Pastel painting of a sunlit porch of an old house in Saline, Michigan.
Pastel paintings 25.5 inches x 12.5 inches
I know it’s weird, but painting architecture just “flips my switch.” I love the play of nature’s organic forms against man-made structures. It is especially fun to capture old homes when they are lit by sunlight that casts deep, interesting shadows. I created this pastel painting a few years ago. I’ve sold quite a few giclee prints of it, but the original is still looking for a good home…
Pastel architecture painting of the interior of an Italian cathedral
Pastel paintings 12.5 inches x 25.5 inches
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.
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:
Pastel painting of the interior of a cathedral dome in Umbria, Italy
Pastel painting 19 inches x 10 inches
When I was in Italy, I became fascinated with the interiors of the beautiful churches and cathedrals we visited. The gorgeous stonework and architecture was, of course, amazing. But there was something about the “spaces” of these places that really intrigued me. Within days of arriving in Umbria, I decided that I wanted to try and capture the spaces of of this country of my heritage in a large body of work. I did plein air watercolor paintings of Italy on site when I was there. and when I returned to the states, I worked on larger pastel paintings in my studio. Whether it was a far reaching landscape, an intimate orchard scene, or an imposing cathedral interior, I worked to recreate that moment where you catch your breath and say….Ahhhh… Italy!
Hope you can join me at the artist reception!
“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
Plein air watercolor cityscape painting of a store in Harbor Springs, Michigan
Plein air watercolor painting 8.5 inches x 11.5 inches
I painted this watercolor architecture painting a couple of years ago when I was in Harbor Springs. I’ve always loved the little American Spoon store on Main Street and I couldn’t pass up the shadows on this sunny spring day. Plus, the crab apple trees were in bloom and added a scrumptious touch of color to the cityscape painting. Yum. It was a LITTLE awkward sitting right on the sidewalk while shoppers filed by, but I got over my nervousness soon enough. People are always so kind and interested in the work of artists.
Plein air pastel landscape painting of a home in BayView near Lake Michigan
Pastel painting 11.5 inches x 8.5 inches
Spring in Northern Michigan is a wonderful place for a plein air artist. The landscape is bursting with color and there’s always Lake Michigan for a perfect backdrop. I stopped by BayView, a neat little area filled with old Victorian cottages near Petoskey and painted this pastel painting. The sun was just coming up and the light and shadows on this old home drew me in. I was able to combine a painting of architecture with gorgeous blue-water seascape.
Gouache landscape painting of a barn along a road in winter
Gouache painting 8 inches x 6 inches
Continuing to play with gouache. This barn is just down the road from our house and every time I drive by I think of what a nice landscape painting scene it is. I painted it once in pastel and gave it to the owners, who also do a lot of landscaping work for us. Loving the ability to use opaque paints and layer the colors. Feels almost like acrylics but with a touch of watercolor’s looseness.
Gouache landscape painting of a fence in front of an old bungalow house.
Gouache painting 6 inches x 6 inches
I’m burning out a bit on pastel paintings of Italy, so I thought I’d give myself a new challenge. I’ve been meaning to explore gouache and for some reason, I never get around to it. This medium entices me because it is similar to watercolor, but much more forgiving because it can be applied opaquely. That means mistakes can be revised instead of thrown in the trash. I’m also hoping it might help me to loosen up a bit.
I started with this small landscape painting (or architecture painting depending on how you view the subject matter.) This little bungalow is right next door to my brother-in-laws house and I’ve always loved the way the light hits it in late afternoon. I only let myself use large brushes to cut down on fussing with details. I think it’s a good start…
Plein air watercolor painting 8 inches x 13 inches
I’ve always liked doing architecture paintings, whether in pastel or watercolor. And I especially love extreme close-ups, where I can play with the idea of realism breaking down into an almost abstract composition. I’m not positive, but I think this storefront was on the main street of Charlevoix, Michigan where we spend time in the spring. But it really doesn’t matter exactly where it was. It could be a scene from any town or city in America.
Plein air pastel painting of palm trees and shadows on a stucco garage.
Pastel painting 6.5 inches x 9 inches
Here’s another view of the area around our condo in Naples. Yes, it is a lowly garage. But what attracted me were the shapes that the shadows and the plants made against the stucco wall. I really like doing pastel paintings of architecture. with this subject matter, I tend to work a little more abstractly, seeing blocks of color and strong shapes.
Plein air pastel painting of a condominium entry area.
Pastel painting 8.5 inches x 11 inches
Another favorite plein air painting from my trip down south last month. I didn’t have to travel very far to capture this scene. Just plopped myself down right outside our condo entrance. I often drive myself half crazy driving around looking for the “perfect” view to paint. But every once in a while, I get serious and just work with what’s closest to home.
The light and shadow drew me into this scene (again!) and I felt happy with the outcome. I love combining the hard-edged lines of structure with organic, flowing plant shapes in pastel paintings of architecture.
Plein air pastel painting of a colorful building between palm trees
Pastel painting 12 inches x 9 inches
I was drawn to this scene because of the vibrant color of the building peeking out between the trees and bushes. It made a perfect, complimentary color scheme of reds and greens, causing a bit of interesting vibration in the pastel landscape. The vertical and horizontal lines of the composition also intrigued me because they formed a kind of grid-like structure to work with. Its a bonus to be able to paint buildings and landscapes at the same time!
I tend to bounce between several subject matters in both my watercolor and pastel paintings. But I like so many subjects its hard to focus! Landscapes, architecture, portraits, seascapes, extreme close ups… I love them all. The only subjects I haven’t worked much with are abstracts and still lifes. But there’s still time…
