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.)