Drawing Again:)

Life has taken a different turn lately, but I am happy to be drawing again, from life no less, in an open studio from a model. No pressure of completed paintings, just these 20-30 minute studies. I love it!

Big News!!!

"...CONGRATULATIONS!!! You have been elected a Juried Associate Member of the Pastel Society of America..."
I worked a long time for this. Next goal, Signature status. We'll see how long that takes:) My reward is a trip to the IAPS convention in Albuquerque this May.

Tyler - 12" x 16" Pastel - SOLD

A beautiful chow/golden mix...it was my pleasure to paint him. This was a 60th birthday present for the client's Dad. Hope he loves it.

Short stocks, go long...peppers!

Painting usually takes my mind off such things, but I awoke like Rip Van Winkle last week to a much diminished stock market...very stressful. Well, we might not have as much money, but we can still enjoy a bottle of wine, some bread, and Italian peppers. Could be worse!

Weir Farm Apple Tree - Plein Air Study

I got alot out of today's workshop with Connecticut artist Alain Picard -- I focused on finding big shapes, using a range of values, unifying colors, and working out a composition that helps the eye move through the painting and defines a foreground/middle and background. There is so much information in an outdoor scene, it helped to have someone talk about how to simplify and make sense of it.
I don't know if it was due to the workshop or if I was just having a better day-- but there is a big difference between today's effort and last week's attempt at Tilly Foster Farm.

Plein Air - Tilly Foster Farm - 9" x 12" Pastel

This was done at a paint out sponsored by the Putnam County Arts Council. The weather was overcast all morning, then started to rain. Plein air is not my strong suit, although I'd like to get better at it. The good news is that I am taking a plein air workshop tomorrow...hopefully I'll learn something useful for my next outing.

Ablaze - Fall Leaves - 10.5" x 15.5" Pastel

Today I went for color and lots of it, which felt great! Just for fun I did a watercolor underpainting, then put pastel over it in places. It was a fun technique.

Mo - Great Pyrenees Pastel Pet Portrait - SOLD

A Great Pyrenees is the closest a dog comes to resembling a polar bear -- they are gentle giants, truly wonderful dogs. In my photo reference, Mo is in shadow, but I tried to create a light pattern to make him more interesting. Also, sometimes it is difficult to paint an all white or all black dog using interesting color without getting garish. In real life he is more creamy in color, but this still looks like Mo.

Scottie - 18" x 24" Pastel

Usually I think this size lends itself to more of a head and shoulders portrait. Doing the whole body in this format means the head is quite small. But this painting was about the cute pose and light falling on the figure, anyway. This is my son Scott years ago; he is now 14.

Lana No. 2 - Viszla - 9.5" x 12.5" Pastel - SOLD

Another painting of my friend's beautiful viszla, Lana. I took a bunch of pictures of her back in June, and this one in particular really showed her stunning coppery coat when lit by the sun.

No. 48 - WIP (Portrait of Scott)

Doing portraits of people as a business freaks me out a little, because getting a likeness with a person is a lot more challenging than nailing it with a dog or cat. In this case, I did get a good likeness -- what remains is to work a bit more on the face, the clothes, and the dreaded hand.

Summer Memories - Pastel 16" x 20"

I worked on this forever!!! I started it back in January, and it sat for a long time; with a recent purchase inquiry, I resolved to finish it. Believe it or not, I redid the foreground and background three or four times -- it almost got to the point where I thought I might have to scrap it, but I prevailed in the end.

A Fun Project

My niece Marisa is getting married next summer at the New York Botanical Gardens in Bronx, N.Y.  I did this little project for her.

Working in watercolors made it a special challenge. I never used that medium before ... gives me lots of respect for watercolor artists!

Now that I look at it, I wish I had made the cloud on the right less stark. Oh well, they love it and that's all that counts.

Gone Fishin" - NFS

I have been missing in action for six weeks, which makes this an apt painting for my return. Except I wasn't fishing. More like end of summer madness, with a new college freshman to move to school, a husband and a dog who needed surgery, etc. etc. Well, I'm back at my easel, and that's what counts.

Girlfriends - 14" x 19" Pastel

Posting an older painting as I work on completing some long overdue projects. The subject is my daughter and her friend from middle school. I have always liked the charming architectural details of this particular school building (Bell Middle School, Chappaqua NY)
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The Old City (Jerusalem, Israel)

An older painting that I did using a reference photo from the Wet Canvas image library. I have never been to Israel, but I found this photo intriguing and enjoyed painting it.

Debbie's Garden - 18" x 26" Pastel

An older painting from a friend's beautiful garden. She studied and became a master gardener, and all her efforts were spent perfecting the landscape around her grand estate. Her hard work resulted in a gorgeous landscape, with lovely views at every turn.
This was the first time I painted a landscape on a deep red paper; I like how it shows through and contrasts with the greens.

The Shore - 18" x 24" Pastel

Today I'm posting an older painting, while I work on my niece's wedding project. This was one of my first "landscape" paintings, done on Sabertooth paper -- a paper so rough that I haven't used it since. Looking back, I see lots of things I would do differently; but this painting reminds me of one of my favorite beaches, and for that reason, I still like it.

By the way, the photo isn't as dark in real life.

Three Labs (Louie, Brownie and Tiger) - 16" x 20" Pastel - SOLD

Done... I hope their owner likes it!

Three Labs (Louie, Brownie and Tiger) - WIP

Almost done...will look at it tomorrow with fresh eyes.