Plein air pastel landscape painting of the rocky shoreline along Lake Michigan near Charlevoix.
Pastel painting 6.5 inches x 6.5 inches $100
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Another pastel landscape scene from the shores of Lake Michigan. It’s amazing how the color of the water and landscape changes at different times of day. In fact, it changes by the hour. After spending an 90 minutes or so on this small pastel painting, the view in front of me didn’t look at all like the one on my easel. The water had become much lighter and the shoreline in the distance a dark, midnight blue…
Plein air pastel painting of a garden path and coral bells.
Pastel painting 11 inches x 5.5 inches $150
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I sat on the deck the other morning a painted a pastel landscape of the new garden John planted last year. It’s coming up beautifully and every new plant is a luscious, colorful and welcome addition. He doesn’t think of himself as an artist, but I beg to differ!
Only a few days left: Spring Cleaning Sale through June 15th! Any small blog painting ($300 or less) on sale for 30% off! Please contact me directly for your special piece of art.
Plein air pastel landscape painting of a single bird sitting on a rock formation near a canal in Florida.
Pastel painting 6 inches x 8 inches SOLD
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One morning when I was out looking for a place to set up for pastel paintings, I saw this neat rock formation along one of the canals near our condo. When I began sketching, a black water bird of some type landed on one of the large rocks–and stayed there for the next hour! It was if it was posing for me, so of course, I had to take advantage it! This a small pastel landscape piece, but I really like the painterly effect of the rocks…
Pastel painting of rocks and reflections in a Michigan river
Pastel painting 12.5 inches x 25.5 inches SOLD (Giclee prints are available)
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This is my 27th RiverStone pastel painting. I keep coming back to this subject because it speaks to me in a very special way. I originally started this series because my art mentor, Mary Beth Koeze, suggested that I paint one subject over and over, and that I “paint bigger.” These scenes speak to me of a quiet moment in time, away from the hub bub of everyday life. They become almost abstract in their composition, yet I think each one of these pastel paintings has its own, unique personality. The series has been very popular with corporate art clients, especially health care institutions.
Pastel plein air painting of rocks along the Lake Michigan coast.
Pastel painting 6.5 inches x 8.5 inches SOLD
Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.
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!
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Another in my continuing RiverStone pastel series–but this seemed to take a bit of a different turn than the others. Its inspired by the rushing waters in Montana’s creeks in the spring after the winter thaw. But it also reminds me of northern Michigan rivers. Bright, crisp and clean. I’m currently working on some new floral pastels, this time inspired by our own back yard treasures!
Pastel painting of water rushing over rocks in a creek bed
Pastel painting 12.5 inches x 25.5 inches $850 (Giclee prints are available)
Please contact me if you are interested in this or similar artwork.
Here is the companion to the pastel painting I posted the other day. It is another “micro landscape” in my RiverStone series. Everywhere I travel, I take photos of rocks in riverbeds and streams. Back in the studio, I crop tightly on the images, sometimes adding or deleting elements to make the composition flow better. In these paintings, I eliminated a lot of extraneous information that I felt took away from the feeling of rushing water that I wanted to portray.
Pastel painting of water rushing over rocks in a creek bed
Pastel painting 12.5 inches x 25.5 inches $850 (Giclee prints are available)
Please contact me if you are interested in this or similar artwork.
In the middle of this crummy winter, I thought I would revisit my RiverStone series. Most of my previous pastel paintings in this group of works featured calm, quiet water, but this time I decided to go for action! Water in motion is really difficult to portray so this is a good learning process for me. I painted two pieces at the same time in the hopes that they would work well together as a dyptich. I’ll post the second one in a couple of days…
