Raindrop Rose

I went walking in the rain this morning and a beautiful rose caught my attention! The paper I chose for this painting is a soft velour, which helps to convey the velvety feeling of petals. I don't usually do realism, so this was hard work!

"Raindrop Rose", 5 x 7 pastel on grey velour paper

Presume Welcome, Continued

I have gotten behind on posting to this blog! I keep my Facebook page current, but sometimes I forget to upload here, too. Continuing with the "Presume Welcome" series, here are the latest ones. The first two were painted on mat board, coated ahead of time with gesso. It gives a very textured surface which was quite difficult to use and get any kind of detail. I think that kind of surface will work well with landscapes, but I switched back to smoother paper for the last two.

 

 

"Presume Welcome no. 2", 5 x 7 pastel on gessoed mat board 

"Presume Welcome no. 3", 5 x 7 pastel on gessoed matboard

 

 

"A Carnation Welcome", 5 x 7 pastel on blue Canson paper

"American Colors", 5 x 7 pastel on orange cardstock

Presume Welcome

 A dear friend once taught me that whenever we are approaching a new situation and feel nervous about it, that it is helpful to "assume welcome". They are wise words which I have taken to heart. If you've ever been to her house, I'm sure you have felt welcomed, too.

 

"Presume Welcome", 7 x 8.5 pastel on cardstock

Morning Light on South Sister

I sat on a small beach on Sparks Lake in central Oregon to capture this view with my pastels. This is our most favorite canoeing lake in the State and we come back year after year to camp. We load all our gear into the canoes, paddle about two miles to find a place to set up our tents, and then happily "rough it" (in the most comfortable way possible) for a week. Great times!!

 

Morning Light on South Sister, 8 x 10 pastel on red cardstock

And Nature Smiled

A few weeks ago we wandered for hours on forest service roads, looking for a trail to Memaloose Lake. Along the way, we also found great views like this one!

 

And Nature Smiled, 8 x 10 on Wallis sanded paper

Looking Back

We spent a week canoe camping at Sparks Lake in central Oregon with some of our favorite friends. One evening as we paddled back to camp we were witness to a gorgeous sunset. I found myself looking back constantly (instead of paddling!) to take reference photos, to admire the colors, and to check on the progress of our friends behind us. Today's painting is a tribute to that beautiful memory.

Looking Back, 8 x 10 pastel on grey "suede" paper