Pastel painting of freshly cut lilacs in a vase with sunlight streaming in.

Pastel painting 11 inches x 14 inches   $600

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Every year our backyard bursts out in purple and lavender blooms to herald the coming of spring. I love lilacs almost as much as hydrangeas so I decided to paint the ever present vase of them on our kitchen table. But, like most of my work, the real subject of this  pastel painting is light. The way the sunlight streamed through the window and lit up the vase was the real attraction for me.

Pastel painting of a wine bottle and empty glass

Pastel painting 4.5 inches x 8 inches $100

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The last of my recent still lifes features my empty glass and a half full bottle of chardonay after a long night of pastel paintings. I think I like this piece the best: It’s colors are vibrant and strong and it “sits” nicely in its space. I think I will continue to assign myself small still life paintings every once in a while. They really are wonderful for training your eye to “paint what you see, not what you know”…

Pastel still life painting of a glass, beer bottle and key

Pastel painting 4.5 inches x 8 inches $100

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As my “still life night” wore on, I moved to some different subjects. John had just finished one of his non-alcoholic beers and the arrangement on the table caught my eye. I used dark colored, sanded paper for these pastel paintings. I like the way the paper color (dusky purple in this case) peaks thru the pastel and unifies the color scheme. Also, since in pastel you work from dark to light, it saves time in that there is no need to create a dark underpainting.

Pastel still life painting of 2 red apples on a white plate

Pastel painting 5.25 inches x 7.75 inches $100

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I don’t usually paint many still lifes. But every once in a while I get the urge to paint from life and I’m too much of a whimp to paint outside in the winter. I recently painted this pastel as a compositional study in ovals and circles. I also experimented with a very limited color palette…

Close up pastel painting of a potted palm

Pastel painting 5.5 inches x 7.5 inches $100 + shipping

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The patterns that palms make fascinate me. They are so rhythmic and yet each one is very individual. For this pastel painting, i focused my attention on a single pot sitting on a restaurant deck. Sometimes zooming in a on the “micro landscapes” around us can be just as interesting as the big view scenes. And of course, the bright sun and shadows really make this piece sing!