Pastel painting of a sunlit porch of an old house in Saline, Michigan.

Pastel paintings   25.5 inches x 12.5 inches

I know it’s weird, but painting architecture just “flips my switch.” I love the play of nature’s organic forms against man-made structures. It is especially fun to capture old homes when they are lit by sunlight that casts deep, interesting shadows. I created this pastel painting a few years ago. I’ve sold quite a few giclee prints of it, but the original is still looking for a good home…

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

Pastel garden painting of flowers in front of a home.

Pastel paintings   5  inches x 7 inches

This is the second of my “little gem” garden paintings that I worked on last week. The flowers were so rich and bright in front of the shaded house. They just begged to be captured in a pastel painting. I think I’m ready to move on to a larger piece. I’ve been thinking of starting a sky series…..hmmm….

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

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 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!

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

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…

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 painting of the president's house at the University of Montana Western

Plein air Watercolor painting 9 inches x 6 inches

My sister lived in Dillon, the biggest city in Beaverhead County, Montana. Whoa, 4,000 population! But its a wonderful town, full of really nice people. The University of Montana Western is located there, and one day we explored the campus. The president’s house was a beautiful old building just made for a plein air watercolor painting of architecture. The great thing about being a watercolor artist is that you can always carry a small bag of supplies with you and stop at the drop of a hat to paint!

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 watercolor landscape painting of a villa outside of Barberino in Tuscany, Italy.

Watercolor painting   15 x 5.5 inches

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

Our midday meals were some of the wonderful high points of our trip to Italy a few years ago. This beautiful old villa was the location of a wonderful 8-table restaurant with the most amazing Tuscan cuisine. Wild boar-YUM!

We came back a few days later and asked if we could set up outside to do our watercolor paintings, I think they thought we were crazy to want to paint their old place but we thought it was beautiful and the perfect view for a painting of Tuscany.

Plein air watercolor painting of a beautiful old door in Tuscany, Italy.

Watercolor painting   8.5 x 11

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

Today’s THE day! I’m leaving for a 17-day painting trip to Umbria, Italy. Our workshop will be held in a 16th century monastery that was converted into an art school 50 years ago. Everyday we will paint in the small hill towns of central Italy, eat delicious food and drink wonderful wine. Ahhhhh…

While I’m gone, I will be posting watercolor landscapes from my previous trips to Europe.

About 6 or 7 years ago, 2 friends and I spent 3 weeks painting in the little town of Barberino in Tuscany. It was my lifetime dream come true. We woke up every morning, grabbed a coffee at a little cafe and drove off to find a beautiful scene to paint. Then we’d eat a marvelous lunch, siesta, and go out to paint again. Heaven! This Tuscan painting was done right around the corner from our apartment in Barberino.