Backyard Sunrise

Another morning and another inspiration! Before the sun made it up, these bright clouds rolled out the welcoming mats, so to speak. I was amazed. Today I challenged myself to use only one kind of pastel (I have several different brands.) My selections were all Nu-pastels, which have a harder consistency than the others in my box. Still, a challenge is a challenge. So here's the view from my backyard, looking over the rooftops, awaiting the rising sun.

Backyard Sunrise, 8x10 Nu-pastels on grey Canson

Morning Glow

Glancing out my window this morning I was awestruck with the way the morning sunrise had cast a reddish-orange glow upon the leaves in the maple trees. They are still green, but the early light created an entirely different look. Naturally, I had to take a picture and use that reference for today's painting. :)

Morning Glow, 8x10 pastel on white paper

Guardians

My reference for this painting was a photo taken a week ago while walking past the park. I loved the way the tight clipped lawn practically flowed in so many different colors, and I was especially amused by the sight of all those large dark trees standing protectively around the young one.

Guardians, 8x10 pastel on black sandpaper

Rivercrest Park

Large fir trees in the park. Want to go on a picnic?

Rivercrest Park, 8x10 pastel on grey Canson

orange roses

How do you paint a rose when you don't want to paint every petal? That's my latest challenge. I want an impressionistic look, yet still recognizeable. I'll be working on that.

Orange Roses, 7.5 x 8.5 pastel on off-white Strathmore

Sunset over Sparks Lake

I tried an unsual paper for this painting: 600 grit black sandpaper! Yep, the kind you buy in the hardware section of the store. This surface really grabs the pastel and was fun to work with. For this experiment I decided to paint a sunset that we watched over the lake a couple weeks ago. Yes, it really was that bright. :)

Sunset over Sparks Lake, 8 x 10 pastel on black sandpaper

Dahlia in a Jar

A Dahlia blossom that was displayed in a jar at the Clackamas County Fair. I am using a different paper today and the pastels did not layer very well, so I did a fair amount of finger smudging (on purpose). Normally I just like to make a mark and leave it.

Dahlia in a Jar, 6 x 7.5 inches, pastel on cream Strathmore charcoal paper

Cherry Tomatoes

At Erika's last night we picked a bunch of sweet cherry tomatoes. The girls helped me make bruschetta to go with dinner, but that only used up a small portion of our pickings. I brought some home with me and today I thought it would be fun to paint a few of them before lunch. :)

Cherry Tomatoes, 6x6 pastel on white Canson

Reception Flowers

My nephew got married this weekend and I was gifted with this extra bouquet from the reception. Should I try to paint it? Yep.

Reception Flowers, 8x10 pastel on grey Canson

Morning Lights

This was painted a couple days ago, but not yet posted. My reference was a photo taken on a morning walk last winter. I loved the look of the sunrise combined with the glow from the streetlight on the homes down the street.

Morning Lights, 5x7 pastel on white Canson

Pansy

This little pansy was sitting all alone at the Fair Tuesday afternoon. Looks a little sad or grumpy, don't you think?

Pansy, 5.5 x 7.5 pastel on yellow Canson

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