Plein air pastel painting of pine trees in field.

Pastel painting 11 inches x 6.5 inches

My dog, Roxy, and I trucked out to the pond peninsula near our house on Saturday afternoon. We love it out there because Roxy can explore off-leash, and I can paint without worrying that she will be run over by a speeding car full of teenagers. Win-win. This little stand of pines looked like a good subject for a pastel landscape. I wanted to work in a relatively monochromatic color scheme. Everything in Michigan is sooooo verdant right now. As a plein air artist, that can be kind of overwhelming. I decided that I could either avoid all of the green, or embrace it. And in this case, I was happy with the outcome!

Pastel landscape painting of fields and forest in Montana

Pastel painting 12.5 inches x 18 inches

Thought I’d post more work from my Montana travels. I shot the reference photo for this pastel painting on the back of a horse as we traveled to a secluded valley with ancient indian paintings on the rock walls. So many neat things to experience out west and sooooo little time! I don’t bring my pastels with me on these trips. Its too rugged and they would be reduced to a pile of dust! But I take hundreds of photos to bring back and use as reference in my home studio.

Wishing you all an exciting, happy, and prosperous New Year!

Gouache plein air painting of a sunlit birch tree.

Gouache painting 4 inches x 6 inches       $80

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

I have been experimenting with another watercolor painting medium called gouache. It is similar to watercolor in that it contains a pigment suspended in water, but it is more concentrated and opaque. You can even layer white or pastel colors to highlight and create a thicker texture. In watercolor, it is necessary to leave the white of the paper showing through to create a highlighted area. I find that gouache is a kind of cross between acrylic and watercolor.

I painted this landscape painting in our back yard. When I saw the light hitting the tree limbs against the dark pines in back, I thought it would make an interesting composition. I didn’t really use the qualities of qouache for this piece–its more like a traditional watercolor painting. But stay tuned.  I have plans to take this new medium on our next trip and explore it more fully.

Pastel painting of winter snow

Pastel painting 10 inches x 10 inches SOLD

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

There’s no doubt about it. Spring, summer and fall in Michigan are glorious. Winter, however, can be a bear. We just received another 4 inches onto the 12 inches of snow we got last week. The HIGH will be in the single digits the next 3 days. I decided not to fight it but to glory in the beauty of my own back yard. This pastel landscape shows the sparkling, golden light peaking through the trees.