Plein air pastel painting of a riverbank seen from the water.

Pastel painting 6.75 inches x 11 inches

Second attempt at the Bagetta Workshop. This pastel painting of a river was done on pale yellow Richeson pastel paper with a warm red, purple and yellow underpainting. If you look closely, you can see the paint sneaking thru the green and even dripping down the paper.

Speaking of paper. I think I have given this Richeson paper my last shot. I’ve tried if for figurative art, landscapes, and florals. It is just too pebbly for me and I can’t seem to control it. I don’t feel too bad “dissing” it here because Richeson no longer seems to be carrying it on their website. I think I’m sticking with Kitty Wallis and Art Spectrum Colourfix paper. I seem to get the best results with them…

Plein air pastel landscape painting of the Huron River at Gallup Park

Pastel painting 11.5 inches x 8.5 inches

I attended the most wonderful plein air workshop this weekend! Marla Bagetta, acclaimed pastelist, came to Ann to teach a 2-day outdoor painting class and a 3-day studio glass. I absolutely love her work and wanted to attend both classes but my work schedule wouldn’t allow it. She packed a lot into two hot days in the sun — every minute worth the price of admission. Its going to take a while to assimilate all the information and try to bring it into my own art. I especially liked her method of underpainting with watercolor and simplifying shapes.

A great group of about 14 artists spent the first day at Gallup Park in Ann Arbor. Marla lectured and did a quick and masterful study to show us how she works. Afterwards, we all went out to try our own pastel landscapes using the new techniques she had suggested–this pastel painting of a river is my first one of three I attempted that afternoon…

Check out Marla’s work at   http://marlabaggettastudio.com/ and   http://marlabaggetta.blogspot.com/

Plein air pastel landscape painting of light on the Huron River in Ann Arbor

Pastel painting 8.75 inches x 13.5 inches

Some of the plein air buds got together last weekend at Gallup Park along the Huron River in Ann Arbor. We each found a spot along the same riverbank and painted the particular scene that caught our eye. I did a pastel landscape, of the sunlight streaming through a little break in the trees.

I like the way this piece came out, but it’s an absolute miracle that it exists. Halfway through, it was blown off my easel into the weeds, along with a bunch of my pastels. I rescued it and finished it up. I moved to another location and was talking to one of my friends when she started screaming and gesturing to the painting–which was floating in the lake! I rushed right in up to my knees and grabbed it. Luckily it had landed face up and only the back was saturated. It dried perfectly flat in an hour, none the worse for its little dip in the pond!

Plein air pastel landscape painting of reflections in a Michigan pond.

Pastel painting 11.5 inches x 8.5 inches

One morning last week I parked in a spot near my home where the “Cody” farm used to be. The local lore says that Buffalo Bill Cody’s cousin owned the place and that Bill often visited there. Last year, the farm buildings were torn down and there’s a nice little hill where the house used to be. It gave me a nice view of the pond across the street. Painting reflection is always challenging because the water changes every second. I survey the scene and then freeze in my mind where the lights and darks fall. If I don’t make the decision at the beginning of the pastel painting, I am constantly chasing the fluctuating light and water patterns. It can make me crazy!

Plein air pastel landscape painting of a Michigan wetland area.

Pastel painting 8.5 inches x 11.5 inches

Yay! First plein air painting of the season in the Mitten State!

Its difficult to be a Michigan artist who loves plein air painting. Unless you are willing to brave the frigid cold, 4 or 5 months of the year are just plain shot. And, on top of that, we have had a very hard spring this year. Add that to a busy work schedule and very little outdoor work gets done. Today was the first time I was able to get out and work from life. The sparkling water in the wetlands near my house grabbed my attention, so I parked on a rutted, dirt road and went to work out of the back of my SUV. Ahhhhh…. it feels so good to get in nature to work on pastel landscapes!

Watercolor painting of an old store front.

Plein air watercolor painting    8 inches x 13 inches

I’ve always liked doing architecture paintings, whether in pastel or watercolor. And I especially love extreme close-ups, where I can play with the idea of realism breaking down into an almost abstract composition. I’m not positive, but I think this storefront was on the main street of Charlevoix, Michigan where we spend time in the spring. But it really doesn’t matter exactly where it was. It could be a scene from any town or city in America.

Plein air pastel landscape of silhouetted trees along a river bank.

Pastel painting 8.5 inches x 13.5 inches

This is one of my favorite pastel landscapes that I’ve done recently. I painted it one morning  down in Florida but it is really a universal-type scene and could have been done almost anywhere in the United States.

I’m a firm believer in getting out early to work on plein air paintings. Their is a special light in the morning that evaporates very quickly. At 8 or 9 am the scene before you is brilliant and dramatic. At 11, it becomes flat and boring. I often take a couple hour break during midday and start again on another scene after 3 pm. I REALLY love afternoon light too. It has a golden hue that gives everything it touches a rosy hue. In my work, light and shadow is everything.

Plein air watercolor landscape painting of a sailboat at a dock.

Plein air watercolor painting    6 inches x 9.5 inches

This  plein air watercolor landscape is painted on plastic yupo paper. I tend to go back and forth between that and more traditional Waterford. I get frustrated with one paper and technique and switch to the other. Yupo lets me paint more like an oil or acrylic painter. The paper doesn’t absorb the paint and gives a completely different effect.

Plein air pastel landscape painting of a stand of trees reflected in a lake.

Pastel painting 4.5 inches x 9 inches

Its been a crazy, happy week with family in town. And we are on “Baby Alert” with our second grandson due any minute. Very little art is being created in this studio!

I thought I’d post this small pastel painting I did recently at Gallup Park in Ann Arbor. Its all about the beautiful tree reflections in the lake. The ripples change every minute and it’s hard to capture them in plein air paintings. But I had fun trying!

I was honored to be profiled on the Artists in Pastel website today! Check it out if you get a chance!

Plein air pastel landscape painting of a Michigan river with autumn trees.

Pastel painting 8 inches x 11 inches

This is another pastel landscape from my plein air outing last weekend. There is a river that winds through the park in town and the reflections of the early morning light made for an interesting pastel painting. I think I may have gone a little crazy with color but the fall trees really DID seem that vibrant!

Don’t forget the Saline ArtWalk this weekend at the Stone Arch Arts and Events! The reception is Friday,  5-8pm and we will be demonstrating on Saturday and Sunday from 12-5pm, too. Y’all come by!