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

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 painting of a path in a park in Michigan with a bridge in the distance.

Pastel painting 12.75 inches x 5 inches

I painted this scene in Gallup Park in Ann Arbor a couple of weeks ago (right after I jumped into the lake to save my first plein air painting of the day). I have been challenging myself lately to stop looking for the “perfect” subject matter for my pastel landscapes, and just paint what i see in front of me. This is probably not the type of scene I would have searched for, but I am pleased with the results. If you’ve seen much of my work, you know I like to work with odd shaped compositions. This extreme horizontal worked well for a panoramic-type view.

Plein air pastel landscape painting of a tree along the Huron River in Ann Arbor, Michigan

This is the last of my paintings from the Bagetta Workshop. I only had a bit of time left before our critique, but I didn’t want to waist it. I left all my supplies in the same place and simply turned my easel around. I zeroed in a small little scene that wasn’t too complicated for my pastel painting. Sometimes the amount of options when you are painting plein air is totally overwhelming. It helps to use a small view finder to find a good composition and crop out all of the extra information.

On this pastel landscape of a river, I used a piece of gatorboard that I had underpainted with Art Spectrum Colourfix primer in a terra cotta shade. I like the way the brush strokes show thru the pastel and add a little texture. This type of set-up tends to create a looser feel, so I wouldn’t choose this medium if you want to create a very detailed piece.

I’m really excited about a historical portrait commission I am doing of a young child and his father. Its really a challenge and I am loving every minute of it!

Plein air pastel painting of a riverbank seen from the water.

Pastel painting 6.75 inches x 11 inches

Second attempt at the Bagetta Workshop. This pastel painting of a river was done on pale yellow Richeson pastel paper with a warm red, purple and yellow underpainting. If you look closely, you can see the paint sneaking thru the green and even dripping down the paper.

Speaking of paper. I think I have given this Richeson paper my last shot. I’ve tried if for figurative art, landscapes, and florals. It is just too pebbly for me and I can’t seem to control it. I don’t feel too bad “dissing” it here because Richeson no longer seems to be carrying it on their website. I think I’m sticking with Kitty Wallis and Art Spectrum Colourfix paper. I seem to get the best results with them…

Plein air pastel landscape painting of light on the Huron River in Ann Arbor

Pastel painting 8.75 inches x 13.5 inches

Some of the plein air buds got together last weekend at Gallup Park along the Huron River in Ann Arbor. We each found a spot along the same riverbank and painted the particular scene that caught our eye. I did a pastel landscape, of the sunlight streaming through a little break in the trees.

I like the way this piece came out, but it’s an absolute miracle that it exists. Halfway through, it was blown off my easel into the weeds, along with a bunch of my pastels. I rescued it and finished it up. I moved to another location and was talking to one of my friends when she started screaming and gesturing to the painting–which was floating in the lake! I rushed right in up to my knees and grabbed it. Luckily it had landed face up and only the back was saturated. It dried perfectly flat in an hour, none the worse for its little dip in the pond!

Plein air pastel landscape painting of reflections in a Michigan pond.

Pastel painting 11.5 inches x 8.5 inches

One morning last week I parked in a spot near my home where the “Cody” farm used to be. The local lore says that Buffalo Bill Cody’s cousin owned the place and that Bill often visited there. Last year, the farm buildings were torn down and there’s a nice little hill where the house used to be. It gave me a nice view of the pond across the street. Painting reflection is always challenging because the water changes every second. I survey the scene and then freeze in my mind where the lights and darks fall. If I don’t make the decision at the beginning of the pastel painting, I am constantly chasing the fluctuating light and water patterns. It can make me crazy!

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…

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…

Plein air pastel seascape painting of a sand bar in the South Arm of Lake Charlevoix.

Pastel painting 8.5 inches x 11.5 inches

One day, while the guys were golfing up north, I spent the day painting pastel landscapes in the little town of East Jordan which is situated along the South Arm of Lake Charlevoix. This was my first work of the day, done early in the morning, before 9 am. As a plein air artist I’m always looking for interesting seascape opportunities. Although I really respect artists who can create a work of art solely from miles of endless water, I tend to shy away from scenes that are nothing but lake or ocean. I like to find something with an interesting center of interest that integrates with the water around it. This little sand bar did the trick.

I’m leaving for a week at Bonanza Creek in Montana today! Non-stop horseback riding and painting with close friends…Ahhhh!!! Check out their website at http://www.bonanzacreekcountry.com. If you are looking for a wonderful place to ride and experience the wonders of “out west”, I recommend it highly!

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.

Plein air pastel landscape painting of Harbor Springs, Michigan from above

Pastel painting 8.5 inches x 11.5 inches

We spent a wonderful long weekend in Charlevoix, Michigan over Memorial Day. Its a trip that we take with our good friends every year and we always look forward to it. The guys golf, the ladies shop and I paint. At night we enjoy wonderful food, wine and friendship.  I dropped off a lot of new paintings to Tvedten Fine Art, my gallery in Harbor Springs, and of course, I painted my way there and back.

This pastel landscape is from the bluff that overlooks the beautiful harbor. Luckily I was able to find a For Sale sign up in front of one of the gorgeous mansions on the hill. It looked like no one was home…I hope they didn’t mind this plein air artist parking in front and blocking their view…