Plein air watercolor landscape painting of a small lake tucked into the hills of Umbria, Italy
Plein air watercolor painting 10.5 inches x 6.5 inches SOLD
This is one of my favorite plein air watercolor paintings of Italy. Our trusty bus dropped is off at a teeny, tiny little hill town. Our group walked and walked up to the very top of the town to visit a wonderful ancient church. I looked off to the side and saw this beautiful treasure in the distance. It seemed so pure and sparkling in the Umbrian landscape, I just had to paint it!!
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…
Pastel landscape painting of the river that runs through the city Prato in Italy.
Pastel painting 11 inches x 17 inches SOLD
A couple of years a go I visited Amsterdam and Prato, Italy with my friend Susan. We stayed in Prato’s ancient central Piazza. On days when we weren’t exploring Florence or the Tuscan countryside, we would wander the old streets and riverbanks of the city. This scene really captured my imagination. I painted an Italian watercolor painting of it on site and enlarged it into a pastel painting later in my studio. This view probably looks exactly the same as it looked hundreds of years ago. That’s part of what I find fascinating about Italy. So much of the city and countryside has been untouched by our modern architecture. I am sure that is both a blessing and a curse to current Italians, but it is a joy to the traveler!
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Pastel cityscape painting of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy
Pastel painting 9 inches x 12 inches SOLD
I usually try to stay away from the famous tourist sites in Italy. They have been painted and photographed so many times, that it is hard to say something new about them. But on a couple of my trips to Florence, I stayed in a small hotel located on the Arno River right at the end of the Ponte Vecchio. I spent many happy hours painting plein air watercolors of Italy from this viewpoint. So it has special significance to me, in ways that other well-known sites don’t.
I thought that, plus a new exploration of color warranted a pastel painting of the famous bridge.
Pastel painting of the rolling Umbrian countryside as seen from the hilltown of Assisi
Pastel painting 17 inches x 17 inches SOLD
I think Assisi was my favorite hill town in Umbria, Italy. It is perched way above the beautiful surrounding countryside and you can see for miles from the old city walls. The Basilica of San Francesco d’Assisi is amazing and has frescos by renowned late-medieval artists Cimabue and Giotto. And I just loved the city itself. Sometimes certain places just speak to you, and Assisi and I had looooong conversations!
In this pastel painting I tried to capture some of the feeling of distance and atmosphere of the region. The forefront of the painting is fairly detailed but it falls away to almost abstract shapes in the background.
The reception last Saturday night was amazing! Thanks to the many people who stopped by to view and purchase my artwork. I appreciate your encouragement and support!
Pastel cityscape painting of a sunlit lane in Tuscany, Italy
Pastel painting 24 inches x 36 inches SOLD
This pastel painting is one of the two larger works that will be in my “Faraway Places” exhibit which opens this Saturday. At 24 x 36 inches, they are the largest pastels I have ever done. I really enjoyed working large, but it was a challenge to keep loose and not get tooooo detailed. This is a favorite scene of mine in Montepulciano, Tuscany and I have reproduced it as a watercolor painting of Italy also. I wanted to capture the compositional angles and the vibrant color, but in the end, like always, for me it is all about light and shadow…
“Faraway Places: history, objects, spirit & spaces”
Nov. 5th – Dec. 18, 2011
Reception: Nov. 5th 5-8pm
River Gallery, 120 S. Main St., Chelsea MI
www.chelsearivergallery.com
Pastel landscape painting of a Italian farm in the rolling hills of Tuscany.
Pastel painting 24 inches x 36 inches SOLD (Giclees are available)
This is one of my favorite pastel paintings and is the signature piece for my upcoming show. It is very large, by my standards, but it is also very personal piece for me.
Mary Beth Koeze was a good friend of mine and a wonderful art mentor to me. She encouraged me to get back to my art and to always push harder. One of her many words of wisdom to me was “Paint bigger.” Along with our friend Cecily, we painted in Tuscany for 3 weeks, traipsing the countryside, soaking up the scenery. When she passed away recently, I was given some of her really large pastel boards. When I got the nerve up to create this piece on one of those boards, I realized that, for many reasons, it had to be titled “Mary Beth’s Tuscany.”
“Faraway Places: history, objects, spirit & spaces”
Nov. 5th – Dec. 18, 2011
Reception: Nov. 5th 5-8pm
River Gallery, 120 S. Main St., Chelsea MI
www.chelsearivergallery.com
I just gave this pastel commission to my client and he loved it. His father was 47 when he was born and he’d never had a photo of the two of them together. When he was a boy in the 1940s, his dad, a train engineer, often took him to the rail yards to look at the mamouth machines. He provided me with 5 photos of himself when he was young, his only photo of his father (lounging on a sofa), a huge book of train photos and 2 railroad engineer caps. It was a daunting task to take all of that information and try to make it into a cohesive composition.
I felt like I was really creating an historical illustration, as opposed to a fine art pastel portrait. But I enjoyed the challenge and am looking forward to creating another commissioned painting of his wife and her father!
Orchard 1 - Pastel painting of an extreme close up view of an apple tree in the fall.
Pastel painting 20 inches x 20 inches SOLD (but giclee prints are available)
I am sooooo excited! I just found out that one of my pastel orchard painting was accepted in the Pastel Society of America Exhibition. I’ve entered a few times, hoping to be part of this worldwide pastel experience, and am so honored to have an acceptance! Orchard 1 will be shown at the National Arts Club in New York City from September 6 – October 1, 2011. John and I are hoping to attend the Materials Fair and Awards Ceremony and Dinner.
With this acceptance, I will be able to apply for the use of the coveted “PSA” after my signature on all pastel paintings. (“Signature artist members are privileged to use the PSA initials after their name, a meaningful designation for the art community and for potential art buyers.”) But that process may also include some rejections along the way. Just part of the ongoing art journey…
Plein air pastel landscape painting of Everglades water in the morning.
Pastel painting 11.5 inches x 8.5 inches SOLD
I love doing plein air paintings on location when we travel. But as a Michigan artist with galleries in-state, it is difficult to show pastel landscapes which are obviously done in different parts of the country. People tend to like images that relate to their own surroundings. One of my goals for this year is to find good gallery representation in the southern states…
