Pastel painting   9 inches x 13 inches

It’s way past prime garden time in Michigan right now. The plants and trees are all bare and the flowers are long gone. But I took hundreds of research photos from the 6 gardens that will be on next year’s Ann Arbor Garden Walk and I am starting to work on pastel floral paintings in my studio. A group of artists will be exhibiting our artwork at the event in June. These hydrangeas were in a garden of a beautiful old home, built by President Millard Filmore’s brother in the 1800s, just outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan. I love the way the sunlight hit the petals and contrasted with the cool background of the old house.

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

Watercolor painting of a large vase sculpture in Toledo Botanical Gardens

Watercolor painting 5 inches x 12 inches    SOLD

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I love to visit Toledo Botanical Gardens and paint watercolor sketches of the plants and sculptures on the grounds. This scene had an extra bonus in that my favorite plant, hydrangeas, surrounded an antique sculpture. I usually try to keep these small sketches to 20 minutes or so in hopes of keeping them fresh and vibrant.

Pastel painting 18 inches x 18 inches $850  (Giclees are available)

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 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!

Pastel painting 18 inches x 18 inches   SOLD (but giclees available)

Please contact me if you are interested in this artwork.

My friend Mary Beth Koeze has the most wonderful gardens and she is a fantastic pastel artist. So she has doubly inspired me! I took some reference photos of her Oak Leaf Hydrangeas this summer. I’ve been working on this pastel painting for a week or so and just finished it.

Its always a challenge to know when you should stop and not continue to overwork a painting with useless detail. I read an article about one artist who said your painting is usually finished when you think you are 80% done

I’m going to try and remember that….