Today John, Roxy and I drove over to Douglas, Michigan (right next to Saugatuk) to drop off 5 paintings to my new representative, The Button Gallery. It was a long drive but well worth it. Arthur Frederick, the owner, greeted us and showed us the color ad they had placed in the newspaper. It displayed my Echinacea painting with a headline “Featuring the New Work of Artist Jill Wagner”. Very cool! I am so pleased to be part of this quality gallery. Before we left, Arthur took down the painting that was in the front window and replaced it with one of mine. Ohhhhhmmmmmmm…….

Pastel painting 11.5 inches x 18 inches $750  plus shipping

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I just got word that The Button Gallery in Douglas, Michigan will represent my work! I’m very excited because they are a great gallery in an “arty” part of the state. They are especially interested in my floral pastel paintings. I will be dropping off 5 new works for them to exhibit this week, including this cone flower painting that I just finished and framed.

Watercolor painting 5 inches x 8 inches SOLD

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Another watercolor painting I did at the Toledo Botanical Gardens. This little cherub bravely guarded his little garden room. He was so sassy looking, I couldn’t help but stop and paint him!

Watercolor painting 9 inches x 4 inches $100 + shipping

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Sunday morning it was very foggy and grey and I seriously considered not dragging myself out to paint. I love light and shadow and there certainly wasn’t any of that happening out there. But I decided not to be a wimp. I wandered the countryside til I found this neat old place nestled in a hill on a dirt road. Roxy sat with me out in a wet field while I painted.  It was so damp that the watercolor would not dry on the paper! Such is the life of a farm-painting gal!

Pastel painting 14 inches x 24 inches $850  plus shipping

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MORE Hydrangeas! These Oak Leaf Hydrangeas are quickly becoming my favorite inspiration for floral paintings. I’ve had a really good response from both art lovers and galleries so I thought I would try a few more of them before I move on to other subjects. This pastel painting is done on a clay-colored paper. The color acts as an underpainting and, since a little peaks through the pastel, it unifies the whole piece and makes all the colors “bounce” a little. I love playing with the light filtering through the leaves!

Charcoal Drawing 13 inches x 19 inches $200 + shipping

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Nikki was our model today at figure drawing class. She is a dancer and a wonderfully expressive model. We all love to paint her. This is a quick charcoal sketch I did on gray Mi Tiente paper. Unfortunately, we found out today that she is moving to New York and won’t be returning to be our muse. We’ll miss her!

Pastel painting 11 inches x 7.5 inches $200 + shipping

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This old place is right down the street from us. Its been there since the late 1800’s but they have boarded it up and I’m afraid they are ready to tear it down. There’s rumors that Wild Bill Cody’s cousin lived in this house and that Bill used to visit when he was in Michigan. I love painting old houses and I hate to see this old beauty go…

Watercolor painting 5 inches x 8 inches $100 + shipping

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Here’s another figure drawing of George, one of our favorite models at my figure drawing class. He has an unbelievably strong face and a somewhat small body. He’s very intense and interesting to draw. I did this sketch on yupo, a plastic paper. I love how the paint pools on the surface. It is difficult to control but creates a unique, fluid effect.

Watercolor painting 5.5 inches x 8.5 inches $100 + shipping

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Ever since art school, figure drawing has been one of my favorite pastimes. There is nothing like challenging yourself to draw the human body from life. No one knows if the flowers or fields you paint are “true”, but it is VERY obvious when you don’t catch the correct attributes of a body.

I try to go to our weekly figure drawing class every Saturday for 3 hours of sketching. I usually use pastels but every once in a while I switch to watercolor. We only have 20 minutes for each pose, so it is doubly challenging to get it right with a liquid medium!

Watercolor painting 8 inches x 5 inches $100 + shipping

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This is a watercolor painting of one of the beautiful old houses on our hometown main street. I love this old Victorian home and have also painted a large pastel of just the front porch called Golden Light. The original is still for sale and giclee prints are also available. This old architecture reminds me of a simpler, slower pace of life.

Pastel painting 5 inches x 7 inches $100 + shipping

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My sister Beth has just moved back to Michigan after living in Montana for 4 years. I loved to go out to visit her every year and ride horses like a wild woman and paint to my heart’s content. It truly is one of the most beautiful places on earth. This is a pastel painting from one those trips to scenic Beaverhead County.

This one’s for you Bessie…Welcome Back!

ps. if you are interested in a fantastic saddle site, check out www.westernsaddleguide.com and if you love personalized jewelry try www.sorellajewelry.com. These are 2 of Beth’s sites and they are both fantastic!

Watercolor painting 8.5 inches x 5.5 inches 100 + shipping

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The last plein air watercolor painting from my Labor Day escapade. I drive by this weathered, old barn all the time when I take Roxy out to her “babysitter”. I’ve always wanted to paint it but it sits on a very active farm with the family and workers coming and going alot. I figured they would think I was crazy to want to paint this old building. But I got brave last week and set myself up across the road. The old farmer came out and gave me a long look, shook his head and walked back in the house. He probably said to his wife “honey, you won’t believe this, but there’s a gal parked right outside and….”