Plein air pastel landscape painting of marsh land near the Naples Botanical Gardens

Pastel painting 11.5 inches x 8.5 inches

As a Michigan artist I don’t get many chances to do plein air paintings of tropical landscapes. So when we visit Florida, I make it my business to focus on pastel landscapes of the beautiful southern marsh lands. This painting was done in the Naples Botanical gardens.

My pastel painting, Everglades Morning, which won an award of Exceptional Merit from the Pastel Society of North Florida, just received a third place award from the Ann Arbor Women Artists. We are having a wonderful exhibit, filled with exceptional artwork, at the Ann Arbor Public Library through May 1st. Stop by and explore if you have a chance!

Plein air watercolor painting of Tin City in Naples, Florida

Plein air watercolor painting    6 inches x 9.5 inches

Just got back from two interesting “art trips.” My friend Cecily and I dropped off samples of our work to an art consultant who is filling a new hospital complex in Fort Wayne, Indiana with art works. We made the first cut and are awaiting word on whether we have been chosen to create commissioned work for the project. Many thanks to artist Valerie Mann for alerting us to the opportunity!

And I just returned from a gallery tour of Chicago. I walked through the River North area which has an unbelievable array of interesting galleries. I was inspired by the work there and the experience has given me lots of new ideas for my own work. Always good to get out of your own little head and see what others are doing.

While John golfs in Naples, I wander around the city and surrounding areas looking for interesting things to paint. I stumbled upon an interesting area of the city near the docks called Tin City. I’d never been there before. It appears to be part of an old group of fishing shanties that has been converted to small shops and restaurants. I sat under some shade and did a quick plein air watercolor painting of the site.

Plein air pastel painting of palm trees and shadows on a stucco garage.

Pastel painting 6.5 inches x 9 inches

Here’s another view of the area around our condo in Naples. Yes, it is a lowly garage. But what attracted me were the shapes that the shadows and the plants made against the stucco wall. I really like doing pastel paintings of architecture. with this subject matter, I tend to work a little more abstractly, seeing blocks of color and strong shapes.

Plein air watercolor painting of a fountain in Naples, Florida.

Plein air watercolor painting    6.5 inches x 10 inches

One day when we were in Naples, I wandered down to the Bayfront to check out the art galleries. There was an interesting fountain in the courtyard that was just made for a plein air watercolor painting…

Plein air pastel landscape painting of Everglades water in the morning.

Pastel painting 11.5 inches x 8.5 inches  SOLD

I love doing plein air paintings on location when we travel. But as a Michigan artist with galleries in-state, it is difficult to show pastel landscapes which are obviously done in different parts of the country. People tend to like images that relate to their own surroundings. One of my goals for this year is to find good gallery representation in the southern states…

Plein air pastel landscape painting of grasses and water in the Everglades

Pastel painting 8.5 inches x 11.5 inches

When I’m down south, I always head out to the Everglades to work on plein air paintings. There is nothing like the light shining on the water wandering through the acres of marsh land. Every view has some enticing little nuance that I want to capture in a pastel landscape. Unfortunately, it is difficult to get very deep into the Everglades with painting equipment. I usually set up my easel on the side of the Tamiami Trail and paint out of the back of my SUV as traffic whizzes by. This has its good and bad points. The noise is terribly distracting, but I feel somewhat safe in a quasi-public area, as opposed to deep in the swamps.

However, when I was painting this piece, I ran into something I hadn’t bargained for. I noticed a car with two older couples crawling up behind me. They stopped the car and excitedly asked “Did you see it?” I had no idea what they were talking about. They explained that they had just seen a huge black bear rumbling through the grasses in the field next to me. Oy. But I’m a die hard. I wasn’t finished with my pastel painting and I wasn’t leaving til I was. But you can be sure I kept a close eye out, in case I needed to escape into my car!

Plein air pastel painting of a condominium entry area.

Pastel painting 8.5 inches x 11 inches

Another favorite plein air painting from my trip down south last month. I didn’t have to travel very far to capture this scene. Just plopped myself down right outside our condo entrance. I often drive myself half crazy driving around looking for the “perfect” view to paint. But every once in a while, I get serious and just work with what’s closest to home.

The light and shadow drew me into this scene (again!) and I felt happy with the outcome. I love combining the hard-edged lines of structure with organic, flowing plant shapes in pastel paintings of architecture.

Plein air pastel painting of a colorful building between palm trees

Pastel painting 12 inches x 9 inches

I was drawn to this scene because of the vibrant color of the building peeking out between the trees and bushes. It made a perfect, complimentary color scheme of reds and greens, causing a bit of interesting vibration in the pastel landscape. The vertical and horizontal lines of the composition also intrigued me because they formed a kind of grid-like structure to work  with. Its a bonus to be able to paint buildings and landscapes at the same time!

I tend to bounce between several subject matters in both my watercolor and pastel paintings. But I like so many subjects its hard to focus! Landscapes, architecture, portraits, seascapes, extreme close ups… I love them all. The only subjects I haven’t worked much with are abstracts and still lifes. But there’s still time…

Plein air pastel landscape painting of palm trees near a lake.

Pastel painting 11 inches x 8.5 inches

This pastel landscape was painted around 10 in the morning on a bright, sunny day. The patterns and textures of the palms down south are endlessly fascinating to me. Unfortunately, it is easy to get caught up in recording every leaf and shadow. I was pretty happy with this particular pastel painting. because I was able to capture the essence of the scene without getting caught up in minutia.

Plein air pastel landscape painting of two towers against a sunrise.

Pastel painting 12 inches x 9 inches

Early one morning I packed up and headed out to the Everglades. But on the way, I was struck by the sun rising behind two beautiful towers at a high-end resort. I turned the car right around, parked the car down the hill and set up to paint a pastel landscape of the view. Even though the buildings were framed by palm trees, the scene reminded me of Italy.  I worked for about an hour in the early morning sun. Suddenly, I noticed a uniformed man getting out of a truck and heading toward me. He was really nice, but there was no doubt about it. He was throwing me off the property.  He saw my pastel painting. and knew I wasn’t a threat, but it was his job to keep riff raff off the resort. I felt like I had passed a plein air milestone.  ;o)

Another milestone: I was recently notified that I was awarded one of the 4 scholarships that the International Association of Pastel Societies gives to artists biannually. My scholarship will be to work with internationally known pastel artist Terry Ford. I love her work and am looking forward to attending one of her wonderful workshops!