a Georgia winter

9"x12" pastel on Uart paper  $80

This is what our winters in Georgia look like mostly. We get very little snow, but it does get cold!. I'm fortunate to have several parks close by to walk in and I usually bring along my camera. 

reference photo

This is from the Sope Creek park. There are many paths through the woods and down to the creek. The paths are covered with a russet pine straw that falls from the lob lolly pines. It's so prevalent that we use it as mulch in our gardens.

oil stain on Uart paper

I decided to do an oil stain on Uart paper. I needed to to get the rich colors of the pine straw and lob lolly pines as a base. Then I layered in the pastels.

it's a grey day

8"x10" pastel on Pastelmat paper

The weather is cold and grey today. We are expecting rain here in GA. This always makes me moody. I've been sitting in my studio all day, wanting to paint, but not feeling inspired by anything. I need to push myself to paint something! I started looking through my photos and came across some that I recently took on a gloomy day. This one seemed to match my mood somewhat, so I decided to use it.

reference photo along the Chattahoochee River

Finally I had a connection and was able to produce a painting. It was more about making myself paint than trying to turn out a beautiful painting, but I'm happy with the way it turned out. I sure am anxious for the winter to be over with here in GA.

painting in a larger format

12"x15" pastel on La Carte Paper

Mostly I have been painting in a smaller format - 5"x7",6"x6" or 9"x12". I'm comfortable with these sizes. But I want to challenge myself with doing larger paintings. Today I pulled a piece of 12"x15" La Carte pastel paper…..ok I'm gradually getting larger! It's really cold outside - I needed cheering up , so I looked through my Gibbs Garden photos and picked these two spring photos. 

reference photos

I have used these photos before for some 5"x7" studies. I had fun doing the studies and thought these might be something I could use for a series of paintings changing the mood and colors. 

5"x7" pastel study on Uart

5"x7" pastel study on Uart

I had just loaded up my new "baby" Heilman pastel box with new Terry Ludwig pastels (plein air landscape and southeast landscape sets). Getting myself ready to do some plein air painting this year! I pulled out the box and decided to use them for this painting. It would be a good way to see if I needed to add or subtract  to what is in the box. I used only what was in the box , but I'm sure I will be making some adjustments along the way.

my Hielman box

spring is coming soon….

8"x10" pastel on LaCarte

It's so cold outside! I am really looking forward to the spring. I have planted an assortment of shrubs and foliage in my courtyard so that I can enjoy it throughout the seasons. Despite the cold the Lenton Roses are blooming! I took this photo last week, and it reminds me that spring is coming soon!

my reference photo

I really have enjoyed painting on the Sennelier LaCarte paper. The texture is wonderful and it can take a lot of layers of pastel. Normally I would have gone to my safe paper, Uart sanded 500 grit. But I wanted to experiment. I was comfortable using it after doing the animal paintings. I think it worked out great for the lent in roses and will be adding it to my list of favorite papers!

more animals and birds…...

"lily" 8"x10" pastel on LaCarte

I had so much fun painting my siberian husky, that I wanted to paint more! If I'm going to get better and grow as a painter I have to paint a lot. So I went at it….. My sister has these beautiful Maine coon cats. They are so expressive and big! THis first one is Lily, she is very gray, but when I looked close I saw lots of color!

"madison" 8"x10" pastel on LaCarte

This is Madison, not quite as big as Lily but still a big fluff ball ! I love her green eyes!

whoot whoot! 8"x10" pastel on LaCarte

My work would not have been complete with out painting another owl….I just love them. This is not my photo, but one I have had on my mind to paint for awhile.  I feel like I'm coming full circle with painting the owl….. I've painted many in watercolors!

painting animals

"kobi" 8"x10" pastel on La Carte

Todays workshop with Karen Margulis was on painting animals. For some reason I was nervous about painting them, I've been so focused on landscapes! I went through my reference photos of birds, thinking I was familiar painting them in watercolors. But I came across some photos of my Siberian Husky, Kobi, and said this would be my subject matter for today! After Karen's demo and talk I was more comfortable. I needed to think of painting like I always do, laying in the basic shapes and values. 

reference photo and drawing

After doing my drawing and picking my palette I  was ready to paint!  We all turned out some great paintings today and it was a lot of fun watching everyone's work progress. Next I will attempt painting my sisters maine coon cats! 

Kobi

teepee project

Teepee one 6"x6" pastel study

My husband's brother and his wife have a beautiful home in Big Sky MT. They asked if I would do some paintings for them…..wow!  They referred me to an artist, Tom Gilleon , who's work they love. After researching the work, I see why they liked it so much. The color and simplicity of his work was wonderful. I'm against trying to copy another artist"s work, but I thought I would give it a try. I could make these paintings my own. I researched photos of Indian teepees, new and old, and picked several photos to work from. Then I did some pen and watercolor sketches to see how I felt about them.

quick pen and watercolor sketches

Next I needed to decide on a palette. I wanted to use a variation of the palette in all the studies so they would work well together.

 My sister in law wasn't sure of the size of the space I would be putting them. So I talked about format and how we could put 2, 3 or 4 paintings together. Next we would have to decide size. I decided to do the studies in a square 6"x6" format. I worked the studies one at a time but kept them all up on my board so I could see how they would work together. 

teepee two 6"x6" pastel study

teepee three 6"x6" pastel study

teepee four 6"x6"pastel study

So I'm off to a start! We still have to work on adjusting the colors so the paintings will work well with their house decor and decide on size and how many paintings will fill the space. But I'm excited about doing the pieces. I love the simplicity of the sky and landscape…. my direction for my own work. And it will be fun to be expressive with the colors. I will post more when I start the final paintings.

goals to be a better painter

12"x16" pastel $100

I really want to grow as a painter. So I have made several goals for myself this year. The first goal is to really challenge myself, to push myself beyond what I have been comfortable with. I want to paint more expressively, to put more of myself into my paintings. I will be working from only my own reference photos and venturing out to paint "plein air"! I would also like to paint on a larger format.  It's time for me to become part of the art community, entering my work in exhibitions and taking more workshops from artists/teachers.

The last 2 days I have been working on this one that I posted, almost twice the size I have been doing. It is from a photo I took at Gibbs Garden last year. The reflection in the water was beautiful. But up until now I was afraid to attempt painting it. I know I have so much more to learn….this year I am putting myself into it completely .

a walk in the woods

8"x10" pastel study

This past week I asked a friend to walk with me. With camera in hand we didn't have to go very far with the Chattahoochee River and Sope Creek close by. I have a whole different perspective when taking photos these days. I think more in terms of framing for a painting. I take a lot photos so I get feel for the area.

along the Chattahoochee River

This particular photo was interesting to me. I liked the the dried weeds, the tree line in the background and the sky was gray. I wasn't sure it would make a good painting, so I thought I would do a study. I wanted to challenge myself so I picked Mi-Tientes pastel paper which I don't like very much. It does not have as much tooth as the sanded paper I usually work on. I'm determined not to give up on this paper! I set to work laying in the basic shapes and darkest values. Layering the pastel and using fixative spray I ended up with a study that I was satisfied with. I think I will keep trying this paper…..