Plein air pastel seascape painting of a sand bar in the South Arm of Lake Charlevoix.

Pastel painting 8.5 inches x 11.5 inches

One day, while the guys were golfing up north, I spent the day painting pastel landscapes in the little town of East Jordan which is situated along the South Arm of Lake Charlevoix. This was my first work of the day, done early in the morning, before 9 am. As a plein air artist I’m always looking for interesting seascape opportunities. Although I really respect artists who can create a work of art solely from miles of endless water, I tend to shy away from scenes that are nothing but lake or ocean. I like to find something with an interesting center of interest that integrates with the water around it. This little sand bar did the trick.

I’m leaving for a week at Bonanza Creek in Montana today! Non-stop horseback riding and painting with close friends…Ahhhh!!! Check out their website at http://www.bonanzacreekcountry.com. If you are looking for a wonderful place to ride and experience the wonders of “out west”, I recommend it highly!

Plein air watercolor landscape painting of Round Lake from Charlevoix, Michigan

Watercolor painting 9 inches x 6 inches    $80

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

When we were in Charlevoix this spring, I sat near their newly reconstructed waterfront and painted this watercolor. The dock area was bustling and a lot of people stopped by to peak at my progress–always a bit disconcerting…

I always find it challenging to do a watercolor landscape of a lake or ocean (commonly called a seascape). You want the water to be believable, yet you need to do it quickly and not fuss over it too much. Watercolor can be very unforgiving. I can’t tell you how many of my paintings never see the light of day. Hopefully I learn something from every attempt. Lots of education starting in a few days in Italy!

Plein air landscape painting of Crystal Lake from Beulah, Michigan

Pastel painting 6 inches x 6 inches     $100

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

On the way to Crystal Lake, we stopped in Beulah at the beach in town. John took his afternoon nap and I did a quick seascape pastel painting out of the back of the car. It was a bit stormy and rough but made for an interesting, moody  pastel landscape…

If you are interested in a fine art print of one of my paintings, I recently posted some of my most popular pieces on FineArtAmerica.com. They have a wonderful program for purchasing prints, posters, canvases, and notecards. The prices are really reasonable and they do an excellent job of reproducing artist’s work.

Check out my offerings at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/jill-stefani-wagner.html

Plein air gouache landscape painting of an approaching storm over the ocean in Florida.

Gouache painting 6 inches x 9 inches $100

Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.

Although we had wonderful weather on our trip, one day a huge storm moved in toward our island. I sat on our deck and tried to get the feel of the turmoil in a gouache seascape. It was dramatic for a while, but luckily the storm only created a short, refreshing rainfall. Since gouache is opaque, I was able to overpaint the waves in white to highlight the gazebo on the shore.

Watercolor painting 10 inches x 7 inches $200 + shipping

Please contact me if you are interested in this artwork.

Back from a great week in Hawaii! We stayed on the big island near Kona and saw lots of unbelievable scenery. I didn’t get a chance to paint as much as I’d hoped but I’ll post a few of the plein air landscapes that I managed to fit in between Mai Tais. This white sand beach was rimmed with black lava formations and the blue sea crashed against them to make crisp white foam. A painter’s dream…