August Morning

It's going to be a hot one here today, but this morning was cool and lovely. I took the reference photo for this painting in my backyard at 7:30 AM. The morning light was beautiful!

August Morning, 8 x 8.5 pastel on yellow Canson

Rise and Shine, Campers!

This one was fun to paint! One morning on our campout last week I had been up a little while and came upon our tent glowing in the early sunrise. I snapped a reference photo, which turned out much more boring than what I remembered seeing, so I took artistic license today and made this image be more like what I saw that morning...or maybe it's what I thought I saw. Either way, I love it!

Rise and Shine, Campers!, 7.5x8 pastel on white Canson

Up a Creek

Running into the far north end of Sparks Lake is a very cold creek that is usually teeming with little fish. Every year we paddle up the creek as far as we can go and I think this year we set a new record! The water level is the highest we have ever seen for August, which made canoeing here easier than years past. Naturally, I called this painting, "Up a Creek".

Up a Creek, 8x10 pastel on dark green cardstock

Art at the Lake

We just returned from several days of camping at Sparks Lake in central Oregon. I found time to do four pastel paintings while we were there! Plein air painting is quite a challenge. Just when I think I've got the color or shadow right, the light changes and creates a new view of the same subject. However, it was fun trying. :)

The first one was painted as I sat on our bluff campsite looking across the lake in the early morning. The grasses on the other side were bright green in the sunlight.

 Morning Light at Sparks Lake, 8x8 pastel on orange Canson

This painting of South Sister was done in the late morning from a beach not too far from the boat landing. South Sister always reminds Ken and I of a "monkey face", with the dark fissures of the "mouth" creating a rather grumpy looking ape.

 South Sister, otherwise known as Monkey Face, 8x8 pastel on orange Canson

This view was from the back side of our bluff campsite looking into the second cove in the southern part of the lake. I hate trying to paint rocks, so I made myself do it just for the challenge. This was in the late afternoon.

 Rocky Cove, 8x8 pastel on golden Canson

The sun was quite low in the sky when I painted this one, sitting on a tiny beach just north of the southern pool of the lake. The light was changing very quickly on this one so I tried to hurry. :)

Fading Light on Sparks Lake, 8x8 pastel on golden Canson

Sunny Grasses

We're headed out for our annual canoe camp at Sparks Lake! I'm taking along my pastels so that I can play with some plein air paintings. Looking forward to a great week. In the meantime, here is a re-post of a pastel I did of Sparks Lake last year. 

Sunny Grasses, 8x10 pastel on orange Canson

Backyard Lights

This was an accident. I wasn't planning on doing a complete work right now, but I made a few marks on paper for a quick study and it got away from me. Maybe it is still a study, and I'll do another one sometime...but maybe I won't. I was attracted to this subject because of the sun shining through the trees and the happy yellow coneflowers dancing in the light.

Backyard Lights, 8x10 pastel on orange paper

Boulder King

We were driving along a particularly boring section of Nevada last summer when suddenly there was an area with these amazing rock formations. Of course we had to pull over to rest and explore a little, and Ken naturally wanted to climb up to the top of a nearby section. I humored him and captured the moment with my camera. Here is that scene in pastel glory. :)

Boulder King, 8x8 pastel on blue Canson