Plein air pastel landscape painting of a shaded pond in the afternoon.
Pastel painting 8 inches x 11 inches
I’ve driven by this little pond a million times and each time, I swear I am going to come back and paint it. Well, I finally did it! The afternoon sun made all of the rich hues stand out and made a really colorful pastel painting.
I found it really challenging to capture the 3 dimensions of this scene: the water, the reflections and the things floating on the water. They all exist in a different plane and make for mind boggling concentration. And y’all thought pastel landscapes were easy… But sometimes it’s worth the trouble!
Plein air watercolor landscape painting of a pond and surrounding trees.
Watercolor painting 11 inches x 7 inches $150
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The other day, I grabbed my watercolors and trusty pooch and headed out to the pond near our house. Roxy loves to run free near the water and I can relax and sketch the scenery. It was a great day for a watercolor landscape. The sun was out and the wind was blowing the billowing cloud formations quickly across the sky. I had to paint quickly to catch the effects…
In the studio I am working on a commission of the cutest little pup. Can’t wait to show it to my client. Let me know if you have a special animal you would like immortalized in a pastel pet portrait!
Plein air landscape painting of Crystal Lake from Beulah, Michigan
Pastel painting 6 inches x 6 inches $100
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On the way to Crystal Lake, we stopped in Beulah at the beach in town. John took his afternoon nap and I did a quick seascape pastel painting out of the back of the car. It was a bit stormy and rough but made for an interesting, moody pastel landscape…
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Check out my offerings at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/jill-stefani-wagner.html
Plein air pastel landscape painting of a Lake Michigan Beach near Charlevoix
Pastel painting 11 inches x 8 inches
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Right near the Charlevoix light house on Lake Michigan, there is a beautiful pristine beach. Most of the bathers swim near the park area and this sandy stretch stays relatively empty. I sat under one of the covered picnic areas and painted this pastel landscape in the shade. I liked the simple, bold and dynamic composition of this scene. While I was setting up, two old advertising friends from Ann Arbor strolled up, hundreds of miles from home. I tell ya, its amazing how we are all connected in this big old world…
Plein air watercolor landscape painting of boats at the dock on Round Lake in Charlevoix, Michigan
Watercolor painting 6 inches x 9.75 inches $100
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I brought my watercolors up north this year too. I was mostly focusing on pastels but I did do a few watercolor landscape paintings of the dock area in downtown Charlevoix one afternoon. The sun was high and the water sparkled in the light. It always takes me a while to get back in the mode when I switch between painting mediums. I will be doing a lot more watercolors this summer because I want to be in good form when I travel to Italy for my painting workshop in the fall!
Plein air pastel landscape painting of the rocky shoreline along Lake Michigan near Charlevoix.
Pastel painting 6.5 inches x 6.5 inches $100
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Another pastel landscape scene from the shores of Lake Michigan. It’s amazing how the color of the water and landscape changes at different times of day. In fact, it changes by the hour. After spending an 90 minutes or so on this small pastel painting, the view in front of me didn’t look at all like the one on my easel. The water had become much lighter and the shoreline in the distance a dark, midnight blue…
Plein air pastel landscape painting of trees along the Lake Michigan beach near Charlevoix.
Pastel painting 8.5 inches x 11 inches
The weather was perfect when we were “up north.” I was wandering along the Lake Michigan coast near the Charlevoix lighthouse and saw this colorful scene peaking through the trees. It was early morning and the light on the field and lake drew my attention. It seemed like a good view for a pastel landscape so I opened up my trunk and painted from my mobile studio. That’s one of the things I love about pastels: very easy to work on the road!
Plein air pastel landscape of small cabin nestled in the woods, seen from across a lake.
Pastel painting 8.5 inches x 12.5 inches $300
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I found the sweetest little pond yesterday, off of Judd Road in Saline. It was hidden in a residential area and I almost passed it by. I set up my easel to do this pastel painting just as the owners came home from church. For the most part, I’ve found that people are very open to me painting on their property. They are often flabbergasted and pleased that an artist would find their property beautiful and worthy of a work of art. We all become so accustomed to our own surroundings and sometimes take for granted the gorgeous scenes around us. In this pastel landscape I wanted to capture the serenity of the little cabin tucked back in the woods and loved the long range view across the water.
Plein air watercolor landscape painting of a beautiful pond with a bridge reflected in the water.
Watercolor painting 10 inches x 6.5 inches $80
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The resort where we stayed had some really intriguing landscaping. I was especially taken with this little bridge over one of the many ponds on site. I sat on the shore and did this watercolor painting during the sunniest time of the day. I like to choose subjects where there is a strong focal point and I can let some of the other background images fall out of focus. When I do paintings of architecture I pay more attention to all of the structural details.
Plein air pastel landscape painting of a golf course hole and water
Pastel painting 8 inches x 12.5 inches SOLD
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I couldn’t resist the view of this hole at the Cork Screw Golf Course. I’m not sure if it was the “signature hole” but it made a great composition for my pastel landscape, I used a red toned sanded paper for my substrate and gloried in the lush greens of Florida. The snow was 2 feet deep in Michigan, so I was happy to play with bright colors.
If you or a friend have a favorite golf hole you would like commemorated, I’d be happy to talk to you about a pastel commission or watercolor commission!
Plein air pastel painting of small palms on a lake shore.
Pastel painting 8 inches x 11.5 inches $300
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I like to paint what I call “MicroLandscapes”. I find a scene that I really like and create an intensely cropped, “close up” composition of it. My RiverStones series is a good example of this type of subject matter. It’s a non-traditional way of looking at pastel landscapes, and one that fits my sensibilities very well.
I usually do these types of paintings in the studio, but when I was down in Florida, I thought I would make a plein air attempt. These palms were right on the edge of a pond and created a neat, abstract composition for my pastel painting.
I am starting a new series of “MicroLandscapes” and am using apple orchards as my subject matter. So far I really like the results. I’ll post them soon…
Plein air pastel landscape painting of a bright Florida bridge reflected in a pond
Pastel painting 8 inches x 12.5 inches $300
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This is another pastel landscape, that I painted on a piece of white art spectrum paper that had been underpainted with a rose- colored wash. Warm red is a great hue for outdoor painting because it is a natural compliment to the many shades of green that are found in most landscapes. Placing two compliments (opposites on the color wheel) close together creates a dynamic, vibrating feel in a painting. And although I know this theory from years of study, I sometimes forget it in the passion of getting all the gorgeous colors on the paper. If I underpaint before I start, I don’t have to be focused on adding reds to my greens…they appear on their own!
As a pastel artist, I try to keep the idea of contrasting compliments constantly in mind. For instance, if I want to paint a water scene, which is predominantly blue, I will often use an orange paper. Or if I am working on a pastel portrait with lots of golden tones, I might use a muted purple sheet.
