Pastel portrait painting of an older man with a beard.
Pastel painting 11 inches x 16 inches
The best part of our figure drawing sessions is that we get a chance to paint many types of people: men, women, old, young, heavy, skinny, happy. sad. There is such a huge range of differences in humans that each pastel portrait is a completely new challenge. This elderly middle eastern man is an accomplished poet and an artist in his own right. He was calm, serene, and comfortable in his own skin in a way which I have not seen in many others.
Plein air pastel landscape painting of an old farmhouse seen from the fields.
Pastel painting 11 inches x 8 inches
Wandering the farmlands of southeastern Michigan, I find many beautiful old farms tucked into the rolling hills. I did this pastel landscape painting just west of Saline. While I was painting, an old man who was cutting the lawn came up to my easel to chat. I thought he was the owner of the farm but he was neighbor who rented the land to plant his crops. He explained to me that the owners had recently moved to a senior home and that none of their children wanted to take on the hard work of farm life. So, over time, this old place built in the 1880s, will probably be abandoned. When I paint, I often wonder about the history of the site: Who lived there? What did the many generations of family experience here? Sometimes I’m lucky to learn some interesting little tidbits about my subjects and that makes them all the more fascinating to me.
Pastel portrait of a beautiful asian woman in a kimono.
Pastel painting 10 inches x 15 inches
I painted this pastel portrait a couple of weeks ago at our figure drawing session. The model was quite accomplished and brought her kimono along to give her pose a bit of atmosphere and mystery. I usually “pack” my pastel paper by putting layers of newspaper underneath. It tends to give the pastel painting a softer feel. I forgot my newspaper this time and had only corrugated cardboard to use as a base.You can see how the texture of the striated cardboard showed up as a pattern in the drawing. At first I was horrified, but then I started liking it…go figure…
Pastel floral painting of Hydrangeas in a vase outdoors
Pastel painting 9 inches x 13 inches SOLD
We have a beautiful bush of Annabelle Hydrangeas and when it blooms every summer, I cut lots and lots of flowers. I fill every vase I have and place them all over the house and deck. They are my favorite flower and I love to paint them in pastel. Haven’t quite been able to capture them the same way in watercolor but i could paint floral pastel paintings all day…
Pastel portrait painting of a mother and young daughter.
Pastel painting 10 inches x 13 inches
What fun! We had a mother and her daughter for our models for 2 figure drawing sessions in a row a while ago. It was a real challenge to paint 2 people together so we were all happy to have the extended time to work.
I painted this pastel portrait on Barbara Mattson pastel paper which is an extremely “pebbley” sanded surface. I’m tryin hard to find the right subject for this paper but it may not be right for my style of application…
Plein air pastel landscape painting of silos seen from summer Michigan fields.
Pastel painting 11 inches x 8 inches
This field is not far from my house in an area that is scheduled for a large business park development. It breaks my heart to see all of the beautiful woods and farmlands eaten up by urban sprawl. Its one of the reasons I keep painting pastel landscape paintings of farms and fields. I’ll be able to remember them after the huge steel and glass monstrosities replace them…
Plein air pastel landscape painting of a bird bath in a summer garden.
Pastel painting 8 inches x 11 inches
Last week I spent a morning with my plein air pastel painter buddies at a gorgeous garden in Ann Arbor. The yard was completely filled with flowers, sculptures and blown glass balls. It was an amazing oasis in the middle of a subdivision. There was so much to paint, I found it difficult to focus. I finally decided on a pastel landscape painting of a sunlit birdbath surrounded by flowers. I think we all had a successful day. Marty and Susan’s pieces were gorgeous!
Plein air pastel landscape painting of an umbrella table and chairs on a summer deck.
Pastel painting 8.5 inches x 4.5 inches $80
Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.
AHhhhhh….Nothing like summer on the patio! I painted this little pastel painting one morning last week. Didn’t have time to go out plein air painting but this pastel artist had to get something on paper! I was drawn to the dark silhouette of the chair and tables against the psychedelic green lawn. This will be a nice memory when winter closes in on us in December…
Pastel painting of a close-up view of ripe apples on a tree in autumn.
Pastel painting 25.5 inches x 12.5 inches $850 (Giclee prints are available)
Spent a bit of time in the studio this week to finish up a pastel painting that has been languishing on my easel for months. This is part of my Orchard Series that I started early this year. I’ve finished 4 of them so far and am really happy with the results.
As some of you may already know, I am obsessed with what I call “micro landscapes”– extreme closeup views of various scenes in nature. (See my RiverStones and TreeScape Series) I like painting recognizable subjects that are cropped so tightly, they almost become abstract in composition. I hope to add 4 or 5 more paintings to the series this year. The first two will be exhibited in an exhibit at Tvedten Fine Art beginning in late July.
Its been quite a while since I’ve posted any artworks from my pastel figure drawing sessions. During plein air season, I tend to spend all of my time outdoors, chasing the light. But when the weather doesn’t allow outdoor painting, I’m happy to go to class and work on the human figure. We had a wonderful young female model a couple of weeks ago. In my pastel portrait of her, I wanted to capture her relaxed position, her beauty, and also a bit of the melancholy that seemed to surround her.
This pastel painting was done on Art Spectrum Terra Cotta paper, a perfect foil for the complimentary blues in her clothing…
Plein air watercolor painting of a porch on an old home with geranium baskets.
Watercolor painting 9 inches x 6.5 inches $100
Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.
Pulled out the watercolors the other day and walked around downtown Saline. In the morning, the sunlight illuminates the old houses on the main road into town. I always swear I am going to try a new location but the sunlit porches tend to grab my attention. So….another watercolor architecture painting of my hometown!
Watercolor painting of the European-style fountain at the Royal Park Hotel in Rochester, Michigan
Watercolor painting 6 inches x 9 inches SOLD
My son-in-law’s sister was married last weekend. Many of the events, including the betrothal, shower and reception, were held at the beautiful Royal Park Hotel in Rochester, Michigan. As a special wedding present for the bride and groom, I created a watercolor painting of the European-style fountain that graces the grounds surrounding the hotel. It reminds me of the old fountains in the piazzas of Italy. They are off on their honeymoon now and haven’t opened their presents yet. Hope they don’t see this post!
Do you have a special place that you would like memorialized in a piece of art? I would be happy to paint a watercolor or pastel commission for you or a loved one. Contact me and we can chat!
