Trail to Pine Creek Cookhouse - 18" x 24" Pastel (WIP)

This past winter I visited Aspen Colorado; the only way to eat at the Pine Creek Cookhouse is to snowshoe, cross country ski, or take a horse drawn sleigh. The area is beautiful. Bottom image is the block in, the top image is the finish. My problem is that I sometimes lose the initial nice loose feeling and overwork things. This time was no different:(

Summer Petunias - 9" x 12" Pastel on Board (WIP)

Didn't get to finish this today...hopefully I will over the weekend. I used a photo taken on one of my many neighborhood walks, and tried out a new sanded panel made by Richeson. It takes a lot of layers, and I liked it alot. Oddly enough, I liked the panel better than the paper of the same brand.

Irises on Devoe Road - 12" x 18" Pastel

I am working on a winter landscape, which I did not post today since it still needs a lot of work. This is an older landscape; it is sentimental to me because this field of irises used to bloom in my neighborhood, but blooms no more. The land was sold, and now in its place is an ordinary suburban house. I prefer looking at this and remembering the field in all it's glory:)

Jake at the Beach - 16" x 20" Pastel

A painting of a very lucky Tibetan Terrier named Jake, whose humans bring him to their house at the beach all summer long.

This blog is a must-read for artists!

I just happened upon the blog of an artist named Jerry Lebo, and I spent hours reading it. If you are an artist and you want to learn about how to become a better one, spend the time to discover the nuggets of wisdom there. www.jerrylebo.com, or www.sixtyminuteartist.com

Autumn I and II (Aspen) - Pastel Dyptych, 8" x 12"

OK, I can never leave well enough alone, I have a tendency to noodle(overwork) a painting even after it is done. And after everything is said and done, it hardly ever looks different! Well, here is the reworked scene from yesterday,and a companion one. My dissatisfaction is that the colors are not as vibrant as I would have liked, and believe me, it is hard to get muddy colors with pastels:) I plan to try an acrylic underpainting in the future, to get more vibrancy and color saturation.

Autumn I (Aspen) - 8" x 12" Pastel

For some reason, painting the woods is a challenge for me. One issue with this (of many) is the composition, mainly the lack of a focal point. An interesting exercise, but next time I'll use a better photo:)

The Guitarist - 10" x 14" Pastel

I have an idea for a series of paintings based on musicians, and this was a test of the concept. I plan to try it a few different ways, some with more color. I was trying to portray the intensity of the musician while playing, and also portray the atmospheric effect of smoke under lights. The subject of this painting is my son's guitar teacher, at a concert.

Sometimes, Less is More

Here's the problem with still life set up...take a few nice objects, put them together, and you have a still life worth painting...not! There truly is an art to setting up an interesting composition. Oh well, at least I like how the Christmas cactus came out. One of these days I will learn to edit before I jump in:)

The Kiss - 7" x 11 " Pastel

A perfect Valentine's Day subject: my parents, circa 1948. As you might be able to tell, I worked from a B&W photo. They eloped shortly after this picture, and nine months later, my big brother was born. Happy Valentine's Day:)

Angela - Pastel WIP

Painting from a live model, a great way to spend a Sunday morning. I do wish that I had positioned this on the paper differently (oops -- I ran out of room for her foot!). There is more to be done here, and luckily, we will have this pose for one more week, so improvement is possible. Then again, I might just start over next time. I guess my goal for future sessions is to catch composition errors early:)

Lemon Trees - 16" x 20" Pastel

This is from a photo I took in Italy a while back...I loved Tuscany. Some wine, some cheese, and a nice view of the Tuscan landscape. Heaven!

A. J. the Havanese - Pastel Pet Portrait

This little dog was so much fun to paint. But first I had to take photos of him...and while I usually do a more traditional portrait, I thought that his expression here, surrounded by his muddy pawprints, was priceless. I have decided to crop it closer (top view)...hope the owner likes it:)

Oranges, Lemon, and Pink Grapefruit - 14" x 18" Pastel

A recent still life, painted from life. The grapefruit was a beautiful pink inside, and the tablecloth was a challenge. I love working with a blue-orange complementary palette, and so I made the background blue, even though it wasn't.

Sunday morning pose - Pastel study

On Sunday mornings I get to draw from a live model, which is a skill that is rusty but fun. No image to post, but a great way to spend the morning.

Oriental Horse - 16" x 20" Pastel

I bought this Oriental horse statue on Ebay, and I like it alot. It will make a good still life subject, if I get the set-up right. Next time, I might change the tablecloth color. This was my first attempt; I will try again.

Maggie the Shih Tzu Pastel Pet Portrait

This little princess is named Maggie. I know that I captured her likeness...whether I also captured her personality, I cannot say. I know that her owners adore her...I hope they like this portrait.

Coffs Bluff - Pastel Seascape 8" x 10"

Water, rocks, sky. A nice painting exercise.

January Daffodils 2

A fellow artist/blogger, Jo Castillo, made a suggestion to view the painting in black and white and analyze the values that way, as a way to fix what was bothering me. She was nice enough to provide me with the black and white version. Now I have to figure out how to do that on my own computer. It is a good tool, and one I will use to try to improve things here.

Daffodils in January - 12" x 15" Pastel

A cold and rainy day in January...just had to paint some Spring flowers. Ahhh, that's better.

Now for the main problem that I had with this painting. I couldn't figure out how to make the flowers "pop" the way I wanted to. Usually I do it with value contrast (light/shadow) or playing with the colors(ie complements next to each other, etc.) but today nothing worked. Maybe I should make the background darker...ideas, anyone?

Summer Memories- WIP (note: finish posted 9/18/08)

This is a painting I started last Fall, which I intend to finish. The subject here happens to be me, and the reference I used is an old snapshot from my childhood in the late 1950's.
I took some liberties here. I grew up on Long Island, back when Levittown was the model for postwar suburbs. The background in this painting is invented--the setting didn't really look like this--but we did have a metal swingset that I loved.
The snapshot I used is old and frayed, so I am making some of it up as I go along. The colors in the photo are faded, but the memories aren't.

Cool Shades - Portrait Study 18" x 24"

I saw this man hanging out at a street fair in Florida, and something about his style just caught my eye. At first I was going to paint the whole figure, but then decided the head and shoulders offered a more interesting subject. For me, working out the skintones and getting a good likeness is always a challenge that I enjoy.

As an aside, it's always tricky for me to take photos of interesting subjects (people) that I see on the street without their noticing. Is this even ethical? Yet, I see a lot of other artists do this as well, so I guess it's OK.

Lovely Radishes - 12" x 18" Pastel Study

Like Rip Van Winkle, I feel like I have awoken from a long artistic slumber! I won't go into the boring details, suffice it to say that it is a New Year and my plan is to paint, paint, paint!

This study was actually done a few months ago, after a visit to the Pleasantville Farmer's Market. These lovelies caught my eye, and the colors and shapes were so much fun to paint. I don't even really like to eat radishes, and most of them never even made it into a salad. Oh well, sometimes sacrifices must be made in the name of art:)

Home Alone (Trixie)

This is an older painting, but since Trixie is the reason I couldn't paint today, I thought I would post it. Trixie (the sheltie you see here) gives me this look everytime I leave her home to go out somewhere...hence the title.

Today, Trixie had to go to the vet unexpectedly, due to an injury to her paw. She will be fine, but I was so preoccupied with my little dog and her bandaged foot, I couldn't get anything done!

Maestro - 7" x 7" Pastel

After painting lots of flowers and dogs lately, I was really in the mood to do a figure today. I really enjoyed painting this, which is based on a photo of Zubin Mehta of the Israel Philharmonic. Without rights to the photo, I cannot offer it for sale, and am probably breaking some law just by displaying it here.

The reason I chose this photo(other than the fact that it is a very cool image) is that I was intrigued by the idea of doing a figure clothed in black against a black background, I wanted the challenge of doing hands (uggh!) and his facial expression, and thought it was a good opportunity to play with lost edges. The overall gesture came out well I think, but I couldn't quite get the facial expression I was after. However, it was a good exercise.

Wildflowers - 12" x 15" Pastel

Spent a few hours finishing this painting, trying not to overwork it and to maintain the freshness that it had the other day. I am happy with it.

Wildflowers - Lisa's Daisies - Pastel WIP

I started this today and just completed the initial block-in; I hope to finish tomorrow, stating the flowers a little more definitively yet keeping the overall feeling loose.
The inspiration for this painting was the fence at my neighbor's house, specifically the yellow daisies against the blue shadows on the fence. Love that color contrast, hope it comes through on the finished painting.

Sun on Celadon Vase - 9.5" x 9.5" Pastel

I really like the way the afternoon sun hits this vase that I have in my living room, it makes such pretty reflections and a great shadow pattern on the wall, too. This is a study for a larger painting I am planning. It was fun to paint quickly today, which I had to do since I was pressed for time. Also, to get a painterly look I tried something new...I used styrofoam packing peanuts as little "brushes", to smear the pastel every so often. I had read about this technique but never tried it, and will most likely use it again. It worked great. Overall, the colors are a bit more intense than I had planned, but I kind of like it!

Little Moe (Poodle) - 11" x 14" Pastel Pet Portrait

This was a recently commissioned portrait of a little miniature poodle mix named Moe. I actually painted him twice...first in a more formal pose, and then in a pose which I felt captured his personality better. The owner liked both, while I was more partial to the version with Moe leaning on his paws.

I also got to try a new paper for this painting, Hannemuhle velour. I read about it on another artist's website; it has a very velvety surface, kind on like the paint on velvet paintings from way back when. I liked the surface very much...it held the pastel nicely, and had a softness that I think lends itself to creating the soft look of fur. I will definitely use it again for similar subjects...although I don't think you could get the hard edges you might want for other subjects.

House on Dune Road ( 17" x 22" Pastel, by Commission)

It has been a long time since I last posted; but in the spirit of the Daily Painters challenge for the next month, I am committing to doing a daily painting four days out of seven over the next month, keeping the remaining days for commissions and life in general. It will be challenge with kids home, but we'll see how it goes!

I painted quite a bit this past week, completing two commissions. This painting is of a beautiful beach house in Westhampton, which will be a Father's Day gift to the owner from his family. I loved doing this painting...I guess painting the beach is the next best thing to being there:)

Biker in Florence WIP - 8" x 10" Pastel

Working on this little vignette of a small street in the shadow of the Duomo.

Tuscan Alley

Worked more on this scene, not sure which is the best view, close in (posted yesterday) or further back. Depending on how it is cropped, the painting can be 11"x14", or 14"x18". Decisions, decisions!

Tuscan Alleyway - WIP (11" x 14" Pastel)

A scene I am currently reworking. May make scene a little taller to show more of the buildings on each side; figure proportions will be tweaked. Sky will be developed for some interest, and highlights will be added to enliven the scene.

Landscape Attempt

For the life of me, I can't do a satisfactory landscape. I tried to do a scene with a dramatic sky reflected in water; that was the easy part. The backlit trees and rocky islands were(and are) the problem. I think the problem is that there is an interesting pattern of shapes in the sky and water, but the shapes of the land and trees are kind of clumsy. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out a more appealing design. So, after a ridiculous number of hours, I gave up! Incidentally the two photos are due to the fading light in my studio(top), supplemented by very unnatural lighting(bottom).

Chianti Classico II (Rooftop in Tuscany) - 12" x 15" Pastel

Today was a day for fixing up a few older paintings prior to framing them for an upcoming show. This one needed the lights brought up a bit.

Girl with Flower WIP - 11 x 14" Pastel

I saw a little girl enjoying the flowers at my local flower and vegetable market, but at the time I didn't have my camera handy to capture the image. Then coincidentally, I found this photo in the Wet Canvas Reference Image Library, which reminded me of that original moment. The top one is the finished painting, the bottom is the version I posted originally. Not sure if I improved it, but I do like her sweetness.

Crossroads

Six months ago, when I started this blog, creating a complete new painting everyday was my original goal. I was inspired by the daily painters I encountered online, and I still admire this group immensely. Becoming a member of an online artist community has also been extremely rewarding. I really enjoy our exchange of ideas about painting and life.

For me, however, it is time to change and redefine my goals and the purpose of this blog. Painting everyday, or as close to it as I can manage, has been a good discipline, and is still my goal. But I have not enjoyed the rush to finish a painting by the stroke of midnight,like some artistic Cindarella, and I need to start creating some larger works for shows and the like.

I do enjoy keeping the blog, as a visual record and written diary of my efforts, and so I will continue to update it when I have something new to post.

Onions, Garlic and Scallions - 18 x 24" Pastel

Today I spent my painting time finishing the Bar Mitzvah portrait(see below), so I am posting an older still life that I like alot. Had trouble taking the photo, since it is under glass and I couldn't eliminate the reflections, but it gives the general idea.

Bar Mitzvah Portrait - Done!

Finished the portrait exercise I set out to do. I had forgotton how painstaking portraiture is...unlike painting landscapes, stillifes or even pets, there is no room for error. Unless you're Picasso, the nose, eyes and ears, etc. have to end up exactly where they should be, and that requires a level of precision I just don't enjoy. Bottom line - I learned that I really don't want to make a business of doing people portraits. Despite the problems, however, this was a useful exercise.

Portrait WIP

First day painting in almost three weeks, and boy am I rusty! Anyway, I began this portrait as an experiment. I wanted to see if the idea of a a Bar Mitzvah portrait would have appeal as a silent auction fundraiser for my synagogue. More time is needed to bring this to completion, however I am really struggling with the overall likeness, the skintones, and the background. (Have I left anything out?)To me, besides a good likeness, a successful painted portrait must have a beauty and character that the photo reference does not have. At this point, this attempt is still pretty rough, and it is unclear to me how it will turn out. However, usually by this stage I feel pretty excited ...let's just say with this one, unless I get very lucky, I am not optimistic.

Clancy and Chloe (Two Schnauzers)

I had posted this previously and then taken it off my blog, so as not to spoil the surprise, but now it is safe to post. This was commissioned as a gift for a couple of doglovers. I recently learned that they were both surprised by the gift and happy with the likeness, which made me happy.

After about three weeks of not painting, I am very happy to be back!

Still Life in Blue and Orange - 18" x 24" Pastel

Today I went to my Sunday sketch class, where we had an incredible model whose body was a cross between the Venus de Milo and the ancient Venus of Willendorf. It's funny how by today's standards, no one would consider this ample, voluptuous woman beautiful, but in a different time she would have been a goddess. Anyway, for some reason, my efforts at sketching her just got worse with each pose, so I don't have anything worth posting, although I wish I did, because her curves were amazing. Instead, I am posting a still life that I did a while ago, which I have always liked. The complementary colors really pop.

On another note, I am putting a freeze on my feed to the Daily Painters site for the next three weeks. With several projects to work on, and some travel plans, doing a daily just won't happen with any frequency. I will update my site with WIP instead, as things progress.

Pasture (Horses in Mist) - 11" x 14" Pastel

This is another painting based on a photo from the Wet Canvas Reference Image Library. It is really a painting about mist and fog, which is what captured me about this scene.

Spring Foal - 7" x 11" Pastel

I walked this morning with a neighbor whose daughter rides horses...well, one thing led to another, and I was in a horsey mood! This little spring foal was done from an image I found in the Wet Canvas Reference Image Library.