Pastel landscape painting of a summer sky filled with cumulus clouds in Michigan.
Pastel paintings 18.5 inches x 15 inches
Ever since I was little I have kept my eyes to the skies and have reveled in the millions of compositions, colors and textures that happen there every day. It has always been a goal of mine to tackle some pastel landscapes where the focus is on clouds and light, not on the land below. This is my first large-scale studio attempt inspired from photos I took last summer when I was painting en plein air. I learned a lot on this one and plan on learning more in the sky studies to come!
Pastel landscape painting of a stone path in a garden.
Pastel painting 9 inches x 12 inches
I found this sweet little path at one of our garden sites and knew I wanted to capture it in a pastel landscape painting. I loved the way the dappled sunlight fell on the rocks and plants. Our garden painting group has already amassed quite a lovely series of images for our summer show. I have posted them on a Picasa website for viewing purposes. Check them out at:
Click on the album images and you will be able to see various artists’ paintings of each site. It is really interesting to see the different styles and views that each artist chose.
Pastel landscape painting of a Michigan field in July.
Pastel paintings 14 inches x 10 inches
Another pastel painting from one of our garden sites. Its not your usual garden painting filled with flowers and beds. This home was surrounded with acres of both formal and natural plantings, and fields and woods. I was really drawn to the open fields, rimmed with trees and the lone blue spruce made a nice focal point. I chose a rust-colored Art Spectrum Colourfix paper to start, so that the warm tone could peak through all of the greens and blues in the painting. Doing that helps to create a little interest and vibration between the colors.
Plein air landscape painting of a rock garden in front of a home.
Plein air watercolor painting 9.5 inches x 7 inches
The light shining through the silhouetted trees attracted my attention at this lovely home. I had to paint quickly because the heat that morning was overwhelming. But that kind of weather can actually be a good when doing watercolor landscapes. The washes and layers of color dry quickly, which helps me avoid creating pools of muddy color. Sometimes my mind and hands work faster than the medium allows. I get excited to get all my thoughts down before the previous layer has dried enough to accept another pass. Watercolor paintings take a bit of patience and forethought…and sometimes I have it…and sometimes I don’t!
Plein air pastel landscape painting of an old house and field in Saline, Michigan
Pastel painting 11 inches x 8 inches
Had a little bit of time on Monday afternoon–not enough to go out searching for a great scene, but just enough time to do a quick plein air painting. There’s a field by our house that I’ve always loved, so I hopped in the car and set up for a pastel landscape under a large shade tree. I didn’t have a special view in mind so I just spun around and around til I found subject matter that I liked. I did a quick underpainting in watercolor on Kitty Wallis pastel paper using some of the techniques that Marla Bagetta had described to us in her workshop. Then began layering color, little by little. I loved the way the sunlit Queen Anne’s Lace was highlighted against the shadowed old house…
My dog, Roxy, and I trucked out to the pond peninsula near our house on Saturday afternoon. We love it out there because Roxy can explore off-leash, and I can paint without worrying that she will be run over by a speeding car full of teenagers. Win-win. This little stand of pines looked like a good subject for a pastel landscape. I wanted to work in a relatively monochromatic color scheme. Everything in Michigan is sooooo verdant right now. As a plein air artist, that can be kind of overwhelming. I decided that I could either avoid all of the green, or embrace it. And in this case, I was happy with the outcome!
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.
Pastel landscape painting of a snowy winter field with a stream running through it.
Pastel painting 5 inches x 7.5 inches
Between helping with my new grandson, work, and the holidays, I haven’t been getting much painting done! I’ve been pining to do a winterscape so I slipped this small pastel painting in this afternoon. This field is near our home and I often take my Aussie, Roxy, for walks along the little creek. Its barely noticeable from the road and feels very secluded. I painted another larger pastel landscape of this area a year ago. I can’t wait to go back this spring and try a plein air version.
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 an old tree casting shadows on a shed.
Pastel painting 11 inches x 8. inches $200
Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.
“on the road again….”
The other morning I got up early, bundled up my supplies, stuck the dog in the car, and drove to a nearby field. I walk through it often in the mornings with Roxy and I knew the sun cast really interesting shadows on an old shed there. I’d been waiting for the right type of sunny day to do a pastel landscape of the scene. I had to work fast because the sun was rising quickly and I wanted to capture the light falling across the fence and the wall behind it. Architecture pastels can be a challenge, specially when you are speed painting!
Pastel landscape painting of a path wandering through a snow covered field
Pastel painting 11 inches x 17 inches $650
Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.
Winter scenes are very intriguing to me. The white snow, with blue shadows and golden highlights, makes a great foil for other dark landscape elements in pastel paintings. Paths and riverbeds are especially strong elements to draw the viewer through the scene.
I wish I could say that I am strong enough to paint pastel landscapes outside in the winter. But the truth is: I am too much of a wimp to deal with the cold, wet weather to paint en plein air after November. So instead, I keep my trusty digital camera with me at all times. I shoot 5-10 photos for every view that entices me. Then, when I get back to the studio, I crop the photo I like best on my computer, and often subtract elements or add some from other photos. I keep fussing with the composition til it says exactly what I want. Then I sketch it on my paper. And THEN, the fun begins!
