Plein air landscape painting of Crystal Lake from Beulah, Michigan

Pastel painting 6 inches x 6 inches     $100

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

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…

If you are interested in a fine art print of one of my paintings, I recently posted some of my most popular pieces on FineArtAmerica.com. They have a wonderful program for purchasing prints, posters, canvases, and notecards. The prices are really reasonable and they do an excellent job of reproducing artist’s work.

Check out my offerings at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/jill-stefani-wagner.html

Plein air watercolor landscape painting of the shore along Crystal Lake in Northern Michigan.

Watercolor painting 7 inches x 10 inches    $150

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I can’t believe how long it has been since I’ve painted any watercolors.  I’ve been so infatuated with the bright, opaque pastel pigments, that I’ve neglected the medium that got me excited about art in the first place. When we were “up north,” I did pull the paints out for a watercolor landscape of the shoreline along Crystal Lake.

When I go to paint in Italy in the fall, I have decided to bring only my watercolor supplies. Pastels are too bulky, fragile and dusty for international travel. Plus, for some reason, I think of Italy as a location made especially for the nuances of this water medium.

Plein air pastel landscape painting of Crystal Lake near Frankfort, Michigan.

Pastel painting 11 inches x 8 inches

My friend has told me, over and over again, how beautiful Crystal Lake is. She said the color of the water is unlike anything I would see in Northern Michigan. After visiting a few weeks ago, I am now a believer. The water depth is relatively shallow for a long way out and appears a shimmering light aqua color. Then, suddenly, it drops off sharply at the “blue line.” It is truly a stunning view and I wanted to capture it in a loose, colorful pastel painting.

I was again trying to capture the essence of the scene, not necessarily every ripple and highlight. Not quite sure how successful I was, but I had a blast painting this pastel landscape!

Plein air pastel landscape painting of an old farmhouse seen from the fields.

Pastel painting 11 inches x 8 inches

Wandering the farmlands of southeastern Michigan, I find many beautiful old farms tucked into the rolling hills. I did this pastel landscape painting just west of Saline. While I was painting, an old man who was cutting the lawn came up to my easel to chat. I thought he was the owner of the farm but he was neighbor who rented the land to plant his crops. He explained to me that the owners had recently moved to a senior home and that none of their children wanted to take on the hard work of farm life. So, over time, this old place built in the 1880s, will probably be abandoned. When I paint, I often wonder about the history of the site: Who lived there? What did the many generations of family experience here? Sometimes I’m lucky to learn some interesting little tidbits about my subjects and that makes them all the more fascinating to me.

Plein air pastel landscape painting of silos seen from summer Michigan fields.

Pastel painting 11 inches x 8 inches

This field is not far from my house in an area that is scheduled for a large business park development. It breaks my heart to see all of the beautiful woods and farmlands eaten up by urban sprawl. Its one of the reasons I keep painting  pastel landscape paintings of farms and fields. I’ll be able to remember them after the huge steel and glass monstrosities replace them…

Plein air pastel painting of an old farmstead near Belvedere, Michigan.

Pastel painting 12 inches x 4 inches     $150

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

It was our last day “up north”. The boys had headed off to golf and I was wandering the countryside, generally headed toward the course where I would pick them up later in the day. I had had my fill of beautiful, sunny beach scenes and was pining to return to my beloved farm views. I stopped my roving studio on the side of the road to paint a pastel landscapes of this old farm. It looked like it hadn’t changed one bit since the depression. This is my favorite piece of all the pastel and watercolor paintings I did on our vacation. Its small but special!

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 painting of a bridge in midday sun at Island Park in Ann Arbor.

Pastel painting 12 inches x 19 inches     $300

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I stopped by Island Park in Ann Arbor the other day to look for a good scene for a pastel painting I go there often to shoot research photos from my RiverStone Series, but this time I wanted to set up and paint plein air. There is a beautiful little Greek temple on the island, but I couldn’t get situated for a good view of it. I decided instead to do a pastel landscape of the main bridge. It was near midday and the shadow under the bridge was dark and dramatic compared to the light hitting the stonework.

Pastel painting 17 inches x 11 inches     $650

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Another pastel painting from right here in Saline. This creek is just off the main road going into town. And let me tell ya, I almost got run over while shooting my reference shots from the tiny bridge! (I can see the headline in our local paper: Pastel Artist Expires Shooting Precarious Photographs…) But I just had to do it. The reflections were so beautiful, especially in contrast to the bright snow on the rim of the river. I took about 20 photos and cropped and revised the composition until it felt right for the pastel landscape I had in mind. I’m really happy with the results!

Pastel landscape painting of Mill Creek in Saline, Michigan

Pastel painting 11 inches x 17 inches     $650

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Back from a wonderful trip down south. A little cold and windy but MUCH better than the bitter cold in Michigan right now. I painted a lot of plein air pastel paintings in Florida over the last week and will post them soon.

I finished this pastel landscape just before we left on our trip. Mill Creek wanders through Saline and the city’s parks. In this piece I wanted to capture the contrast between the light-filled, early morning mist and the vibrant patch of sunlight in the foreground.

Pastel painting of an old house with a flag on the porch in Saline, Michigan

Pastel painting of an old house with autumn trees in Saline, Michigan

So proud to have 2 pastel paintings in the first “Art on the House” exhibit at the State Capital Building in Lansing Michigan. The series of 4 exhibits will be created by the Washtenaw County Arts Alliance and placed in the State Capitol by the suggestion of Representative Pam Byrnes, who is State House Representative and Speaker Pro Temp. The exhibits will display and promote the exceptional work being produced by visual artists living and working in Michigan. The great people at the River Gallery in Chelsea are helping to coordinate the series.

My 2 artworks are in Pam’s central office but will be available for purchase after the show comes down. Contact me or the River Gallery if you are interested. I also do commissioned portraits of houses and would be happy to talk to you about a special of painting your home.

Plein air pastel landscape painting of a distant barn seen from the fields

Pastel painting 9.5 inches x 6 inches       SOLD

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This beautiful old farm on Judd Road in Saline caught my eye last weekend. On cloudy days, it would seem like the landscape should be dull and drab, but its really the exact opposite. All the colors become hyper saturated in relation to the dismal sky.  I love autumn in Michigan when all the crops turn rusty ochre. To me, a pastel painting of golden soy bean fields can be more exciting than the traditional landscapes filled with brightly colored fall trees. I painted this piece on white paper that I had underpainted with a bright red watercolor wash. I like to leave some of that red color peaking through the pastel to unify the painting.

Hope the weather holds so that I can get out again this weekend…