Pastel paintings   12.5 inches x 25.5 inches
Please contact me if you are interested in this or similar artwork.

Although 2/3 of the work sold, I still have a few pastel paintings of Italy available from my show last fall at the River Gallery. This was my first exploration of cathedral architecture. It’s obviously a rendition of columns, arches and windows, but what I was really doing was playing with both reality and abstraction. I like to zoom in on interesting structural areas and reduce them to shapes, colors, light and shadow. And I especially like infusing different hues into the somewhat monochr0matic shades of beautiful Italian churches.

This artwork was created with:
Paper: Aubergine Art Spectrum Pastel Paper
Medium: Rembrandt Pastels and Sennelier Pastels

Pastel paintings   5  inches x 7 inches
Please contact me if you are interested in this or similar artwork.

This is the second of my “little gem” garden paintings that I worked on last week. The flowers were so rich and bright in front of the shaded house. They just begged to be captured in a pastel painting. I think I’m ready to move on to a larger piece. I’ve been thinking of starting a sky series…..hmmm….

This artwork was created with:
Paper: Aubergine Art Spectrum Pastel Paper
Medium: Rembrandt Pastels and Sennelier Pastels

Pastel painting   5  inches x 7 inches
Please contact me if you are interested in this or similar artwork.

I had a touch of the flu last week and just didn’t have the strength to consider a large piece. But I was aching to paint in pastel! So I decided to work on a few “little gem” garden paintings. I like switching back and forth between large works and tiny ones. They each teach me something and inform the other. I gave myself an hour time limit on this one and managed to loosen up a bit.

This artwork was created with:
Paper: Aubergine Art Spectrum Pastel Paper
Medium: Rembrandt Pastels and Sennelier Pastels

Pastel painting of the interior of the Pantheon in Rome, Italy

Pastel paintings   12.5 inches x 25.5 inches

I just love columns. In fact, most of my friends consider it a mild obsession. I have them everywhere in my house and office. They are so strong, stately and monumental. I especially love the columns that are topped with Corinthian capitals. So when I again visited the unbelievably beautiful Pantheon temple in Rome, I decided that I would try to capture some of the elements of Roman architecture that make my heart sing. In this pastel painting of Italy, I stayed true to the structural elements but bumped the color to create additional drama.

I was surprised an honored this week to find out that I was the Featured Artist on the Pastel News website. I subscribe to this site because I love to receive information about historical and current pastel artists. Never dreamed I would be one of them! Check it out here:

http://pastelnews.com/category/featured-pastel-artist/

This artwork was created with:
Paper: Aubergine Art Spectrum Pastel Paper
Medium: Rembrandt Pastels and Sennelier Pastels

Pastel cityscape painting of a small street in Umbria, Italy. SOLD

Pastel painting of an extreme close up view of ripe apples on a tree.

Early Christmas Present!

I was notified last week that I had TWO pastel paintings juried into the International Association of Pastel Societies Exhibit. A real thrill and a great end to the year!

It’s an amazing exhibit filled with gorgeous artworks. You can see the full show here.

Pastel painting   9 inches x 13 inches

It’s way past prime garden time in Michigan right now. The plants and trees are all bare and the flowers are long gone. But I took hundreds of research photos from the 6 gardens that will be on next year’s Ann Arbor Garden Walk and I am starting to work on pastel floral paintings in my studio. A group of artists will be exhibiting our artwork at the event in June. These hydrangeas were in a garden of a beautiful old home, built by President Millard Filmore’s brother in the 1800s, just outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan. I love the way the sunlight hit the petals and contrasted with the cool background of the old house.

This artwork was created with:
Paper: Burgundy Art Spectrum Pastel Paper
Medium: Rembrandt Pastels and Sennelier Pastels

Pastel landscape painting of a distant village in the Umbrian hills of Italy.

Pastel painting     27.5  inches x 13.5 inches   SOLD

Another pastel painting of Italy where I am exploring the long distance views from the Umbrian hill towns. I’m not sure if this is really a village or a small villa that grew and grew over the years. Some of the family plots became compounds over the years, with each successive generation adding another addition or building to the original villa. Regardless, they create beautiful focal points in the undulating countryside.

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

Pastel cityscape painting of sunlight cascading across the entrance to a home in Umbria, Italy.

Pastel painting 11  inches x 17 inches   $800

I’m always saying that my art is all about light and shadow. It’s what draws me to almost every subject I paint and  what I’m constantly exploring. This pastel painting of Italy is a perfect example. I came upon this little alleyway while I was wandering through an Umbrian hill town. Although the scene itself was interesting, it was the way the sunlight cascaded across the wall and steps that really drew me in.

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

Pastel cityscape painting of the corner of an old building in Umbria, Italy.

Pastel painting 19  inches x 9 inches

The subject matter of this pastel painting of Italy might have been found in any town in Europe. You can see beautiful, quality craftsmanship in these structures and also the years of careful maintenance and restoration. It seems to me that Europeans value their historical buildings more than we Americans do. Maybe we could take some cues from them and restore our older buildings instead of ripping them down just to replace them with steel and glass behemoths.

Ooops, sorry to get off on a rant…. I am really thankful for sooooo many things in my life! Hope everyone has a MAHVELOUS Thanksgiving!!

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

Pastel landscape painting of an old villa on a hill in Umbria.

Pastel painting 19  inches x 9 inches

Everywhere you look in Umbria, you see beautiful old villas perched on hillsides. Most of them are hundreds of years old and have been increased in size by each successive generation of the family. They end up looking like compounds, or even little villages. The breathtaking countryside, filled with olive orchards and grape vineyards, rolls away into the distance.

I really pushed the color in this pastel painting of Italy. I worked with bright complimentary colors, green and red, while still keeping the relative values intact.

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

Plein air watercolor painting of the door of a small chapel in Umbria, Italy.

Plein air watercolor painting   4.75  inches x 6.75 inches   SOLD

Little, tiny watercolor painting, but close to my heart. I sat on the stairs in front of an old chapel in the heart of a Umbrian hill town to create this painting of Italy. It was cold and damp but the intimate scene drew me in…

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

Pastel painting of part of the Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona, Rome.

Pastel painting 11  inches x 17 inches         

I was in Rome for just a few days last fall, but in that short time, I found a lot of awe-inspiring scenes to paint! The Piazza Navona has always been one of my favorite city squares in the world. It is filled with monumental fountains and sculptures and is a focal point of the city. This pastel painting is based on a close-up view of the Fountain of the Four Rivers by Bernini. Its not often that I am able to combine my love of the human figure and architecture in one painting! I transformed the greyish tones of the sculpture and church into vibrant color to give more life to these famous Renaissance monuments.

My sister, Beth, just taught me how to use the FaceBook share capability on my blog. If you are so inclined, feel free to share my art by clicking the blue share button at the top right of any post. Your support is always appreciated!

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