Plein air pastel landscape painting of an old Michigan farmhouse in the sunlight.

Pastel painting 11.5 inches x 8.5 inches

Yay! This Michigan artist is finally smiling! We actually had sunshine here on Saturday. I did my usual plein air thang and wandered the back roads til I found something that caught my eye. I was yearning for bright light and shadows and this old farmhouse did the trick. I love doing paintings of architecture – especially historical buildings. The owners told me his home was built in 1847 and it’s still a gorgeous structure. After I finished this pastel landscape, I drove for an hour looking for another spot, not wanting to waste the sunshine.  Somehow I ended up back at home, painting at the pond in our subdivision. Go figure.

Plein air watercolor landscape painting of a distant ranch from the fields.

Plein air Watercolor painting 15 inches x 5.5 inches

This piece was painted sitting in the exact same position as the last watercolor landscape I posted. I expanded my view and worked in an extreme horizontal instead of vertical format. Its nice when you find a plein air spot that offers various interesting views. Sometimes I work on 2 or 3 paintings at a time, letting one dry while I start in on another. The golden fields that September excited me and I wanted to try to capture them in a couple of different ways.

Plein air watercolor landscape of ranch land in Montana

Plein air Watercolor painting 5.5 inches x 15.5 inches

When I visit new places, it helps me to jump outside my usual style and techniques. The countryside in Montana pushed me to work in different compositions and sizes. In this watercolor landscape I wanted to capture some of the enormity of the landscape, but from a close-up and personal viewpoint. I sat near one of the trout streams and looked out toward the distant mountains.

Plein air watercolor landscape painting of old barns near Saline, Michigan

Watercolor painting 9.5 inches x 9.5 inches    $300

Please contact me if you are interested in this or similar artwork.

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and are relaxing after all of the festivities!

I’ve been working diligently on my Italian paintings but will not be posting them until after my show. I have also been trying to make order out of a studio filled with paintings and art supplies. It is a daunting task!

This plein air farmscape watercolor was accepted into the Annual Michigan Watercolor Society Exhibition a few years back. I usually use a horizontal composition to capture the wide space of the farms I love. But for this one, I chose a square format and left some of the painting loose and unstructured. I wanted to create a watercolor landscape painting where the viewer is drawn in, through the field, to the focal point of the bright red barn.

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 pastel painting of farm buildings in the early morning light.

Pastel painting 11 inches x 8 inches

My friend Karen and I hit the plein air road last month while our husbands played golf. We didn’t have to travel too far from the golf course to find a scene we both liked. There were some old farm buildings, with peeling orange paint, just down the road. Karen set up for oil and I did a pastel painting while the bright morning sun was at its most dramatic. I had just enough time to start another pastel landscape before the guys called and were ready to be picked up. I will work to finish that one in the studio.

Plein air pastel landscape painting of old farm buildings from a field in Michigan

Pastel painting 9.5 inches x 7 inches

I painted this pastel painting of an old farmstead near our house last fall. It was beginning to fall into disrepair and looked like it had seen better days. The place was owned by relatives of Buffalo Bill Cody who was rumored to visit quite often. This summer the house and out buildings were burned down and all that remains are a few charred beams. It broke my heart. A subdivision will probably pop up in its place. I’m happy, though, that I captured this  pastel landscape before it disappeared!

This painting and many of my other pieces will be available at Art Walk October 22-24, 2010. 15 artists have banded together to present our work and do demonstrations at the Stone Arch Events building in Saline, Michigan. There will be a reception on Friday from 5pm-8pm and we will be open from 12-5pm on Saturday and Sunday. Please stop by and enjoy original artwork!

Plein air watercolor landscape painting of a working farm and barns seen from the field.

Watercolor painting 9.5 inches x 6.5 inches    $125

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

Getting into the watercolor mode! I was out on the back roads again searching for that perfect farm to paint.  The weather has been absolutely fantastic here in Michigan and the bright sunlight really makes the old red barns pop. I painted this watercolor landscape out of the back of my trunk. There was a lot of activity going on, but the hardworking farmers moved way to fast to paint them!

Plein air pastel landscape painting of an old farmhouse seen from the fields.

Pastel painting 11 inches x 8 inches

Wandering the farmlands of southeastern Michigan, I find many beautiful old farms tucked into the rolling hills. I did this pastel landscape painting just west of Saline. While I was painting, an old man who was cutting the lawn came up to my easel to chat. I thought he was the owner of the farm but he was neighbor who rented the land to plant his crops. He explained to me that the owners had recently moved to a senior home and that none of their children wanted to take on the hard work of farm life. So, over time, this old place built in the 1880s, will probably be abandoned. When I paint, I often wonder about the history of the site: Who lived there? What did the many generations of family experience here? Sometimes I’m lucky to learn some interesting little tidbits about my subjects and that makes them all the more fascinating to me.