still dreaming about that walk in the snow…..

9"x12"  $80

It's pouring rain here in GA, but I'm still dreaming about that walk in the snow. The hustle of Christmas is over and I can spend more time in my studio. I still had some of that Rives printmaking paper that I had coated with clear gesso. It's texture is perfect for snow scenes! 

For my underpainting , I pulled out my Nupastel hard pastels, laying in the darkest values. Then I did an alcohol wash with a paint brush, painting in the evergreen trees, sky, background trees and snow. I just wanted to layer the pastel over the underpainting so it looked like it was snowing!

underpainting

Even though I don't live in a snowy climate now, I still have fond memories of the snow growing up in New England. Let it snow!!!!!

a walk in the snow…..

"a walk in the snow" 9"x12" $80

I'm tired of all the Christmas rush! I needed to take some time off and go to my studio and paint. It relaxes me - my mind is totally focused on the painting. I haven't had time to get out and take some new landscape photos for painting, but I really wanted to paint today. So I looked through my stack of winter reference photos.

reference photo and framed mini painting($75)

I had used this one before and painted a mini 2.5"x3.5" pastel. I loved the way it turned out, so I decided this would be a good one to paint larger. I pulled out a 9"x12" piece of sanded Uart paper and did a watercolor underpainting - I wanted the drips in the paint. 

watercolor underpainting

I had done all the work on the mini - blocking in the basic shapes and values - and used it as a guide for the larger painting. The larger painting came together easily.

Hopefully I'll be able to get out soon ( or sneak a trip to CT !) for some new winter photos. We don't get much snow in GA - but it's fun dreaming about a walk in the snow!

Painting fruit

5"x5" $25

Busy with the holiday preparations, I have not had time to take new photos of landscapes to paint. I was sitting in my kitchen looking at the pears, pomegranates and apples I had on the counter and thought… why not try painting them. Red is not my favorite color to paint with - so it would be a good challenge for me. I had some white Pastelmat paper that I had toned with yellow ochre oil paint and cut it up into mostly 5"x5" pieces. These would be good for quick studies of the fruit. With the fruit in hand and some reference photos I headed to my studio whenever I had an hour or two of downtime.

These are all 5"x5" $25

I had a good time painting the red fruit and am feeling more comfortable with painting red.

5"x7" $35

approx. 5"x7" $35

Uart sanded paper really holds up!

"early morning glow"

9"x12"

I love using Uart sanded pastel paper! I prefer the 500 grit which is what I used for this painting. 

I had done an underpainting with Nupastels and an alcohol wash. But I was not happy with how the painting was turning out - it was getting muddy and had lost all the sparkle I wanted to paint. So I put the paper in the sink and rinsed the pastel off! Most of the underpainting remained, which was great, so I didn't have to start over completely. I blocked the paper and let it dry. Then I went back to work. I'm much happier with this painting.

little pieces of me

5"x7" small pastel

After doing a workshop with Karen Margulis on painting mini pastels, I had to have a go at it and have been painting them for the last week. I pulled out my scraps of pastel paper and cut them into 5"x7", 5"x5", 4"x4", and 2.5"x3.5". I thought about what I had learned - keep them SIMPLE! Paint the basic shapes and values and then add some spice.

collages of some on my small pastels

In my recent sales at the Whimsical Wares Art and Gift show, I noticed that I had sold quite a few of the 5"x7' size pastels. This is a great way for the collector to buy a piece of original art at an affordable price. I thought about the framing possibilities - grouping several together, framing them with mats and larger frames to give them more of a presentation, or just sitting them on a tiny easel in a bookcase or on a table.

 I had so much fun painting these little pieces of me. It helped me to loosen up and to look at what's really important in the photo I  used as a reference. I can use these small paintings as studies for larger paintings. I will paint more! They are all available for sale. Please go to my FB art page - Bonnie Morgan Hyde fine art - and look in the photo album marked pastels for more of me work.  You can message me there.

"autumn joy"……I had a plan

                                                "with the color of the leaves turning bright,
                                                                    To their delight.
                                                     Red and yellow with orange in sight"
                                                               (Lawrence S. Pertillar)

"autumn joy" 9"x12"

I had gone to Gibb's Garden last week with a friend. We had hit it at the perfect time - the maple trees were at their peak in autumn colors! I was so excited and felt connected to the images I was bringing home on my camera.

I had a plan - thanks to a recent workshop with Karen Margulis. I had a reference photo that I was passionate about. I did a simple thumbnail value sketch to work out the composition and values. I picked my color palette (adding a few along the way) and did a hard pastel with alcohol wash  underpainting to lay in the simple values. It was an "ah hah" moment. The painting came together. Everyone in our workshop ended up with a painting we felt good about.

I think this is my favorite of the autumn paintings I have done so far this season. It may be hard for me to part with - Those "pieces of me". I will have to paint more now that I have a plan!

 Thank you Karen Margulis! 

Autumn days…...

Red and yellow painted leaves

hang idly within the trees

They break and sail along the breeze

As fires of Autumn's time

(Wesley Mincin)

9"x12"

I'm always excited when the Autumn season comes around. Crisp days, cool nights and the changing colors of the foliage.

"country road" 9"x12"

I used  many of my Girault neutrals and friends pastel for this painting to express the stormy gray day.

I really enjoy doing a wet underpainting for my pastels and pulled out my Winsor Newton watercolors for this next one to block in the basic shapes and colors. 

watercolor underpainting

final painting

"majestic" 12"x18"

I guess pretty soon I will be looking for the blues, browns and whites of winter.

Hoot Hoot! my pastel owls

I thought I was tired of painting birds….. I had painted about 50 of them in watercolor. But I was missing them! So I decided to give the birds a try in pastel with an underpainting of Artisan water mixed oil paint. My goal is to be more expressive with the pastel rather than painting every detail as I tried to do with watercolors.

9"x12"  SOLD

Owls were always my favorite  to paint…..their eyes always a fascination to me. So I painted more.

12"x14"

12"x16"

I will most likely paint more…...

More about the sky……..

I never had really paid that much attention to the sky, but now I found myself always looking UP when I headed outside. It really is amazing how beautiful it can be.

After doing the ten 5"x7"studies, I was ready to try something bigger. I worked as large as 12"x18".

My sky pastels will be available at the Whimsical Wares Art and Gift show November 12-16 at Paper Mill Village Marietta GA.

Please look at the pastel photo album on my art page at FB (Bonnie Morgan Hyde fine art) for more images of my pastel work.

My sky studies

A good friend of mine suggested that I paint the sky. I put it off, not feeling confident enough to paint it. I had done a pastel workshop on the sky, but still wasn't ready. My pastel instructor had headed off on a cruise and was posting 5"x7" studies of the sky. This size seemed less intimidating to me, so I thought I would give this a try myself. Unfortunately I was not going on a cruise! So I headed outside and observed the sky locally.

Once I got going with it, I really enjoyed painting the sky. I took a lot of photos and did some reading on cloud formation. I didn't spend more than 20 minutes on each of the 5"x7" studies. Now I find myself always looking up at the sky.

 In the end I liked them so much that I decided to frame them all together and hung it in my studio!.  I have digitally scanned and printed giclee copies of all 10 of the sky studies. They will be available for sale at the Whimsical Wares art and gift show November 12-16 at Paper Mill village in Marietta GA.

Part 10 - more landscapes , studies in color and composition

 I spent a lot of time focused on painting landscapes this summer. I worked on color, wanting it to be more expressive. And I wanted good composition . Before I even put the pastel to the paper I would do a sketch in my sketchbook and a value study. I think this really helped me to end up with a better painting.

This last one I am posting is a redo from the same reference photo that I used when I first started with the pastels. I sold that first painting. But I wanted to try it again to see if I could improve on it.

Well, that's it for now. I'm going to take a few days off and heading out and hopefully will come home with some new photos  and fresh thoughts to work on in my studio. 

Part 9 - Summer comes and so do flowers.

I seem to follow the seasons with my painting. So when spring and summer came, everything turning green and flowering……. that's what I focused my painting on.

I was afraid to paint the flowers, afraid I would get caught up in the details , like my watercolors. I had to look at them differently. I  had to simplify them and just get the expression of the flowers.