Plein air pastel landscape painting of a stand of trees reflected in a lake.
Pastel painting 4.5 inches x 9 inches
Its been a crazy, happy week with family in town. And we are on “Baby Alert” with our second grandson due any minute. Very little art is being created in this studio!
I thought I’d post this small pastel painting I did recently at Gallup Park in Ann Arbor. Its all about the beautiful tree reflections in the lake. The ripples change every minute and it’s hard to capture them in plein air paintings. But I had fun trying!
I was honored to be profiled on the Artists in Pastel website today! Check it out if you get a chance!
Pastel portrait of a woman dressed in a Renaissance gown.
Pastel painting 11 inches x 18 inches
Last week at our figure drawing session, I felt like I was creating a sketch for costumes in a new movie or TV show set in the Italian Renaissance. Our model loves this era and has many beautiful costumes from the time period. Instead of doing a close-up pastel portrait, I decided to go with the full view and revel in all the splendor.
I really don’t know how I feel about this figure drawing from one of our recent portrait sessions. I think it is a pretty decent physical likeness but it doesn’t seem to capture our model’s personality. He was not a stern or gruff man at all, and yet this pastel portrait gives that effect. I always try to capture both the external and internal spirit of a model, so I feel I may have been a bit off the mark on this one. Ahhhhh…..so much to learn….
Plein air pastel landscape of a Michigan wetlands in mid November.
Pastel painting 11 inches x 8 inches
Last week, my friend Cecily and I braved the cold and set out to find a nice spot to paint outdoors. We felt the need to commemorate our artist friend Mary Beth Koeze who had just passed away, and, when you think of it, what could be more appropriate than to create art?
I think this is probably my last Michigan plein air pastel painting of the season. It was COLD. My fingers were numb and my ears frozen. How artists paint in deep winter, I’ll never know. But this wetland area had always intrigued me and I’m happy we seized the moment to capture some of its beauty.
Plein air watercolor landscape painting of buildings and a bridge over a stream
Watercolor painting 9 inches x 6 inches
When we were on a South Carolina vacation last spring, I didn’t get a lot of time to paint. But every day or so, I’d walk around the resort til I found something that grabbed my attention. This bridge was one of my favorite subjects for watercolor landscapes. I posted a painting of a different view of the same bridge a while ago.
Just finished up a watercolor commission of a beautiful garden. Looking forward to giving it to my client, but won’t be able to post it til after the holidays because its a present!
Plein air pastel landscape painting of Harbor Point seen from above.
Don’t email me. I know you’ve all seen this painting before. I just found out that my gallery in Harbor Springs, Tvedten Fine Art, sold this pastel landscape last month. I should be happy. And I AM happy….but…I have to admit that sometimes, when one of my favorite pieces sell, I get a little sad. Like an important part of me has gone off into the world and I will never see it again. Isn’t that silly? I can’t possibly keep all of the artwork I create, but still….
Pastel portrait painting of a woman of Indian heritage.
Pastel painting 11 inches x 18 inches
Our model last week at figure drawing was an artist with native indian blood. Of course, like most of us, she also had blood of other nationalities running through her veins. Just the same, I decided to accentuate her native ancestry in my pastel portrait of her. She had a very calm and centered way about her and I tried to capture that as well. I chose mostly complimentary colors in this piece to add a little zing.
The second annual SafeHouse Calendar is now available!
27 talented Michigan artists have again donated their painting images to help support SafeHouse Center. This year our theme is “Safe Places” and the calendar is filled with beautiful landscapes, cityscapes and seascapes. It makes a wonderful holiday gift. All of the profits go toward supporting the many services that this important organization provides for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
As a SafeHouse board member, I am honored to have been able to design and organize this fundraising piece. Times are tough for our charity. Funds have been cut drastically but the need to help people who have experienced violence and assault keeps increasing.
If you would like to purchase a calendar, and insure that SafeHouse can continue to help our community, please contact me. The calendars sell for $15 a piece or 3 for $40.
This another studio watercolor painting I did on Yupo paper at my workshop in Italy. Liz and I explored a lot of the Umbrian hill towns together and I wanted to do a watercolor portrait of her. I can’t say I captured her perfectly, but I think her sweet personality and sunny disposition comes through!
Last night my friend and mentor, Mary Beth Koeze, slipped away. She had been battling cancer for years and was a ferocious and determined fighter. I will miss her madly. Mary Beth was an acclaimed artist working in many mediums: pastel, oil, and, most recently, monotypes. She encouraged me to get back to my art, every step of the way, and for that I will always be grateful. But I will mostly miss her positive, curious, inclusive attitude. She seemed to look at life as a series of adventures to be experienced, enjoyed and shared. Everyone who knew her benefited from having her in our lives.
There will be memorial service at the River Gallery in Chelsea, Michigan on November 16th. I’m not sure of the time yet but will update when I find out.
When I was in Italy, one of our instructors, Fritz Kapraun, encouraged us to paint some of the local flora of the region. He has a wonderful way with watercolor and inspired us all. There was a lovely orange tree on site and a few of us tried painting the fruit on our studio days.
I painted this watercolor painting on Yupo paper. I love the “serendipity” of this surface. You can’t really control what will happen with the paint on Yupo. It puddles and congeals in ways that you can’t imagine ahead of time. You just have to go with the flow and relinquish your ability to direct the outcome. Something that is very liberating for a control freak like me…
