Pastel painting of Queen Anne's Lace in a meadow in Michigan.

Pastel painting 10 inches x 10 inches   $450

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

A couple of weeks ago, I went out to the Matthaei Botanical Gardens to photograph the flowers that were blooming. I snapped a few interesting photos, but the surrounding meadows, teaming with Queen Anne’s Lace, really grabbed my attention. I’ve done a few pastel paintings of wild flower fields lately. I like the randomness of the blooms blowing in the breeze. They seem so pure and free and make dynamic flower paintings. To me, they are a gorgeous and perfect symbol of late summer in Michigan.

The Ann Arbor Pastelists are having a reception for our new show at Mallet Creek Library in Ann Arbor on Friday night. Please stop by from 6:30-8:30 pm to see amazing works from talented pastel artists!

Plein air pastel painting of a flower shed in a beautiful garden

Pastel painting 8.5 inches x 11 inches   $200

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

We had a wonderful plein air day yesterday, Paintng Around Town in Saline. It started out VERY rainy, but by 10 am the clouds had cleared and more than 30 artists scattered around the city, creating pastels, watercolors, and oil paintings of the local scenes. I managed to get in 3 pastel landscapes. The above painting was done out at Saline Mills, a beautiful old mill site with gorgeous gardens and historic out buildings.

Congratulations to Sandra DiFazio and Toni Stevenson, who won the People’s Choice and Best of Show awards! And thank you to Linda Klenczar for making these fun painting days possible!

Plein Air watercolor of a pot of geraniums along a wall in a garden.

Watercolor painting 6 inches x 9 inches SOLD

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

One more plein air watercolor painting of our friend’s garden. These geraniums were perched jauntily on the garden wall and caught the bright sunlight perfectly. I especially liked the way they blooms were highlighted against the dark red maple in the background.

Pastel painting of freshly cut lilacs in a vase with sunlight streaming in.

Pastel painting 11 inches x 14 inches   $600

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

Every year our backyard bursts out in purple and lavender blooms to herald the coming of spring. I love lilacs almost as much as hydrangeas so I decided to paint the ever present vase of them on our kitchen table. But, like most of my work, the real subject of this  pastel painting is light. The way the sunlight streamed through the window and lit up the vase was the real attraction for me.

Pastel painting of fading geraniums in front of an old house.

Pastel painting 10 inches x 14 inches   $600

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

This pastel painting is an unusual combination of floral and landscape. I was wandering around downtown Louisville, in a neat historic section, when I ran into these fading geraniums. When I noticed the old, historic home in the background, I thought their juxtaposition would make an interesting image. I get all worked up about the way we treat our cities, trashing or abandoning whole neighborhoods in our rush to expand into the vanishing open areas. This piece was a bit cathartic for me. Ahhhh…. I feel better now!

BTW: If you get a chance, check out Tony Moffits blog. He puts out very useful and interesting information about art marketing. He featured my art work today in his blog and he also has a great site for artists looking for gallery representation. He graciously included me in his artist group on this site also.

Plein air watercolor landscape of a brick walk wandering through a garden.

Watercolor painting 5.5 inches x 9.5 inches $100

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

Another watercolor landscape of our friend’s beautiful garden. I spent a good 4-5 hours exploring and painting the different views in this backyard treasure. One of the owners is a Master Gardener and has been kind enough to share her special knowledge with my gardening husband. Little by little, with her help, our own backyard is becoming a painting paradise, too! Soon, I’ll be able to create watercolor and pastel paintings of gardens without leaving home.

Pastel painting of sunlit cascading geraniums on a stair step.

Pastel painting 18 inches x 18 inches $800

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

I’ve been working on this large (for me!) floral pastel painting for about a week now and I THINK it is finally finished. I really wanted to capture the feeling of bright sunlight hitting the flowers against the cool shade of the building.I’m hoping to have this piece placed in one of my galleries by the summer season. (Unless, of course, it sells right off the blog or website!)

I just purchased a new set of Sennelier colors and I am like a kid in a candy shop. Unfortunately the mounds of pastels are starting to take over my studio. But not to worry. I truly believe the saying: “whoever dies with the most pastels wins!”

Pastel painting of rosy sedum in a light filled garden.

Pastel painting 18 inches x 18 inches $800

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

Writers are always told to “write what they know”. So keeping that good advice in mind, I try to “paint what i know”. This floral pastel painting is a scene from our own garden last fall. Sedum are great plants that have beautiful blooms that change color through out Michigan’s growing season. They start our a pale green but by September they morph into a rosy hue. And in the winter they create interesting texture in an otherwise dead landscape. Ours are just peaking through the dirt right now. Spring can’t be too far away!

Pastel painting of a pot of geraniums on a sunny deck.

Pastel painting 6 inches x 8 inches $80

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

This pretty arrangement was sitting on my daughter’s inlaw’s deck and I just had to do a couple of pastel paintings of the explosion of color. Glenn Lake is in the background. The light was so strong it almost made the colors look psychidelic–just like they should in mid summer! I used a limited palette from my plein air pastels and concentrated on light and shadow, my favorite part of any floral painting.

Pastel painting 18 inches x 18 inches $850  plus shipping

Please contact me if you are interested in this artwork.

One last Hydrangea pastel painting to see summer off. I really fell in love with these flowers this year, and when the next crop matures, I will explore them further. We are having a beautiful falI, but I probably won’t get in a lot more plein air painting. It’s serious studio time now. I think I will focus on my pastel Treescape series….

Pastel painting 11.5 inches x 18 inches SOLD

Please contact me if you are interested in this artwork.

I just got word that The Button Gallery in Douglas, Michigan will represent my work! I’m very excited because they are a great gallery in an “arty” part of the state. They are especially interested in my floral pastel paintings. I will be dropping off 5 new works for them to exhibit this week, including this cone flower painting that I just finished and framed.

Pastel painting 14 inches x 24 inches $850  plus shipping

Please contact me if you are interested in this artwork.

MORE Hydrangeas! These Oak Leaf Hydrangeas are quickly becoming my favorite inspiration for floral paintings. I’ve had a really good response from both art lovers and galleries so I thought I would try a few more of them before I move on to other subjects. This pastel painting is done on a clay-colored paper. The color acts as an underpainting and, since a little peaks through the pastel, it unifies the whole piece and makes all the colors “bounce” a little. I love playing with the light filtering through the leaves!