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!

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

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.

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

Pastel landscape painting of sunlight shining through the woods.

Pastel paintings   12.5 inches x 25.5 inches each  $850   (giclee prints also available)

I’ve been painting and framing Italy paintings for so long that I started to miss working on some of my other series. For one of my first new works, I decided to delve back into my Treescape pastel paintings. This piece is hot off the easel! I’ve always loved the atmosphere and sparkling light in deep forests…it feels almost magical…and is an enticing challenge to capture in pigment on paper.

My Treescape series has been popular with both individuals and corporations–especially health care organizations. I’m not sure, but I think they have a soothing effect that is beneficial for both harried business people and worried patients. I love that fact that my art has a positive effect on people…. ahhhhh….!

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

Plein air watercolor landscape of an approaching storm over Montana mountains.

Plein air watercolor painting   9.5 inches x 7 inches     $100

My very last watercolor landscape sketch from Montana this June. Some of the weather was unusually fierce that week and it was fun to try and capture the tumultuous clouds that rolled over the mountains. You have to work quickly in these conditions and watercolor painting is probably as good as any medium for speed. But you have to be willing relinquish a little control and work with the surprises that appear on your paper…

We’ll be going to New Orleans for a visit soon. I am looking forward to doing some watercolor building paintings when I am down there. I’ve always loved NOLA and it’s very, very unique architecture and atmosphere.

This artwork was created with:
Paper: Saunders Waterford Watercolor Paper
Medium: DaVinci Watercolors

Plein air watercolor landscape painitng of a stand of pines on a hill in Montana

Plein air watercolor painting   9.5 inches x 7 inches $100

Here’s another watercolor landscape from our wonderful trip to Bonanza Creek Country Ranch this June. Every cabin is secluded and surrounded by Montana landscape. One morning I sat on our deck and worked on a quick watercolor painting of the pines and hill behind our place. It was so pristine and quiet…

Sorrella Jewelry Studio, my sisters’ online jewelry company has just been mentioned in Us Weekly! They are hitting the big time and are now providing beautiful bling gifts to the celebs! Check out their famous new diamond-rimmed monogram necklace. So proud to be doing some design work for them!

This artwork was created with:
Paper: Saunders Waterford Watercolor Paper
Medium: DaVinci Watercolors

Plein air watercolor painting of a pine tree near a meadow garden.

Plein air watercolor painting   7 inches x 9.5 inches

Another plein air watercolor landscape painting from the Ann Arbor Garden series I have been working on. I’ve visited this particular garden 3 times now and each time a find a completely different, intriguing view. The wild flowers made and interesting highlight against the dark depth of the forest behind. The flowers are fading fast in Michigan, but I hope to visit the gardens a few more times to do some  pastel garden paintings …

This artwork was created with:
Paper: Saunders Waterford Watercolor Paper
Medium: DaVinci Watercolors

Plein air watercolor landscape painting of the woods on a Montana ranch.

Plein air watercolor painting   6. 5 inches x 10 inches

When we were out west, we all stayed in cozy, lovely cabins situated in private wooded areas on the ranch. One afternoon, I sat on our deck  with a glass of wine and did a plein air watercolor painting of the pine trees near by.

Its hard to explain the solitude at Bonanza Creek. You can see for miles and miles– ranch land, cattle,  forests, sky and mountains. But you don’t see cities, houses, cars, traffic, planes or much “civilization” of any kind. It feels like what our country must have been like hundreds of years ago, before we filled every available space with stuff. It is unfamiliar and overwhelming at first. But once you’ve been there, you pine to return…

The cowgals

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 woods near the Raisin River in Saline, Michigan.

Pastel painting 8.5 inches x 11.5 inches

After painting the landscape at Weller’s that I posted a few days ago, I shifted my position and did a pastel drawing of the scene from a slightly different viewpoint. This scene incorporates more of the river and is in a vertical format. Same woods, rocks and tree but completely different effect.  Its amazing the number of compositions you can create from the same subject matter…

Plein air pastel landscape painting of the Raisin River behind Weller's in Saline, Michigan.

Pastel painting 13 inches x 5 inches

Both our Ann Arbor Women Artists and our Saline Plein Air Group meet throughout the spring, summer and fall at various beautiful spots in Southeast Michigan. I am so thankful for all the work the organizers do to make these outings possible. There’s nothing like working with fellow artists to improve your own skills. A couple of weeks ago we met at Weller’s in Saline. The sunlight streaming thru the woods by the river at the back of the property was electric and hard to ignore. Four of us set up on the lawn to capture the scene. I did a pastel landscape, and the other artists worked in various other mediums including watercolor, oil, and photography.

Just got back from a fantastic week at Bonanza Creek Ranch! I’ll post the few watercolors I managed to do between riding and pushing cattle in a couple of days. Right now, I’m working on re-entry…

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…

Pastel painting 8.5 inches x 11.5 inches

This is the last painting I made in Harbor Springs when we were “up north.” I stopped on a quiet little dirt road far from the tourists when I saw the bright light filtering through the trees. There was NOBODY around. Halfway through the painting a car stopped and a couple stepped out to see my pastel landscape. We chatted for quite a while. Turns out the woman’s brother was a plein air artist –who died of Lyme’s disease! You would think being an artist is a poor-paying but relatively safe career. I guess not. I quickly applied another layer of bug repellant.