What do you do with all those small scraps of pastel paper?

4"x10" pastel on Uart 500

I've been working on another painting that has just not been coming together, so I decided I needed to have a play day in my studio to calm my mind. I have all these left over scraps of pastel paper in odd small sizes. Thanks to a recent post by Karen Margulis, I now know what to do with them……PLAY

Last night my sister texted me some sunset photos from where she is visiting and this is what inspired me to start playing!

texted photos from my sister

a perfect image for those 4"x 8"or 11" scraps! So I painted another one. My goal was just loosen up and let go of the frustration I was feeling with the other painting (which I have put aside for now but not given up on!)

8"x10" pastel on Uart 500

We had gone out for dinner last night and drove home a different way. On the way there was a view we passed from a local golf course, that just caught my eye! Painting……. so I went back this morning and took several photos. These would be good for more of those small scraps!.

Golf course photos plus one from Gibbs Garden

More play! I used Nupastels and a piece of foam insulation to rub in the under paintings on all of the small studies.

underpainting samples

I'm feeling so much better. I used mostly Richard McKinley Great American landscape pastels on all of these small paintings. Some will probably be used as studies for larger paintings. These small paintings will also make great little sale items for me at my october and november art and gift shows. (more to follow on that)

4"x4" pastel on Uart 500

4"x8" pastel on Uart 500

4"x4" pastel on Uart 500

painter's block

"pathway back #5" 9"x12"pastel on Uart 500  $80

Every so often, I go through these periods when I'm "stuck " with my painting….painter's block, whatever! It's so frustrating to me because I want to paint everyday. I just have not been connecting with anything….When this happens I sit back and just try to relax and usually spend time going through my pile of "inspirations" - copies of artist's work that I love. I also go through my photos and pull anything that even slightly shows interest to me and do some simple black pen drawings.

reference photos and black pen drawings

I hate to waste a good piece of Uart paper. I had tried several watercolor under paintings and actually got started laying in the pastel - but I just wasn't liking it. So I put the paper in the sink and washed off as much of the underpainting/pastel with water, then blocked and let the paper dry. Back to the drawing board! One reference photo/drawing had some potential. I used that blocked paper and did another watercolor underpainting, you can still see the shadow of the previous underpainting.

reference photo/blk pen drawing

new watercolor underpainting

I sort of had an image in my head of what I wanted to paint. Determined not to give up, I said to myself 

"relax and paint what I feel". Another pathway back…..

"queen anne's garden"

"queen anne's garden" 9"x12" pastel on Uart 500  $80

I am a great admirer of Karen Margulis' and Loriann Signori's wild flower paintings. They both really inspire me to paint the wildflowers too! On my recent trip to CT there is a roadside field that is covered with Queen Anne's lace. We drove by it several times and all I could think was that I had to paint it!. One day I stopped and took several photos.

reference photo for this painting

I decided to do a quick 6"x8" study while I was there, so that I could use it for reference to do a larger painting  in my studio. It's hard to resist painting each of the flowers, but I just broke the scene down into the basic shapes and highlighted some of the flowers. More work to do on painting wildflowers, but I am excited.

6"x8" quick study

Since I have been back home , I have been spending a lot of time in my studio and decided today to try my hand at the field photos. I think I will do some more!

Plum Island marshes

12"x12" pastel on Uart  $100

I am finally back home in my studio. I had gone up north for some vacation time to visit my mom and sisters in CT. My sister surprised me with a trip to Newburyport MA and a 2 night stay in a B&B ! For one of our day trips we headed out to Plum Island. I brought along my plein air bag thinking I would have time to paint. Unfortunately, the green head flies had just hatched in the marshes. For those of you who know - they are EVERYWHERE and they BITE! So I ran out of the car and snapped as many photos as I could and somehow managed not to get any bites. 

my reference photos

 When we got back to the B&B, I pulled out my plein air bag and sat outside at the gazebo. I wanted to get some studies done while the images were still fresh in my head.

 2 small studies 5"x5" and 5"x7"

Back home in my studio I used the reference photos and my studies to a larger painting. I had just bought myself a new set of Schmincke watercolors to keep in my plein air bag,so I used them to do an underpainting.

watercolor underpainting on Uart 500

I wanted the underpainting to show through, so I lightly layers on the pastels. I used Terry Ludwig, Girault and Schmincke pastels on Uart 500 paper.

After 2 weeks away, I was very happy to get back to work in my studio.

"a new day"

"a new day" 9"x12" pastel on Uart 500  $80

We have really hot summers in the south and I usually head out early for my morning walks with my Siberian Husky, Kobi. 

Kobi

I am so thankful for each new day and enjoy these morning walks watching the sunrise. The sky was soft and hazy and I caught a photo of the sun just as it was coming up through the trees.

my reference photo

I decided to do a watercolor underpainting to capture the soft colors of the sky.

watercolor underpainting

I really admire Liz Haywood-Sullivan's sky paintings and mostly used her "sky and water" set of Terry Ludwig Pastels for this painting.

bio/artist statement revision

"early morning storm" 12"x16" pastel on Uart 500  $125

As I grow as an artist, it's important to understand my artistic intentions. I'm more comfortable expressing myself visually, but I understand the need to have an artistic statement in writing. So here is something that I have been working on. Comments are welcome.

Why am I an artist - I have always had an interest in the arts. As a child always drawing, coloring and painting. As I matured, painting became something that totally absorbed me. I feel I express myself better visually, rather than with words.

What inspires me - Nature inspires me. I have a great love for images of nature, in particular, birds, flowers, landscapes and the sky. The Impressionist painters, with the way they interpreted what they saw, and Vermeer, with his use of light - inspired an interest in painting.

How I paint - I went to college as a fine arts major. I wanted to experience many of the fine arts and chose to focus on painting. I started painting oils in college, later on working in watercolors, and currently working in pastels. What is wonderful about these three mediums is that you can use an oil stain and watercolors as an underpainting for the pastel. My paintings are combinations of oil stain/pastel, watercolor/pastel, and all pastel or watercolor.

What you should understand about me - My paintings are of images that I connect with. I, visually, tell you about these connections with color and light. I refer to my paintings as "pieces of me"

I grew up in Connecticut and attended Chamberlayne Jr. College and Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, MA, graduating with a B.F.A. , majoring in painting. My work career was in floral design and retail management. After getting married and raising two children, I now live in Marietta GA. I sell my work privately  and through local art shows.

"my quiet place"

"my quiet place" 12"x16" pastel on Uart 500  $125

It has been really hot here in the South! Most of us just stay inside or try to find a cool place to sit. My brother-in-law has designed and planted a beautiful garden around his home. When we go over to visit, I always take a walk through the garden and take photos. I took a couple of photos of this stone walkway. It was in the shade, cool and peaceful.

I went back another day and stood there and took in the space….. it felt good to me. So I did a quick 5"x7" study to see how I felt about painting the pathway. 

5"x7" pastel study on Italian Clay Pastel Premier paper

 I went home to my studio and pulled out a piece of Uart 500 paper, did a sketch and then an oil stain underpainting. 

sketch on Uart

oil stain underpainting

I needed to let it dry over night, so I decided to go ahead and pick my pastels and test them on scrap paper. I used all Terry Ludwig pastels, I love the square edges.  I did add a few more as I worked on the painting. 

I worked on the painting for several hours today and then went out to do an errand, came back and put the finishing touches on it. I'm happy with "my quiet place"