Plein air pastel landscape painting of a shaded pond in the afternoon.

Pastel painting 8 inches x 11 inches

I’ve driven by this little pond a million times and each time, I swear I am going to come back and paint it. Well, I finally did it! The afternoon sun made all of the rich hues stand out and made a really colorful pastel painting.

I found it really challenging to capture the 3 dimensions of this scene: the water, the reflections and the things floating on the water. They all exist in a different plane and make for mind boggling concentration. And y’all thought pastel landscapes were easy… But sometimes it’s worth the trouble!

Pastel portrait of a young woman in a straw hat.

Pastel painting 11 inches x 14 inches

We had the most wonderful model at our figure drawing session last week! She was a pretty young thing with a fresh, sweet look. She had a beautiful voice and sprinkled french phrases throughout her conversation.  She reminded me of a 17th century french lass and I wanted to capture that effect in my pastel portrait of her.

This piece was done on the pebbly Richeson paper that I have been struggling with lately. I was trying for a very classical look and I think the paper actually helped me in my quest!

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 the bay near Harbor Springs, Michigan.

Pastel painting 8 inches x 11 inches

Hmmm…..I think I may change my mind. I think THIS may be my favorite pastel painting from our trip to Northern Michigan.

I’ve really been trying to simplify my plein air attempts lately. I want to capture the very essence of a scene but not overload it with endless, useless details. It may sound simple but it is really very difficult to do. When you are on location there are so many items and sounds and smells vying for your attention. And everything you see seems worthy of portraying in your artwork. I find that if I focus on what drew me to the scene in the first place, I have a better chance of eliminating all of the extra “foo-foo” that seems to creep in. It seems that they way overused acronym “KISS” (Keep it simple, stupid) really does apply in some instances–especially pastel landscape painting.

Plein air pastel landscape painting of the lighthouse at Point Betsie near Frankfort, Michigan

Pastel painting 8 inches x 11 inches

We just returned from a wonderful week in my favorite part of Michigan: Up North. We attended the opening of a new show including two of my pastel Orchard paintings at Tvedten Fine Art in Harbor Springs. Then traveled over to Traverse City for the Film Festival, and spent the last 3 days at our friend’s cottage on beautiful Crystal Lake. We were having so much fun, I found it difficult to tear away and paint. But i did find time to create a few pastel paintings that I am very happy with.

This is pastel landscape painting of the lighthouse at Point Betsie is one of my favorites. It was a sunny, windy day with very few people at the point. I was able to pick a view where the diagonals of the shadows matched up with the angles on the window roofs. Always a bonus. Plus, I think I managed to quit before I overworked it!

Pastel figure drawing of a nude model in various poses.

Pastel drawing ing 11 inches x 17 inches

Some sketches from a recent figure drawing session. These were some of the 10 minute poses we have at the beginning of class to warm up. As the class goes on, we move to longer and longer poses. I felt a little like I was channeling my idol, Degas, in these quick pastel portraits. Lots of color and layering and also poses that are very similar to ones captured by the wonderful impressionist.

Plein air pastel painting of a curving bridge over a river.

Pastel painting 11 inches x 8 inches

This is a pastel landscape painting of the same Ann Arbor bridge that I posted a few weeks ago, just from a different vantage point. When we started painting around 9 am it was hot and sunny, but soon the sun went under the clouds and the view was completely changed. What was light became dark and what was dark became light. Its a common problem when you paint en plein air and the reason why it is important to get your highlights and shadows in early. In this  pastel painting however, I “chased the light”. I kept my skeleton structure and simply shifted all of the values to match the new view in front of me.

Plein air pastel painting of an old caboose at a train station.

Pastel painting 8 inches x 11 inches

Whoa. Thatsa lotta color! I don’t seem to use much red in my paintings but I think I made up for it in this one! Maybe a bit too much…?

The plein air buddies hit the old train station in Saline a couple of weeks ago. It has been nicely cleaned up and made into a museum by the historical society in town. The vibrant red caboose parked on the tracks was hard to ignore. I started out doing watercolor paintings but experienced a bit of trouble so I switched over to pastel. I was feeling bold and dynamic that day, and I think this pastel painting proves it!

Pastel portrait painting of an older man with a beard.

Pastel painting 11 inches x 16 inches

The best part of our  figure drawing sessions is that we get a chance to paint many types of people: men, women, old, young, heavy, skinny, happy. sad. There is such a huge range of differences in humans that each pastel portrait is a completely new challenge. This elderly middle eastern man is an accomplished poet and an artist in his own right. He was calm, serene, and comfortable in his own skin in a way which I have not seen in many others.

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.

Pastel portrait of a beautiful asian woman in a kimono.

Pastel painting 10 inches x 15 inches

I painted this pastel portrait a couple of weeks ago at our figure drawing session. The model was quite accomplished and brought her kimono along to give her pose a bit of atmosphere and mystery. I usually “pack” my pastel paper by putting layers of newspaper underneath. It tends to give the pastel painting a softer feel. I forgot my newspaper this time and had only corrugated cardboard to use as a base.You can see how the texture of the striated cardboard showed up as a pattern in the drawing. At first I was horrified, but then I started liking it…go figure…

Pastel floral painting of Hydrangeas in a vase outdoors

Pastel painting 9 inches x 13 inches

We have a beautiful bush of Annabelle Hydrangeas and when it blooms every summer, I cut lots and lots of flowers. I fill every vase I have and place them all over the house and deck. They are my favorite flower and I love to paint them in pastel.  Haven’t quite been able to capture them the same way in watercolor but i could paint floral pastel paintings all day…