a different format

Third in the Sky View series is "Sky View Wildflowers." Working in a series is interesting. The artist has a chance to fully explore the elements of the scene by painting them many times. The constants from painting to painting then become somewhat intuitive.

best of america pastel artists, vol. II

I almost forgot this good news. Two of my paintings are included in the new book, Best of America Pastel Artists, Vol. II, due out this month. Just ordered my copy. Click on the image to enlarge.

fall color

The second painting I was working on earlier in the week escaped the hose...at least for now. This is "Fall Color," one of those beautiful rock walls along the highway to Eastern Washington. Pastel on paper, 19 x 14.5 inches.

sky view afternoon

The second pastel in the sky view series is Sky View Afternoon, 14 x 14 inches. I started this painting yesterday and by bedtime wasn't sure of its future. Began again this morning, outside it was dark and pouring down rain. Now it is a sunny fall afternoon and I'm calling this painting done

the OK parts

Worked on two paintings all day today. Forgot to make a dental appointment, call about a flu shot, mail a check out and schedule car service. These strips show the OK parts of each painting (I won't show you the not OK parts). These parts will stay unless I have a "hose-'em-off" attack tomorrow.

Good News

Good News! Judge Lyle Silver selected my painting for the Bellevue Art & Frame Award. The public can attend the Artists’ Reception (1-4 PM) and Awards Ceremony (2:30 PM) Saturday October 24. Musical entertainment will be provided by the Redmond High School Chamber Orchestra. Admission is free and refreshments will be provided.Click on the card image to enlarge for address.

sky view meadow

Last Saturday I was in the hills above Cle Elum, Washington. It was 36 degrees with a few flakes of snow. The far hills were a brilliant blue; the faded grasses and wildflowers were dry and windswept. All that neutral foliage just begging to be painted with a push of color - "Sky View Meadow" is the result of that trip.

waiting game

Living in the present is sometimes difficult. I know the events of life have to play out in their own time.  What I choose to do while waiting is of utmost importance. I don't want to look back at a period of time and realize that I was so preoccupied with what I hoped would happen (or not happen) that I missed the blessings of the present.

At 24.5 x 18.5 inches, this is my largest abstracted work in pastel to date. It was fun to have more space to explore relationships but the larger format also presented additional challenges. At one point I thought I might cut the painting into several smaller paintings. I had too many precious areas. I finally relinquished some to bring "Waiting Game" together.

high key sunday

Another old painting wiped off and repainted. The small images show how the painting, "Sunday," looked after I wiped the pastel off with a sponge brush. On the left, you can see the ghost of a river scene. The image on the right is how it looked upside down before I began painting on it again. The paper is Arches 140 lb hot press watercolor with a pumice ground. Midway, I applied spray-fix to get more tooth but all it did was make an interesting speckled texture in the pastel. I left this painting in a relatively high-key value range; no more tooth to punch the darks. I'm calling it "Sunday Again."

featured artist

I am honored to be the featured artist on the Northwest Pastel Society website.

One day it occurred to me that if I lived long enough and if I continued painting, I was destined to become an abstract painter. The thought startled me. Now it amuses me. I must be the least likely candidate to make such a change. At the moment, I view it as my creative evolution but there were times when I wondered what was happening to me...

If you have a few minutes, CLICK HERE to continue reading.

new interpretation

Another old painting reinvented. A 2005 painting called River Walk - wiped off, turned upside down and painted again as River Walk II in a more abstracted style. Next week I'm going on a photo shoot, looking for scenes to paint this fall and winter in the Studio. Maybe the new reference photos will lead me back to painting in a more realistic manner...or maybe not.

please, not me...

Paintings aren't safe here. I can almost hear them whispering,"Please, not me...leave me alone."




I'm in rework mode. Any painting that didn't make it through to framing (and some that did) are getting reworked. For pastels, that will mean a total wash-off with the garden hose. But today I'm playing with oil pastel on the 9x12 canvas panels I was painting early this year to acquaint myself with oil paint. "Celebrate" of 1/4/09 has become "Celebrate II" 9/4/09. Here's the little set of oil pastels I'm using. I want more colors.

cold start

My weed eater has a switch called "Cold Start" - I flip it when I haven't used the weed eater for some time. Tonight as I was cleaning my studio, preparing for fall painting after summer break, I came across a little set of oil pastels. What better way to test my own cold start button than with a medium I've never used? Simply "Marsh." Oil pastel on canvas panel, 9 x 12 inches.

blue

Stripped the wallpaper off and painted the downstairs bathroom - a beautiful muted blue-lavender color by Behr called Great Falls (UL-240-8). Then, on to this 20 x 20 inch acrylic in blue-green. Lots of blue paint in my life this August.

anita's garden with sun

And finally, the afternoon painting with sun added.

two tinies

Two tinies ( 5 x 7 inches each ) painted in pastel today at the Fourth Annual Artists' Retreat on Vashon Island. What fun! Forty six artists with easels and sketchbooks were tucked away in various parts of Anita Halstead's award-winning gardens or set up on the nearby beach. A cool, overcast morning didn't deter anyone but the sunny afternoon was welcome.

earthly ties

Busy with some of my earthly ties today, I almost forgot to post this. The oven timer is going off for an apple crisp made from zucchini not apples. Yum. Acrylic on wood panel, 20 x 20 inches.

aha! (maybe)

After "Heat Wave," I began a painting to be called "Cooling Trend" but it evolved into "ties that bind...family ties...earthly ties..." I'm almost done but after looking at it for awhile I finally had an aha! moment - I think it needs a value change in one area. To confirm my suspicion, I looked at it in grayscale. I'll make few changes and post again when I'm done. For this post, I included a color strip so you can see the color palette.

irritation

We have had record breaking, triple-digit high temperatures here in Washington State. If we ever build our retirement home, it will have air conditioning to deal with this rarity. I've been painting late at night when the Studio temperature is bearable. And so, the painting of "Heat Wave." This morning it is thirty five degrees cooler and I can look at this painting without my brain melting or sweat dripping into my eyes. Many things irritate me about this painting just as the relentless heat did. There are awkward junctions, too-bright colors and texture conflicts. I wonder if this painting will still irritate me in November? If so, it is successful.

A side-note: I have old journals written by my mother. Almost every entry has mention of the weather. Earlier this year I painted of our record-breaking wet spell with "Slow Slide into Pink." Am I becoming my mother?

art by the boys

Our grandsons, ages 9 and 7 went home today after a week with us. We had lots of fun and made some art.

"I See You" 18 x 18 inches, acrylic on wood panel by Noah. To see Noah's previous work, CLICK HERE

"Untitled" 18 x 18 inches, acrylic on wood panel by Elias. To see Elias' previous work, CLICK HERE

breaking point in gray

In my journal entry of about a month ago, I spoke of acknowledging passing thoughts while painting and of holding the thought, and of painting the thought.

The painting I'm posting today has been in the works for several days. Some parts were working, but some, not so much. When I was about to sand it off and start over, my friend, abstract artist Kristi Galindo Dyson, visited the Studio. She turned the painting upside down and on it's side and said "...that's not so bad." Well, since my husband can't find his belt sander anyway, I didn't sand it off. I painted on it sideways for most of today. A little progress but no real message. Then, I received a frustrating email, turned it "right side up" again and began to paint in earnest to express "Breaking Point."

A useful tool today was to take a photo of the painting-in-progress, turn it into a grayscale and study value and balance. When the painting was complete, I took another grayscale photo. Here they are, side by side, with the finished painting on the right. To see "Breaking Point" in color, CLICK HERE
.

best of show

WOW! I can hardly believe this award. The opening reception was held tonight. Lots of beautiful art. You can see the show online at the American Art Company website. The exhibition was juried and judged by well-known Florida artist, Greg Biolchini.

praise for my gesso brush

I'm priming cradled wood panels for another series of acrylic abstractions and have to sing the praises of my new 3" Utrecht Gesso Brush. Before this brush, I spent a lot of time picking stray bristles out of gesso because I was using the least expensive brush I could find. Today's priming job was a pleasure.

to and fro

This painting took longer to resolve than usual. Over several days, I worked planes back and forth. Quit. Pondered. Worked some more. I had several white-washing attacks and the words "hither, thither and yon" kept surfacing. I'm done with (tired of) the to-and-fro process of this work and am satisfied with the push and pull of color and textures. "Hither and Yon"

the edge of the earth

Yesterday I painted all day. It is exhausting to stand and keep at it for so many hours. Early this morning, I adjusted a couple areas on this painting and am declaring it done (for now).

My husband came into the studio, looked at the painting and said, "Didn't I tell you to stay away from the edge of the earth?" The composition does suggest an abrupt change of terrain. A view of under earth/undersea, roots and bubbles. But, the trees are fall colors. Hence, the title, "Free Fall" for this experiment in acrylic.