Plein air pastel landscape painting of palm trees and their shadows along a resort walk in Florida.

Pastel painting 8 inches x 12 inches     $300

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

As a plein air pastel artist, I am always looking for 3 crucial elements when searching out a scene to paint: A dynamic composition, a strong sense of light and shadow, and of course, beautiful color. Sometimes I may find a majestic, monumental view that contains all of those elements. Other times it may be a simple, every day scene such as this shadowed walkway that caught my eye down in Naples. For this pastel landscape, I painted on white art spectrum paper that I had underpainted in various rust and rose tones. You can see the color peeking through all over the painting. I like to do this technique to unify and add some sizzle to the color.

Plein air watercolor landscape painting of a umbrella table next to a pool.

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

Afternoon by the pool. The luscious, dark colors of the pool reflection drew me into this scene. Some people came down and sat at the table halfway through the watercolor painting and I had to recreate that area by memory…

Plein air watercolor landscape of a southern Florida canal.

Watercolor painting 9 inches x 6 inches $100

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

While we were in Florida last December, we drove by this picturesque canal right off a busy highway. The next day, when John was golfing, I returned to capture it in a  watercolor painting. The palm trees made a perfect frame for the bridge and slow flowing water.

Pastel painting of palm trees reflecting in a pond on Sanibel Island, Florida

Pastel painting 8 inches x 10.5 inches $200

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

Another “travel” pastel landscape painting from one of our visits down to Florida. Sanibel Island is one of our favorite places down south. This is the view from our back window, right after a fish surfaced in the pond.

We had a wonderful southern vacation and a fantastic holiday. Now it is time to get serious in the studio. I have a whole pile of sketches ready to be made into full-blown pastel paintings and I can’t wait to get at them!

Plein air watercolor landscape of palm trees at Sanibel Island, Floriday

Watercolor painting 4.75 inches x 7.75 inches $80

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

We love to spend time down on Sanibel Island during the frigid winter months. The landscape is SOOOO different there that it often takes me a while to adjust. The different colors, textures and vistas of this pretty island recharge my senses and I tend to paint with a bit of wild abandon. This psychodelic watercolor landscape was painted right outside our condo early in the morning.

This weekend I will be participating in a wonderful plein air event in Harbor Springs, Michigan:

” Wet Paint / Fresh Ink ” Show        Saturday • August 8th 2009 • 2nd Annual

Tvedten Fine Art (my new gallery “up north”) holds this invitational event every year in August. They are planning a follow up coffee table book to be published after 5- 7 years. It will depict the best paintings and writings of all of the past shows. 20% of the art sales and proceeds of the book will go toward supporting the local conservancies that work so hard to protect the beauty of Northern Michigan.

There will be an Opening reception August 8, 2009 – 6:30 – 8:30p.m. at Tvedten FIne Arts in Harbor Springs. Please stop by if you are in the vicinity!

Watercolor painting of a dock with boats and palm trees

Watercolor painting 8.5 inches x 6 inches
$100

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

The Isle of Capri is less built up than the rest of the Marco Island area and still has some of the original old homes in scenic little coves. I captured this scene in watercolor while sitting in one of the few empty lots in the area. Almost every square foot of space on Marco is filled with hotels, condos or luxury vacation homes–not conducive to the type of landscapes I like to paint–so, as usual, I wandered til I found something that captured my interest.

Watercolor painting of storm clouds gathering over an ocean dock

Watercolor painting 8.5 inches x 6.5 inches
$100

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

While John was golfing, I sat out at the very tip of the Isle of Capri near Marco Island in Florida. There was a neat old abandoned dock surrounded by palm trees that made a perfect subject for a watercolor sketch. A quick storm seemed to be brewing that lent some drama to the scene.

When I’m painting a watercolor landscape, I always try to find a focal point with a dark and light highlight and subdue the rest of the image back some. It can be difficult because there is so much to look at and appreciate but if you don’t have a center of interest, the composition becomes too busy and cluttered.

Pastel painting of a grove of palm trees and a path down to the ocean

Pastel painting 5.5 inches x 7.5 inches $100 + shipping

Please contact me if you are interested in this artwork or a commission

This was the colorful view from our condo window down on Sanibel Island. The hues were so bright they almost seemed psychodelic compared to the more subtle colors of Michigan–especially in winter!

This was the first trip that I brought my pastels along. I usually paint watercolor landscapes when I travel. I am much more comfortable with that medium and the finished paintings are easier to transport. But I found that if I wrapped the pastel sketches in wax paper, they made it home just fine.

Watercolor painting 7 inches x 10 inches $200 + shipping

Please contact me if you are interested in this artwork.

This is the view from our window in Waikola. Clouds would roll in off the mountains and then there would be a sparkling break of pure sunshine that lit everything up in a surreal way. The light and atmosphere was unlike anywhere I have been before. It made the gorgeous island landscapes sparkle!

Watercolor painting 10 inches x 7 inches $200 + shipping

Please contact me if you are interested in this artwork.

This is the little lagoon directly behind the Kona Shore watercolor landscape painting I posted a couple of days ago. It looked absolutely prehistoric and untouched but it was actually right next to the snorkel and boat rental cabin. The Big Island of Hawaii is full of extreme contrasts: barren black lava fields and lush green rain forests; poor, native houses and luxurious, expensive resorts; hot, humid temperatures and cool mountain breezes…