Pastel painting of birch trees in the afternoon light

Pastel painting 5 inches x 7.5 inches $80

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At a certain time in the afternoon, the light creates a neat phenomenon in our backyard. The birch trees are lit and there is a glow emanating from the woods behind. Its really beautiful and I tried to capture it in this pastel painting but I’m not sure I got it. Luckily it will happen again and again and I can practice on another day.

I usually use Rembrandt pastels when I do my plein air work. They are strong, semi hard sticks and work well in the field. But lately, i have become so spoiled by the creamy soft Unison and Sennelier pastels that I use in the studio…Maybe I’ll have to splurge and buy some for my plein air work too. What the heck. It’ll help the economy, right?

Pastel painting of a pot of geraniums on a sunny deck.

Pastel painting 6 inches x 8 inches $80

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This pretty arrangement was sitting on my daughter’s inlaw’s deck and I just had to do a couple of pastel paintings of the explosion of color. Glenn Lake is in the background. The light was so strong it almost made the colors look psychidelic–just like they should in mid summer! I used a limited palette from my plein air pastels and concentrated on light and shadow, my favorite part of any floral painting.

Pastel painting of woods covered in snow

Pastel painting 5 inches x 7 inches $80   SOLD

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My last homage to winter. I’m looking forward to spring. I painted this pastel painting right after our latest storm and I’m hoping its the last one of a long, snowy season. I must say that I’ve really enjoyed painting winter landscapes this year. I’ve realized that there really is very little white in snow–but lots of blue, purple, pink and yellow. It all depends on the light!

Watercolor painting of the old clock in Depot Town, Ypsilanti, Michigan

Watercolor painting 5 inches x 7 inches
$80

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Remember when all of the cities used to have ornate, old clocks in the center of downtown? There aren’t many left but there’s a beautiful example in Depot Town, Ypsilanti, Michigan. I’ve walked by it for years, and one day I finally brought my paints downtown and captured it in watercolor. I love documenting historical architecture and artifacts from an earlier time. I often kid that I should have been born 200 years ago but i doubt that society would have put up with my strong woman attitude!

Pastel painting 6.5 inches x 10 inches $100

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Every year we spend a long weekend in Charlevoix, Michigan. We natives call this area “Up North”. Although it is a vacation area, it is much less populated than “Down State” and there are lots of beautiful scenes to paint. While the boys golf, I wander around and park it when I find something that inspires me. This plein air pastel landscape painting captures a lonely bush in the sun on the beach on Lake Michigan. We are looking forward to our visit this year!

Pastel painting of a young woman

Pastel painting 10 inches x 14 inches $200

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I visited a new portrait session on Monday and had a great time painting with the group! This young woman, although not a professional model, was so patient with all of the artists and held the pose for over two hours with only a few breaks. I understand that sometimes the models for this group come in costume! Absolutely cool! I’m very interested in continuing to work on pastel portraits so this will be a great chance for me to practice.

Pastel painting of a wine bottle and empty glass

Pastel painting 4.5 inches x 8 inches $100

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The last of my recent still lifes features my empty glass and a half full bottle of chardonay after a long night of pastel paintings. I think I like this piece the best: It’s colors are vibrant and strong and it “sits” nicely in its space. I think I will continue to assign myself small still life paintings every once in a while. They really are wonderful for training your eye to “paint what you see, not what you know”…

Pastel still life painting of a glass, beer bottle and key

Pastel painting 4.5 inches x 8 inches $100

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As my “still life night” wore on, I moved to some different subjects. John had just finished one of his non-alcoholic beers and the arrangement on the table caught my eye. I used dark colored, sanded paper for these pastel paintings. I like the way the paper color (dusky purple in this case) peaks thru the pastel and unifies the color scheme. Also, since in pastel you work from dark to light, it saves time in that there is no need to create a dark underpainting.

Pastel still life painting of 2 red apples on a white plate

Pastel painting 5.25 inches x 7.75 inches $100

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I don’t usually paint many still lifes. But every once in a while I get the urge to paint from life and I’m too much of a whimp to paint outside in the winter. I recently painted this pastel as a compositional study in ovals and circles. I also experimented with a very limited color palette…

Pastel portrait of a golden retriever

Pastel painting 8 inches x 10 inches SOLD

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One more pet portrait to add to the group! Our dear friends have 2 golden retrievers and a blood hound. They are the sweetest animals around and their owners adore them. Every time our friends come to visit they bring our dog a little treat. To thank them, I did a pastel painting of one of their pups basking in the sun. Can’t you just tell what a lover he is by his big, happy smile?

Watercolor painting of a tree-lined dirt road in the summer sun

Watercolor painting 5.5 inches x 7.5 inches
$100

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Last summer when I was busy painting old farmsteads, I came upon this quiet country lane, shadowed by trees. I sat on the side of the road with Roxy and made a watercolor sketch. It was beautiful, just like it must have been in the 1800s and not a car came by to spoil my view. I’m missing painting outdoor landscapes and can’t wait til spring comes and I can get back at it!

Pastel painting of a brown lab

Pastel painting 8 inches x 10 inches SOLD

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My friend’s beautiful brown lab died a while ago. She was a really special dog and missed by the whole family– especially her husband. She asked me to create a pastel portrait of Yoshi  as a special gift for him. It was a challenge to catch just the right personality since I had never met the pup, but my friend says this commission is right on. I was so happy to do it for them!