Plein air watercolor sketch of the Victor Emmanuel Monument in Rome, Italy

Plein air watercolor sketch of the Trevi Fountain in Rome.

Plein air watercolor sketches   4.5  inches x 6 inches

I spent a few days in Rome after my workshop at La Romita School of Art. I was busy revisiting a lot of the sites I had seen in the past and didn’t have time to do finished watercolor paintings. But I did shoot a lot of photos and did little (very rough!) watercolor sketches to capture light and color for later works in my studio. I had a killer cold (as I do again today!) but still wanted to get as much reference as I could for future paintings of Italy

I’m just about done framing over 40 pastel and watercolor paintings for my upcoming exhibit. If you are in the area, I hope you can stop by!

“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: Saunders Waterford Watercolor Paper
Medium: DaVinci Watercolors

Art lovers and friends,

I can’t believe that I am writing my 500th post. What started out as a little blogging experiment to encourage me to paint every day, has become almost a way of life for me. I committed to this process, and now, over 3 years later, I can truthfully say it HAS forced me to paint more often. Even when there was dishes to wash and closets to clean and weeds to pull, I painted. And in so doing, I have increased both my skills and self confidence.

As you can imagine, I’ve also increased the amount of paintings in my studio. Many of the artworks you have seen in this post have sold or have gone off to one of my galleries. But I have many wonderful pieces that have not found homes. Soooo in celebration of my 500th post I’m giving…

25% OFF

all in-studio artworks

August 18 – September 8, 2011

Check through the previous posts on my blog and if you find a piece you like, and it is in my studio, I will give you a 25% discount. Its a WIN-WIN proposition. You will have a wonderful piece of art…and I will have a bit more room to create another one!

I was just interviewed  by Peter Trippi, Editor of Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine, one of the best art collector magazines in the world! He was on an art tour of the area and of course, wanted to visit the River Gallery in Chelsea, Michigan. Peter chose a few artists from the gallery’s wonderful art makers–and I was one! 10 or so of my framed pieces were up and i brought along some of my new pastels of Italy which will be in my show in November. We discussed my work in detail and also the state of pastel painting in general. He’s a very interesting, informed and passionate advocate of the arts. I really enjoyed spending some time with him.

Peter also reviewed the work of Dan Barry and Elaine Wilson. I wish I would have thought to snap a photograph of all of us together. My mind was obviously not focused on photo ops…

No promises were made but we’ll be watching the magazine for possible mentions!

Below is one of my paintings of Italy that we discussed.

Pastel painting of the columns and arches in a Italian cathedral.

Plein air watercolor painting of water lilies in a pond.

Plein air watercolor painting of water lilies in a pond

Plein air watercolor paintings    6.5 inches x 9.5 inches

More watercolors of water lilies! Nothing like doing plein air watercolor paintings in a lovely botanical garden setting!

The Ann Arbor Area Pastelists are having a show at Mallets Creek Library on Packard Road in Ann Arbor from March 19-April 28. We will be having an artist’s reception on Sunday, March 20th from 2-4 pm. If you have time, please stop by and visit us. I will have 2 artworks in the exhibit. Wonderful paintings by accomplished artists and munchies, too!

If you haven’t visited FineArtAmerica.com yet, you should give it a look. It’s a great website full of all types of art: photography, sculpture, paintings, drawings, ceramics, glass and more. There are thousands of artists represented, each with a unique outlook on art and life.

I recently posted some of my favorite paintings on the site and have made them available for purchase as originals or prints.  The print prices are very reasonable and the quality is excellent. Orders usually ship within 2 weeks. You can go to my page by clicking here or typing in Jill Stefani Wagner in the search box at FineArtAmerica.com.

In my area, you will find pages of watercolor and pastel paintings. Simply click on one and you will see the formats and sizes available: stretched canvas, framed and unframed prints, even note cards!

If you are looking for

My portrait group is having a show at the Side Door Gallery at Dexter Picture Frame Co. in Dexter. The show. About Face,  will be up from February 24- April 10, 2010 and we’ll have a reception on Friday, March 19th from 6-8 pm. I have 3 pastel portraits in the show. There will be a lot of interesting portraits in various mediums and some of the models will be attending the reception. It should make for a fun evening. Stop by if you can make it!

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.

Watercolor portrait painting painted from life of an african american male model.

Watercolor portrait of african american male painted on yupo paper.

2 Watercolor paintings   each 6 inches x 9 inches       $100

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

I decided to step outside my “pastel box” this weekend at our figure drawing session. I’d been getting pretty comfortable with my pastel portrait painting approach and I  wanted to force myself to work differently. I grabbed my watercolor painting bag and a bunch of yupo paper and just went with the flow. Luckily we had a great model (very handsome and built!). That is always inspiring….

I limited myself to only 3 colors: Ultramarine blue, alazarin crimson and yellow ochre. I find that I can mix almost any color I need with these 3 hues, and the result tends to be more “unified” than when I use a whole slew of colors…