Plein air pastel painting of a wetland creek in early spring

Pastel painting 6 inches x 9.25 inches $100

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Ah…the trials and tribulations of a plein air painter….

I went out Saturday looking for farms to paint and was waylaid by a beautiful wetland area just springing to life. I set up my pastels and new ShadeBuddy umbrella in front of this languid stream and went to work. About half way thru, a huge gust of wind came up and catapulted my umbrella 30 feet into the nearby swamp. I waded in up to my ankles and couldn’t reach it so finally had to walk about a mile around on “no trespassing” land to fish it out. I’m sure the passers by where laughing their dungarees off, but I wasn’t givng up my new purchase!

But in the end, I was very happy with the outcome of this pastel landscape. It really captures the colors and atmosphere of the scene.

Pastel painting of a young woman

Pastel painting 10 inches x 14 inches $200

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I visited a new portrait session on Monday and had a great time painting with the group! This young woman, although not a professional model, was so patient with all of the artists and held the pose for over two hours with only a few breaks. I understand that sometimes the models for this group come in costume! Absolutely cool! I’m very interested in continuing to work on pastel portraits so this will be a great chance for me to practice.

Watercolor painting of a large vase sculpture in Toledo Botanical Gardens

Watercolor painting 5 inches x 12 inches    SOLD

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I love to visit Toledo Botanical Gardens and paint watercolor sketches of the plants and sculptures on the grounds. This scene had an extra bonus in that my favorite plant, hydrangeas, surrounded an antique sculpture. I usually try to keep these small sketches to 20 minutes or so in hopes of keeping them fresh and vibrant.

Watercolor painting of an old log cabin.

Watercolor painting 11 inches x 4.5 inches $100 + shipping

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This is a quick plein air watercolor sketch of the old log cabin at the Toledo Botanical Gardens. I am an absolute sucker for historical settings so this really drew my attention when I went down last year to paint the fowers. It has a garden that is full of crops that the pioneers would have planted in the early 1800s. And the interior of the cabin is full of primitive, wooden furniture.

This landscape was painted on yupo, a plastic-like paper that doesn’t absorb liquid. All of the colors pool together and stay very vibrant on the top surface of the paper.

Pastel painting 12 inches x 12 inches SOLD

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I’m working on some large portraits right now so I thought I would post another pastel landscape that I painted right after the big storm last year. This is a scene from our back yard. I love how, on bright, sunny winter days, the warm light throws golden highlights against the deep blue shadows

Watercolor painting 10 inches x 19 inches    $500

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I’ve finally started working on Tuscan watercolors again. My friend, Susan, and I visited Italy last year and I have a lot of images swirling in my head, waiting to be painted. This beautiful fountain was in the a square near the center of Prato. We’d walk by it 2 or 3 times a day. In the morning, the square would be filled with mamas and their bambini, in the afternoon, kids fresh out of school would congregate there, and in the evening it was alive with young people partying. And its been there for hundreds and hundreds of years!

Watercolor painting 5 inches x 7 inches $100 + shipping    SOLD

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Every year we take a trip up to Charlevoix in May with 2 of our best couple friends. The boys play golf, some ladies shop, and I wander around with my painting gear, capturing little glimpses of what Michigan must have been like before we paved it over with cement. This firey bush caught my eye in a park between Petoskey and Harbor Springs. Michigan has almost every type of landscape: lakes, trees, dunes, fields, farms, cities. It should keep me busy for years!

Today John, Roxy and I drove over to Douglas, Michigan (right next to Saugatuk) to drop off 5 paintings to my new representative, The Button Gallery. It was a long drive but well worth it. Arthur Frederick, the owner, greeted us and showed us the color ad they had placed in the newspaper. It displayed my Echinacea painting with a headline “Featuring the New Work of Artist Jill Wagner”. Very cool! I am so pleased to be part of this quality gallery. Before we left, Arthur took down the painting that was in the front window and replaced it with one of mine. Ohhhhhmmmmmmm…….

Watercolor painting 5 inches x 8 inches SOLD

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Another watercolor painting I did at the Toledo Botanical Gardens. This little cherub bravely guarded his little garden room. He was so sassy looking, I couldn’t help but stop and paint him!

Pastel painting 12.5 inches x 25.5 inches    $850 (Giclees are available)

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I think this is my favorite Treescape pastel painting so far. I really liked being able to capture the light filtering through the leaves of the tree. It has almost an abstract feel to it yet you know exactly what it is. This should be available at one of my galleries soon and I am working on a couple more in the series.

Pastel painting 6.5 inches x 9 inches   SOLD

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Nora and I went plein air painting yesterday just south of Saline. The countryside is beautiful, filled with rolling hills and forests. But I was drawn to this lonely old shed. I always wonder about the history of these old farm buildings. Who lived here? Was it a hard life? DId they raise a family and have great memories of the place?

Pastel painting 4.75 inches x 7 inches     SOLD

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When I saw the sun filtering through the trees at our local park, it really called to me. It was mid morning and the sunlight created wild colors and patterns that were just perfect for pastel. Trees and forest are some of my favorite subjects that I come back to time and again.