Watercolor landscape painting of the hills of Umbria viewed from the town of Assisi

Watercolor landscape painting   12 inches x 5 inches   SOLD

When I was at La Romita in Umbria, Italy, I brought along my usual Saunders Waterford watercolor paper. But I also brought along a few sheets of Yupo paper. Its helpful for me to switch back and forth between a traditional, absorbent substrate and a slick, non-absorbent one. I am easily bored and frustrated with one approach and moving to another paper sometimes opens up new possibilities.

The countryside of Umbria looks like a quilt of different patterns and I tried to capture a bit of that feeling in this watercolor landscape of Italy. With Yupo paper, you can push the colors around and even lift areas back to the pure white paper.

This artwork was created with:
Paper: Yupo
Medium: Da Vinci Watercolors

Pastel landscape painting of an old villa in Umbria, Italy

Pastel painting 18  inches x 18 inches

One of my larger square pastel paintings of Italy that will be in the show tonight There will be many Italian watercolor paintings too…

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

This artwork was created with:
Paper: Terra Cotta Art Spectrum Pastel Paper
Medium: Rembrandt Pastels and Sennelier Pastels

Plein air pastel landscape painting of reflections in a Michigan pond.

Pastel painting 11.5 inches x 8.5 inches

One morning last week I parked in a spot near my home where the “Cody” farm used to be. The local lore says that Buffalo Bill Cody’s cousin owned the place and that Bill often visited there. Last year, the farm buildings were torn down and there’s a nice little hill where the house used to be. It gave me a nice view of the pond across the street. Painting reflection is always challenging because the water changes every second. I survey the scene and then freeze in my mind where the lights and darks fall. If I don’t make the decision at the beginning of the pastel painting, I am constantly chasing the fluctuating light and water patterns. It can make me crazy!

Plein air watercolor landscape painting of ranchland in Montana

Plein air watercolor painting   6. 5 inches x 10 inches

Montana in June was marvelous! They have had a lot more rain this year than usual (maybe TOO much!) and the land was lush, green and covered with wildflowers. We spent most of our time at Bonanza Creek riding the 35,000 acre ranch, soaking up the unbelievably beautiful scenery. A couple of days were spent on culling out “pairs” (a mother and baby cow) from the herd, team penning (separating specific cows into specific pens) and moving one of the herds to new grazing grounds. Of course, all of these tasks could have been done with one experienced rancher and a dog, but our group of 7 plucky cowgirls did an admirable job.

I didn’t have much time for plein air watercolor painting but I did manage to do a few quick sketches in the afternoons. Whenever I travel to a new location, it takes me a while to “get the lay of the land.”  And believe me, the land out there is amazing! How do you suggest endless fields and valleys that lead, miles away, to huge jagged mountain ranges? Especially when it is not the landscape that you are familiar with? This is my first attempt at a watercolor landscape of the daunting but very beautiful western countryside…

Pastel plein air landscape painting of the Jordan River in East Jordan, Michigan

Pastel painting 11 inches x 14 inches

I almost always work on paper when I create my plein air pastel landscapes, using mostly Art Spectrum or Kitty Wallis paper. I recently bought a couple of Ampersand Pastelbords to try them out and was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked the surface. It is, of course, a heavier substrate, almost like masonite in weight.  When painting on it, the surface feels “harder” than other papers I have used, but it seems to hold just as much pastel. I used a sand-colored board for this painting of the Jordan River. I think this plein air artist will buy a few more boards to experiment with…

Plein air watercolor landscape painting of a footpath in Montana

Plein air watercolor painting    5 inches x 7 inches

I’m going out to Bonanza Creek in Montana this June! Beth and I are going to ride the hills with a great gaggle of cowgirls who are as excited as we are. I’ve been looking at new cowboy boots and dreaming of days on horseback. I’ll be bringing my watercolors and painting in the afternoons after our rides. This little plein air watercolor painting was done the last time I visited my sister in Dillon. Can’t wait to paint watercolor landscapes of the beautiful western countryside again!

Plein air watercolor landscape painting of mountains, lake and fields in Montana

Plein air watercolor painting    6 inches x 9 inches

Plein air watercolor landscape painting of a road leading to a Montana ranch

Plein air Watercolor painting 15 inches x 5.5 inches

Sometimes an extreme horizontal format is the best way to capture the feeling of a location, especially if you want to create a panorama effect. This Montana watercolor landscape was painted in July when the fields had already turned to gold, but before everything has greyed down and lost its vibrancy.

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 painting of a lake in Montana

Plein air Watercolor painting 6 inches x 9 inches

This plein air watercolor landscape was painted in Beaverhead County, one of the largest counties in the United States, but with only 9,000 population. The gorgeous mountains seem to be in the distance no matter what view you take.