Plein air pastel landscape painting of a bright Florida bridge reflected in a pond

Pastel painting 8 inches x 12.5 inches     $300

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This is another pastel landscape, that I painted on a piece of white art spectrum paper that had been underpainted with a rose- colored wash. Warm red is a great hue for outdoor painting because it is a natural compliment to the many shades of green that are found in most landscapes. Placing two compliments (opposites on the color wheel) close together creates a dynamic, vibrating feel in a painting. And although I know this theory from years of study, I sometimes forget it in the passion of getting all the gorgeous colors on the paper. If I underpaint before I start, I don’t have to be focused on adding reds to my greens…they appear on their own!

As a pastel artist, I try to keep the idea of contrasting compliments constantly in mind. For instance, if I want to paint a water scene, which is predominantly blue, I will often use an orange paper. Or if I am working on a pastel portrait with lots of golden tones, I might use a muted purple sheet.

Little tricks of the trade…

Plein air pastel landscape painting of palm trees and their shadows along a resort walk in Florida.

Pastel painting 8 inches x 12 inches     $300

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As a plein air pastel artist, I am always looking for 3 crucial elements when searching out a scene to paint: A dynamic composition, a strong sense of light and shadow, and of course, beautiful color. Sometimes I may find a majestic, monumental view that contains all of those elements. Other times it may be a simple, every day scene such as this shadowed walkway that caught my eye down in Naples. For this pastel landscape, I painted on white art spectrum paper that I had underpainted in various rust and rose tones. You can see the color peeking through all over the painting. I like to do this technique to unify and add some sizzle to the color.

Pastel landscape painting of the wide river that winds through Prato, Italy.

Pastel painting 6.5 inches x 6.5 inches     $100

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I’ve done hundreds of watercolor paintings of Italy, but no pastel paintings. For some reason, I’ve always visualized Tuscany only as a watercolor subject. The other day, I thought I’d try a scene of Prato, the small town I visited a few years ago, this time in pastel. My friend Susan and I stayed in the old city center for a week a couple of years ago. On our last day there, we took a long walking tour and stopped to sketch along this beautiful river. My current obsession with water and reflections made this view a perfect one to experiment with for a pastel landscape.

Watercolor landscape painting of a beautiful old mansion in Savannah, Georgia

Watercolor painting 9 inches x 14 inches    $500

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Last month I was honored to be asked to do a watercolor painting demonstration for Taylor Jacobsen’s watercolor class — an art mainstay in our area. People have been attending his class for decades.

I chose to work from a cropped photo of a beautiful old, Savannah mansion that I had take a few years ago. I love to paintings of architecture and when I can’t do it in person, I work from reference photos. In this piece, I was attracted to the highlighted plant as the center of interest, and the zig zag compostion that leads your eye up to it. I decide to push the juxtaposition of the complimentary colors, blue and orange, to get a warm, glowing effect.

Plein air watercolor landscape painting of a umbrella table next to a pool.

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Afternoon by the pool. The luscious, dark colors of the pool reflection drew me into this scene. Some people came down and sat at the table halfway through the watercolor painting and I had to recreate that area by memory…

Plein air watercolor painting of an old farm from across the spring fields.

Watercolor painting 6 inches x 9 inches 100

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This watercolor painting was done just outside Petoskey on a huge hill that overlooks the town and Lake Michigan. Its an area I return to year after year. It has dramatic rural views, something I love to capture in plein air watercolor landscapes. This particular scene  created a “Z” composition.

Plein air watercolor painting of a lion statue guarding steps in Petoskey, Michigan.

Watercolor painting 6 inches x 9 inches 100

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Every May we travel “up north” for a few days. I paint, while the guys golf. Then we eat marvelous food and start all over the next day. I painted this watercolor painting one sunny day in Petoskey. The spunky little lion statue looked like it was guarding the modest mansion behind it. I was attracted to the light and shadow and the way the stairs formed a natural lead in to the center of interest.

Plein air watercolor landscape painting of a palm tree and balcony in Spain

Watercolor painting 6 inches x 7.5 inches $80

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When my family visited Spain a while ago, I didn’t have much time to paint. There were just too many wonderful cities and restaurants to visit! But I did fit in a few watercolor landscapes while hanging around the pool after long days of sight seeing.

Pastel painting of an old house with a flag on the porch in Saline, Michigan

Pastel painting of an old house with autumn trees in Saline, Michigan

So proud to have 2 pastel paintings in the first “Art on the House” exhibit at the State Capital Building in Lansing Michigan. The series of 4 exhibits will be created by the Washtenaw County Arts Alliance and placed in the State Capitol by the suggestion of Representative Pam Byrnes, who is State House Representative and Speaker Pro Temp. The exhibits will display and promote the exceptional work being produced by visual artists living and working in Michigan. The great people at the River Gallery in Chelsea are helping to coordinate the series.

My 2 artworks are in Pam’s central office but will be available for purchase after the show comes down. Contact me or the River Gallery if you are interested. I also do commissioned portraits of houses and would be happy to talk to you about a special of painting your home.

Pastel landscape painting of a road leading to an old barn in winter.

Pastel painting 6 inches x 9 inches     SOLD

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The warm sunlight and cool shadows on snow make it really fun to paint pastel landscape paintings from winter scenes. This barn, right down the road from our home, looks really stunning around 1 pm. in the afternoon. The sun creates a perfect highlight on the snow covered shed roof.

Busy day at our Ann Arbor advertising agency tomorrow, but Friday I’m hoping to start on another winter pastel painting.

If you have a chance, come by the opening for the Braun Farm show at My Favorite Cafe in downtown Saline on Friday night 7-9pm!

Pastel cityscape painting of downtown Cleveland at night.

Pastel painting 8.75 inches x 11.75 inches $300

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John and I spent a wonderful weekend in Cleveland a while ago. We visited the art museum and a couple of other exhibits and had some marvelous meals at unique little restaurants. I was pleasantly surprised at what an interesting, cultural and beautiful city it is. We walked the streets downtown and I shot a lot of reference photos to use for pastel paintings later in my studio. This scene really caught my eye. I loved the contrast of blue versus orange and modern versus old, and the sparkling lights were like icing on the cake!

I would love to do more plein air pastel landscapes in cities, but it is awkward to set up, and a little daunting to have hundreds of critics strolling by your easel!

Poster for Braun Farms Exhibit in Saline, Michigan

Part of what I love about being an artist in Ann Arbor, Michigan is the great art associations we have in the area. I am a board member of Ann Arbor Women Artists and belong to Ann Arbor Pastelists, Whitmore Lake Portrait Group and the Michigan Water Color Society. I’m also a member of national art associations like the Great Lakes Pastel Society, the National Watercolor Society and Pastel Society of America. But I feel much more connected, and have learned much more, from my daily dealings with the dedicated painters in our local groups. These individuals range from seasoned professionals to novice beginners, but they all bring unique insights and solutions to the everyday tasks of being a working artist.

Recently a group of Saline painters decided to organize an exhibit of paintings of a beautiful local farm in our area. I think it will be a very interesting experiment–almost like a documentary in paint–one place seen from a variety of different viewpoints and created in different mediums. I was happy to be asked to participate and put together the poster for the event.

If you are able, please stop by to check out the many artworks on view at My Favorite Cafe at 101 South Ann Arbor Street in Saline. The show will run from January thru February of 2010.We’d love to see you at the reception on January 8th from 7-9 pm!