Just returned from a whirlwind visit to the Big Apple to see the Pastel Society of America Exhibit. The National Arts Club is housed in an amazing old mansion on Gramercy Park filled with ornate carved woodwork, beautiful stained glass and historic artwork. The exhibit displayed 180 gorgeous pastel paintings in every possible genre: landscape, figurative, still life, and abstract. I pored over each and every one of them. It was inspiring to see work from so many well-known pastel artists that I admire, and exciting to have my work displayed among theirs.

My friend Kathy and I spent the rest of the weekend visiting the sites and shopping of course! There is absolutely no place like New York.

Now the hard work begins. Patti and Deb from the River Gallery reviewed my Italian paintings and chose 48 works to be included in my upcoming show. OMG. I will be framing forever…

Plein air watercolor cityscape of the Cathedral in French Quarter of New Orleans.

Plein air watercolor painting   9 inches x 7 inches     $100

The only watercolor cityscape painting I kept from our trip to Louisiana. Despite my highest hopes, I just wasn’t able to settle down and work outdoors in the French Quarter. It is so picturesque with brightly colorful buildings and interesting signs, but “all that jazz” was also a bit disruptive to me. It almost felt like TOO much information. I’m hoping I will be able to capture some of the magic of the place painting the many reference photos I shot.

This little watercolor sketch of the Saint Louis Cathedral was done while quickly sitting in Jackson Square.

This artwork was created with:
Paper: Saunders Waterford Watercolor Paper
Medium: DaVinci Watercolors

Plein air watercolor painting of a gargoyle in a New Orleans fountain.

Plein air watercolor painting   9.5 inches x 7 inches     $100

I did this watercolor painting in the same New Orleans courtyard where the stone goddess lives. There were gargoyles all around the fountain wall, and I thought it’d be a hoot to paint one of them. The water flowing from his mouth was a real challenge to get down on paper…

This artwork was created with:
Paper: Saunders Waterford Watercolor Paper
Medium: DaVinci Watercolors

Plein air watercolor painting of a statue of a young woman in a New Orleans courtyard.

Plein air watercolor painting   7  inches x 9.5 inches   $100

Here is my second watercolor painting of the lovely young stone woman in our courtyard last week in NOLA. Its always challenging to do figure paintings in watercolor, but it helps when your model doesn’t move a bit and she’s all in one color!

This artwork was created with:
Paper: Saunders Waterford Watercolor Paper
Medium: DaVinci Watercolors

Plein air watercolor painting of a statue in a New Orleans courtyard.

Plein air watercolor painting   7  inches x 9.5 inches   $100

We are back from a wonderful family trip to New Orleans! We took in lots of history, museums, music, and amazing food! What I didn’t do much of is paint. I had the best intentions to do many watercolor paintings of buildings when I was down there. But the truth is, the colorful city scenery was overwhelming to me and it was unbearably hot unless you were in deep shade. Plus, there was just so much to do and see. I tried a few architecture sketches, but was unhappy with them and but them directly into the trash. I took lots of photos for reference and managed to do a couple of watercolor paintings in the old courtyard of our condominium.

I was drawn to this 1800s-style sculpture of a young woman holding a basket and attempted two pieces with her as the subject.

This artwork was created with:
Paper: Saunders Waterford Watercolor Paper
Medium: DaVinci Watercolors

Plein air gouache painting of summer flower pots on a deck.

Plein air gouache painting   7 inches x 9.5 inches

This summer I continued to play with a new medium: gouache. To me, it feels like a cross between watercolor and acrylic. You can paint thinly and create nice washes AND you can paint opaquely and cover previous strokes. (this intrigues me because I am constantly tossing watercolor paintings that I can’t fix.) Its taking me a while to get the hang of it so I thought I’d post some of my attempts from time to time. This floral painting view is right outside our back door on our deck.

This artwork was created with:
Paper: Illustration board
Medium: Winsor & Newton’s Designer Gouache

Plein air watercolor landscape of an approaching storm over Montana mountains.

Plein air watercolor painting   9.5 inches x 7 inches     $100

My very last watercolor landscape sketch from Montana this June. Some of the weather was unusually fierce that week and it was fun to try and capture the tumultuous clouds that rolled over the mountains. You have to work quickly in these conditions and watercolor painting is probably as good as any medium for speed. But you have to be willing relinquish a little control and work with the surprises that appear on your paper…

We’ll be going to New Orleans for a visit soon. I am looking forward to doing some watercolor building paintings when I am down there. I’ve always loved NOLA and it’s very, very unique architecture and atmosphere.

This artwork was created with:
Paper: Saunders Waterford Watercolor Paper
Medium: DaVinci Watercolors

Plein air watercolor landscape painting of a road in the hills of Montana.

Plein air watercolor painting   7 inches x 9.5 inches $100

Another watercolor landscape from our  trip to Bonanza Creek Country Ranch in Montana. We had a great cabin, perched on a hill, that looked down on the little road leading to the stable. The view was fantastic. The walk up, after a hard day in the saddle…not so much. It was cloudy much of our time there and quite a few flood watches, which is unusual for them. One day after an all-day ride, I sat on our front porch and did this watercolor painting of the road and the mountains in the distance.

This artwork was created with:
Paper: Saunders Waterford Watercolor Paper
Medium: DaVinci Watercolors

Pastel painting 6.25  inches x 6.25 inches $100

This is a small pastel painting that I did this summer sitting in my driveway and looking out toward my neighbor’s house. The sunlit patches of lawn created an interesting pattern that culminated with the bright light around the porch next door. Theirs a lot of texture showing through the pastels from the rust colored primer I applied on a small piece of illustration board. I like to work on small pieces every now and then to break up the pressure of the larger ones!

This artwork was created with:
Paper: Illustration board with Terra Cotta Art Spectrum Primer
Medium: Rembrandt Pastels and Sennelier Pastels

Plein air watercolor landscape painitng of a stand of pines on a hill in Montana

Plein air watercolor painting   9.5 inches x 7 inches $100

Here’s another watercolor landscape from our wonderful trip to Bonanza Creek Country Ranch this June. Every cabin is secluded and surrounded by Montana landscape. One morning I sat on our deck and worked on a quick watercolor painting of the pines and hill behind our place. It was so pristine and quiet…

Sorrella Jewelry Studio, my sisters’ online jewelry company has just been mentioned in Us Weekly! They are hitting the big time and are now providing beautiful bling gifts to the celebs! Check out their famous new diamond-rimmed monogram necklace. So proud to be doing some design work for them!

This artwork was created with:
Paper: Saunders Waterford Watercolor Paper
Medium: DaVinci Watercolors

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Pastel portrait of a man in sunlight.

Pastel painting 11 inches x 17 inches

Monday we had a very different type of figure drawing session. Joe and his wife Millie hosted an outdoor class at their beautiful home near Whitmore Lake. We had two very attractive models, Paul and Linda, who were willing to sit for us outside. Paul braved the direct sun, sitting on a stone stairway while half of us captured his image.  I kicked into gear doing exactly the same type of pastel portrait I would have done if we were in the studio but with REAL light illuminating the model. I was happy with the outcome but wish I would have tried a full body pose, more integrated into the lovely surroundings. Oh, well, live and learn!

Afterwards we had a pizza party with home made gazpacho, cookies and ice cream. Now that’s the way to celebrate a fun day of creating art!

Another celebration to mention. I was just notified that my painting, Orchard 1 was given the Art Times Award at the Pastel Society of America Exhibition in New York City. I was so excited to be juried in–and overjoyed to be honored with an award!

This artwork was created with
Paper: Canson Mi-Tients Steel Gray Paper
Medium: Rembrandt Pastels and Sennelier Pastels

Plein air pastel landscape painting of cumulus clouds over a riverbank.

Pastel painting 11.5 inches x 18 inches

I was on my way to portrait class last week, but it was a gorgeous Michigan summer day and I just couldn’t stand the thought of being cooped up inside. I decided to do a plein air painting instead. The clouds were huge and the wind was pushing them across the sky at a steady clip. It reminded me of the Big Sky of Montana. I set up for a pastel landscape at Gallup Park along the riverbank and painted as fast as I could. I don’t usually use Canson paper for landscapes but it was all I had with me and I had to go with it. Over the years, I’ve learned to be a very adaptable Michigan plein air artist!

This artwork was created with:

Paper: Canson Mi-Tients Steel Gray Paper
Medium: Rembrandt Pastels