the property. With no distractions (Ken was busy playing lumberman), I had a great time creating and arranging various "portraits" with the materials that were on hand. If you're following along, you'll see many of these translated into loose pastels. Yes, loose. It's an exercise in trying not to include all the details or be perfect about shapes, but just enjoying the process of making art. It is a lot more fun that way.

"Pinecone with a cherry on top" 5x5 pastel on black paper

Joshua Trees

Nevada's sage gave way to an area that had these awesome cactus-like plants. I did a search and found out they were Joshua Trees. Mile after mile...

"Joshua Trees" 5x5 on black paper

Nevada Sage

Driving through Nevada has never been very exciting. The sage plants were blooming this year, however, so they had a little more color than I remember. We saw mile after mile of the same thing. Might as well make a picture of it!

"Nevada Sage", 5x5 pastel on black paper

Sparks Lake Wildflowers

These flowers resembled Queen Ann's Lace, but a little bit different. Trying to loosen up again and not paint so "tightly".

Sparks Lake Wildflowers, 5x5 pastel on black Canson paper