The Trio

The Trio      Pastel     9" x 5"

It's the day after Christmas and we walked into the studio and felt like we hadn't been in the studio in ages.  Cindy and I were both cranky and tired.  Thirty minutes of conversation and then it was time to paint.  Neither of us were ready to take on  big and serious compositions.  Cindy did a minature still life and I went for the pears.  As I have mentioned before it is easy for me to take myself too seriously and it often leads to frustration.  The past couple weeks, I have looked at each piece as an experiment and I've attempted different approaches.  The pears are a result of laying broad strokes of color in and playing with the edges.  I was fairly pleased with the results since I came in with a rather poor attitude.  I wonder what tomorrow will bring? 



Orange and Blue Abstract

Orange and Blue Abstract     5" x 5"    Pastel

I have continued to do small abstract paintings this past week and it has been a lot of fun.  In the process of creating these little pieces I have found myself looking at the color wheel a bit more frequently and thinking more in terms of organic and nonorganic shapes.  I have enjoyed the process and opportunity to explore. 

Abstract III

Abstract III     Pastel   6.5" x 6.5"

Occasionally you feel a need to get away  from your traditional way of working and just play.  The frustration was getting high and I decided it was time to play and experiment.  When you do an abstract painting you apply the same tools: values, color, shapes, line and texture; however you are not attempting to recreate a specific object or scene.  It freed me and I was able to focus on color relationships and shapes.  It has been fun.  The studio is now covered with little colorful abstract paintings!  (Oh yes!  Thank you Cindy  (my friend and studio mate) who challenged me to spend a week just doing abstracts.)

Apples

Apples       7" x 8"     Pastel

A couple weeks ago I decided it was time to go into our storage room and regroup.  I went through a lot of old stored paintings and materials and did a pitch and save.  Some of the work I had forgotten about and looked at it with new eyes.  Other pieces I looked at and thought WHAT WAS I THINKING!!  There is a saying that everything you need to learn is in your last painting.  The good news is that some of these old stored paintings indicate that I may have learned something along the way.  It definitely is a journey of learning.

Apples was painted a couple of years ago.  The two apples were part of a larger painting, but I can't say that the composition was all that great.  I thought that the apples were worth saving.  I cut down the painting and added a couple swipes of color and bingo, I had a new painting.  It is done on Wallis paper and rather than blending the pastel colors, I chose to layer the pastel and leave some of the texture of the paper to show through.

Who knows, maybe if I dig a little deeper in the midst of my storage, there may be another little gem!   

Glass Jar and Pear

Glass Jar and Pear            4" x 4"   oil

Yesterday was Thanksgiving and it was a lovely day.  We had the family over to our house and the food was delicious!  Of course we all ate too much, but the time together was very enjoyable.  I believe that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  There are no expectations other than enjoying each other's company and sharing a good meal together.  

Today I spent most of the day in my studio.  I finished up a couple of small paintings and I worked on a pastel painting.  "Glass Jar and Pear" is a painting I started on Wednesday.  Each painting provides me with a specific challenge.  This time I wanted to focus on painting glass.  It can be tricky, but I was satisfied with this particular piece. 

Apple and Plums

A few weeks ago, Cindy (my studio friend) told me about a project called "An Apple A Day".  This project was started by a man in the Netherlands who wants to have artists from around the world submit paintings of apples to his website and he will eventually have 365 days of apples online.  I submitted this painting and it was posted yesterday.  It is a fun project.

I spent just a couple hours in the studio today.  I am trying to finish up a commission piece.  I was asked to do a painting of Henry's house.  Henry was our landlord and he's a great guy.  He owns a home in the older section of Golden.  The painting is coming along nicely.  Commissions are always an extra challenge, so I am happy that this particular piece has gotten off to a decent start. 

Look Both Ways    9" x 12"   Pastel

I share a small studio in Golden, Colorado.  We are a short walk to the middle of town and I often take a break and head to a popular coffee shop on the main street.  Golden is an old western town that was established in the mid -19th century.  It is home to the Coors Brewery and there is always something going on in town.  I find that there is a lot of opportunity to photograph interesting people and places. This painting is of mother and child crossing the street in Golden's old historic district .  They were heading to the farmers' market.  

I am going to be showing my artwork at the Higher Grounds Cafe the month of November.  I will be exhibiting with Ginger Lecher.

                                                      Little Girl     6" x 8"   Pastel

I frequently enter the Daily Paint Works Challenges on line.  Each week they post a different challenge and when they posted this one, I couldn't resist trying it.  The challenge for me this week, was the size of the piece.  It is sometimes difficult to get the facial features in without overworking the painting, particularly when the piece is small.  

Little One   8" x 10"   Pastel

         It was a good day in the studio today.  Some days I have a hard time getting my motor going

         and I feel as though I never held a paint brush or a pastel before in my life.  This morning the

         music was playing and the oil paint was flying across the canvas.  Aah, the joy of  being an

         artist!!  

        I've had this photo of a child sitting on a blanket for sometime.  I felt it had the potential as a

        pastel painting.  It was a quick and simple study.                              

                                                                                                                            

Street Festival

Pastel  9" x 12"

                         

In recent weeks I have been working in oils, creating minature still lifes.  I decided it was time to get the pastels out again and see what I could come up with.  I chose to work from a photo I had taken at a street festival a while back.  The subject matter was appealing and the lighting was ideal for a painting.  The painting tells a story and I was able to get good shapes and shadows. 




On The Beach
4" x 4" oil

 Welcome to my blog!  "On the Beach" is a 4" x 4" minature oil painting.  I enjoy painting figures.  When painting a figure, I take into consideration the proportions and angles of the body parts in relationship to one another.  This painting is small, so I attempted to keep the shapes and strokes simple.