Plein air pastel landscape painting of a barn and other farm buildings.

Pastel painting 9 inches x 6.5 inches   $100

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

Another  plein air pastel landscape of the farmlands around Saline, Michigan. I painted this one in the late afternoon again, waste deep in a field of wheat. It was a great location except for the millions of bugs that almost ate me alive. And of course, I forgot my bug repellant!

I’m so excited about the 4 commissions I am working on this month! I will be posting a few of them in the next couple of days.

And, (oh my god!), I’ve joined the twitter nation. If you liked to follow my tweets, catch me at http://twitter.com/jillwagnerart

Have a great 4t of July weekend!

Plein air pastel landscape of a farm and fields of spring wheat in late afternoon

Pastel painting 8 inches x 10 inches   $200

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

When I paint from life outside, I usually set out in the morning. For a change, I decided to try some pastel landscapes in the afternoon light. For plein air painters, morning and afternoon are the prime times because of the lovely yellow-orange light and the great shadows at those times of day. I found this luscious field of spring wheat south of town and set up all of my equipment on the side of the road. Quite a few people stopped by to chat and one woman asked to take my photo while I was painting. Turns out this is her favorite view and she has taken photos of the scene every month or so to catalog the seasonal changes. I was happy to oblige but darn it! I forgot to ask her if she would like a pastel painting of her favorite spot!

Pastel portrait of a young father teaching his daughter to fish.

Pastel painting 8 inches x 10 inches  SOLD

I just finished this pastel portrait for a client who wanted a special present for her husband on Father’s Day. They were very happy with the results. I am doing more and more pastel commissions and watercolor commissions and absolutely loving the process. There’s nothing like creating a piece of art that makes someone happy!

I’d like to offer a special incentive for my regular blog viewers. If you send a commission client my way, I will happily let you chose one of my small artworks for your very own!

Contact me on my website and we can talk!

Pastel portrait painting of a beautiful young woman in pink.

Pastel painting 8.5 inches x 11 inches   $200

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Marie was a wonderful model at our recent portrait painting session. She was a newbie, not used to the grueling hours of sitting motionless, but she did a fine job! This pastel painting was done over a 2 hour period with short breaks every half hour or so. After years of nude figure drawing, its fun to draw people with clothes on every once in a while!

Plein air pastel landscape of the bridge in Charlevoix, Michigan

Pastel painting 11 inches x 8.5 inches   $200

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I painted this pastel landscape from the balcony of our hotel in Charlevoix. The bridge lifts every hour or so to let boats pass between Lake Michigan and Lake Charlevoix. It causes quite the traffic jam but is an important part of the community and facilitates the boating tourists who visit. The psychodelic blue paint and the reflections below caught my interest. A great subject for the strong colors that are possible with pastels!

Pastel plein air painting of the Charlevoix lighthouse in midday sun.

Pastel painting 8.5 inches x 11 inches   $200

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This lighthouse is like a magnet for me for some reason. This is the third time I’ve painted it in the last 2 years. I think it attracts me because it’s so stark and minimalist against the bright blue sky. Sometimes painting pastel landscapes can be overwhelming because there is SO MUCH out there to choose from that it becomes difficult to focus. Every once in a while, its nice to approach a simpler, straightforward subject!

Pastel plein air painting of rocks along the Lake Michigan coast.

Pastel painting 6.5 inches x 8.5 inches   $100

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Back at Big Rock Point near Charlevoix. In early morning the trees cast shadows on the rocks that line the coast and create an interesting contrast to the bright sun on the water. When I sit in an an area like this to paint plein air pastel landscapes, I often think that this particular spot has looked just like this for hundreds or maybe even thousands of years. What an honor to spend a few hours recreating it in my own pastel style on paper!

Charcoal sketch of a young man thinking

Pastel painting 11 inches x 14 inches $100

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We are taking a short vacation “up north” over the holiday weekend so I thought I would post another one of the figure drawings I did at our last session. In this quick sketch I wanted to focus on light and shadow so I used only charcoal and white pastel. This pose kind of reminded me of Rodin’s “The Thinker”. There’s a large cast of it in front of the Detroit Institue of Arts.

Pastel Painting of a field of Queen Anne's Lace

Pastel painting 10 inches x 10 inches $450

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Lately I’ve been inspired by Karen Margulis‘ small pastel paintings that are filled with wild flowers. I decided to try my own version substituting my favorite Michigan wild flowers (or are they weeds?)–Queen Anne’s Lace. I love the way they blanket the fields in late summer. I took a reference photo last fall when I was out painting farmscapes. They are hard to paint plein air because they are in constant motion, so I did this piece in my studio.

Pastel painting of sunlit cascading geraniums on a stair step.

Pastel painting 18 inches x 18 inches $800

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I’ve been working on this large (for me!) floral pastel painting for about a week now and I THINK it is finally finished. I really wanted to capture the feeling of bright sunlight hitting the flowers against the cool shade of the building.I’m hoping to have this piece placed in one of my galleries by the summer season. (Unless, of course, it sells right off the blog or website!)

I just purchased a new set of Sennelier colors and I am like a kid in a candy shop. Unfortunately the mounds of pastels are starting to take over my studio. But not to worry. I truly believe the saying: “whoever dies with the most pastels wins!”

Pastel painting 8 inches x 11 inches $200

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

Saturday started out fresh and sunny…perfect for a plein air pastel landscape. I drove out south of town and wandered til this little old shed popped up into view. I loved the way the sun hit the side of the building and the trees shadow wrapped around the roof. I painted quickly but it wasn’t long before the sky turned black and it began to rain. I was hoping to paint more but there’s always tomorrow…

Sample commission paintings of pet portraits

I have really fallen in love with painting pastel pet portraits. So, being the marketing freak that I am, I decided to create a printed card to advertise my services. The image above shows just a few of the very personal pieces I’ve painted in the last few months.

Pastel is a wonderful medium for this type of work. It is very soft and expressive, perfect for catching the special characteristics of dogs, cats, horses and other furry creatures. Each of these portraits are 8 x 10 inches but I am comfortable working larger or smaller depending on my client’s needs. I have been distributing the cards at pet stores, shows and grooming businesses and have gotten a wonderful response so far. If you know someone who would like to have a favorite pet or other animal made into art, please let me know!