Plein air pastel landscape painting of a bright Florida bridge reflected in a pond

Pastel painting 8 inches x 12.5 inches     $300

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This is another pastel landscape, that I painted on a piece of white art spectrum paper that had been underpainted with a rose- colored wash. Warm red is a great hue for outdoor painting because it is a natural compliment to the many shades of green that are found in most landscapes. Placing two compliments (opposites on the color wheel) close together creates a dynamic, vibrating feel in a painting. And although I know this theory from years of study, I sometimes forget it in the passion of getting all the gorgeous colors on the paper. If I underpaint before I start, I don’t have to be focused on adding reds to my greens…they appear on their own!

As a pastel artist, I try to keep the idea of contrasting compliments constantly in mind. For instance, if I want to paint a water scene, which is predominantly blue, I will often use an orange paper. Or if I am working on a pastel portrait with lots of golden tones, I might use a muted purple sheet.

Little tricks of the trade…

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

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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…

Pastel landscape painting of a beautiful pond with autumn trees reflected in the water.

Pastel painting 11 inches x 17 inches     $650

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One of my close friends, and a long time client at our Ann Arbor advertising agency, has created the most beautiful garden and pond on the land behind their home. They own an organic fertilizer company, Ocean Organics,  and use their chemical-free products to nurture nature and make it blossom in breathtaking ways. On a sunny day last fall, I took some reference photos to paint from later in my studio. This pastel landscape shows my favorite view of the pond and the small bench where you can sit and take in the gorgeous scenery.

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

Pastel painting 8 inches x 10.5 inches $200

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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 pastel landscape painting of Spring Lake near Harbor Springs, Michigan.

Pastel painting 6 inches x 9 inches   $100

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On Friday, I researched all of the nature conservancy areas near Harbor Springs so that I would be ready to paint early Saturday morning, the day of the paint out. Spring Lake is a beautiful little area between Harbor Springs and Petoskey. I painted this pastel landscape about 4 pm when the reflections were strong. The lily pads made a strong, bright focal point for the piece.

I had an unusual and exciting phone call on that day. The set designers on the remake of the movie “Red Dawn” called me and asked if they could use one of my painting notecards (below) in their film! The movie is being shot in Detroit and one of the art directors picked up my card from one of the galleries in the area. They couldn’t promise that it would appear, but it was still a neat request!

Plein air pastel landscape of a bridge reflecting in a river.

Pastel painting 8 inches x 10 inches $200

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Monday was a gorgeous, blue-sky, spring day in Ann Arbor.  I made a bee line to Gallup Park to do a few pastel paintings. Sometimes plein air wori is difficult in spring because EVERYTHING is green. To counteract that, I usually look for some additional color to perk up the scene. This foot bridge fit the bill!

Pastel painting of a mill reflected in the river

Pastel painting 8 inches x 11 inches $300

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YAHOO!!!! Finally nice enough to get outside to do plein aire work in Michigan! It was a stunning 82 degrees today and all of the grasses and trees are turning green. I stopped by Curtis Park in Saline and happily set up my supplies among the dog walkers to paint this pastel landscape of our local mill. Its no longer functional, but Wellers has become THE spot to have your wedding or private party. The grounds are beautiful and are adjacent to the park.

Its supposed to be cloudy tomorrow but I might brave the weather for some watercolor landscapes plein aire…

Pastel painting 14 inches x 24 inches $850  plus shipping

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MORE Hydrangeas! These Oak Leaf Hydrangeas are quickly becoming my favorite inspiration for floral paintings. I’ve had a really good response from both art lovers and galleries so I thought I would try a few more of them before I move on to other subjects. This pastel painting is done on a clay-colored paper. The color acts as an underpainting and, since a little peaks through the pastel, it unifies the whole piece and makes all the colors “bounce” a little. I love playing with the light filtering through the leaves!

Pastel painting 18 inches x 18 inches   SOLD (but giclees available)

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My friend Mary Beth Koeze has the most wonderful gardens and she is a fantastic pastel artist. So she has doubly inspired me! I took some reference photos of her Oak Leaf Hydrangeas this summer. I’ve been working on this pastel painting for a week or so and just finished it.

Its always a challenge to know when you should stop and not continue to overwork a painting with useless detail. I read an article about one artist who said your painting is usually finished when you think you are 80% done

I’m going to try and remember that….