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.

Plein air watercolor landscape of an old farm in Michigan

Watercolor painting 11.5 inches x 4.25 inches    $150

Please contact me if you are interested in this artwork.

This is one of my favorite farmscape watercolors. Over the years I have tried to capture as many of the old farms in my area as I can. This one was especially interesting to me and made a neat horizontal composition for a watercolor landscape painting.

My new grandson, Max Wagner Ricketts was born last week! Everyone healthy and happy. Pure joy at our household for the holidays!!!!

Plein air watercolor landscape painting of a farmstead seen from faraway fields.

Watercolor painting 9 inches x 6 inches

I painted this watercolor landscape right after “Along the Road” which I posted a couple of days ago. Obviously, the storm was still threatening.

I used my favorite paper, Saunders Waterford 200# cold press, for this piece. You can see how this substrate gives a very different feel than my previous watercolor painting. More subdued and less defined. I’ve tried many sheets and this one seems to fit my style just right. Colors appear very vibrant and strong, and yet they are easy to “pull up” if you need to. The 200# weight is more substantial than 140# yet isn’t as bulky as 300#. The texture is evident but not overpowering. Although using professional-quality paper is very important, I’ve found there is not a “right” or “wrong” as far as choosing between particular brands. Try a bunch and see if you can find one that floats your boat!

Plein air watercolor landscape painting of a storm approaching a distant farm as seen from the road.

Watercolor painting 11 inches x 9 inches

There was a storm rolling in when I set up to do this watercolor painting but I was sure I could get it in before the downpour started. You can imagine how detrimental raindrops can be to a watercolor painting. Even more so when you are painting on Yupo, a plastic material that causes paint to sit on the surface instead of seep into the paper. I painted fast and loose and got the watercolor landscape finished just as the first drops came down.

Just found out that River Gallery placed 3 giclee prints of my larger paintings in the new Pepsi Headquarters in Michigan. Giclees are a great way to own quality fine art, without paying the full price of an original work. Almost all of my paintings are available as high quality giclee prints. Please contact me if you are interested owning one!

Plein air pastel landscape painting of a colorful fall tree and barn.

Pastel painting 11 inches x 8.5 inches

Yeah! What a beautiful weekend for plein air pastel painting! Crisp blue skies and cool weather here in Michigan. I loved my time in Italy painting watercolors, but I was really pining to get back to a juicy pastel landscape. This farm just south of my hometown Saline fit the bill!

After I get my feet wet with pastels again, I will be painting a pet portrait commission that I received this week. Really looking forward to capturing this sweet Borzoi puppy! Let me know if you have an animal buddy who is yearning to be a model…

Plein air watercolor landscape of a garden of sunflowers in front of a red barn.

Watercolor painting 9 inches x 6 inches    SOLD

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

Another watercolor painting created from my mobile studio in the back of my SUV. It is such a joy to head out to paint at a moment’s notice, knowing I am fully supplied and haven’t forgotten anything. Before I started carrying my painting supplies in my car full time, the thought of packing everything up was sometimes so overwhelming that I just wouldn’t go at all. Now I just fly!!!

This barn out on Scio Church road was so pretty with the sun flower garden that I stopped for a quick watercolor landscape.

Plein air pastel landscape painting of an old mill along the Huron River in Ann Arbor, Michigan

Pastel painting 11 inches x 8 inches

Our plein air pastel painting group met at a new location last weekend–Parker Mill. It’s the site of an old 1800s mill and is surrounded by woods and a beautiful little creek. Many of the others had painted here before, but for me, it was completely new. I was immediately taken by the old architecture and set up to capture the buildings while the early morning sun was still casting a warm glow on them.  I love painting weathered old buildings in pastel, but I must be careful not to “over accessorize” them. I have to keep repeating my mantra….Simplify, simplify, simplify…

I painted another pastel landscape of the nearby river and it will post it in a couple of days.

Plein air pastel painting of an old farmstead near Belvedere, Michigan.

Pastel painting 12 inches x 4 inches     $150

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

It was our last day “up north”. The boys had headed off to golf and I was wandering the countryside, generally headed toward the course where I would pick them up later in the day. I had had my fill of beautiful, sunny beach scenes and was pining to return to my beloved farm views. I stopped my roving studio on the side of the road to paint a pastel landscapes of this old farm. It looked like it hadn’t changed one bit since the depression. This is my favorite piece of all the pastel and watercolor paintings I did on our vacation. Its small but special!

Plein air pastel landscape painting of a barn seen from barren fields.

Pastel painting 11 inches x 8. inches     $200

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

Some of the fields around here are planted and starting to green up, but a lot of them are still full of the stubbly waste from last years crops. The acres of broken stalks make interesting texture for pastel landscapes. Sometimes spring is a difficult time for plein air because everything is so darn “perky” and green. It’s nice to find some gritty compositional elements to break up all of the emerald.

Pastel landscape painting of a road leading to an old barn in winter.

Pastel painting 6 inches x 9 inches     SOLD

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

The warm sunlight and cool shadows on snow make it really fun to paint pastel landscape paintings from winter scenes. This barn, right down the road from our home, looks really stunning around 1 pm. in the afternoon. The sun creates a perfect highlight on the snow covered shed roof.

Busy day at our Ann Arbor advertising agency tomorrow, but Friday I’m hoping to start on another winter pastel painting.

If you have a chance, come by the opening for the Braun Farm show at My Favorite Cafe in downtown Saline on Friday night 7-9pm!