Hanging Sheets

12x9 pastel on pastelbord

$250 

PURCHASE

Switching things up a little this summer and practicing with pastels. They are nice because I can set up at the kitchen table and be in the area where my daughter is playing and I can just walk away from them - coming back to them when time allows. No clean up or paint drying out, etc.

That is certainly a benefit. I'm going to be working with them more this summer with the aim of getting comfortable and confident with the medium before offering them through my galleries. I still have to figure out the framing AND the shipping. Those are definite drawbacks to the medium.

PS - I have a number of friends and a lot of art acquaintances in the Denver area and my thoughts and prayers are certainly with them all as they deal with the dreadful fires and heat.

Bucket-Fulls

9x12 pastel

I haven't worked in pastels since taking Margaret Dyer's workshop in March. I got a few ampersand boards (which I really like) and I got some more colors as I needed some more interesting dark colors. And since I've been working away diligently on my June show, I thought I'd take a break and play with pastels for a bit. This is a work in progress, but its coming along. My favorite part? His ears! :-)

This weekend I am heading for our Texas coast with Plein Air Austin folks for a painting retreat. It will be a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to some interesting new subjects to play with as well as all the camaraderie of hanging out with a bunch of accomplished artists.

Branching Out

Last week, I got to study with the fabulously talented Margaret Dyer at Wenmoh's Ranch not far from Austin. It was my first time using pastels and I learned so much. I haven't really tried other mediums before, I've been so focused on painting in oils for the last 10+ years. So this year I'm trying to allow myself some creative play and challenges. This was a great first step! I really enjoyed this workshop and working with pastels. Its gotten my creative juices flowing and helped me mentally get past the difficulties I'm having with the gallery.

We had models the first two days and the last day we worked from photos which Margaret shared. Here are my last two efforts. From her photos. I've shared more on Facebook if you want to look at "mobile uploads" on there.


Lucky for me, the workshop was only about an hour from Austin and I was able to drive back and forth each day. Margaret is a wonderful teacher and creates the most beautiful paintings. My thanks to Dena Wenmohs for a great workshop. I think everyone had a very nice time and learned a lot. I can't wait to continue to create with pastels here at home.

Cloud Gate

pastel on Wallis sanded paper

This I did quite awhile ago - just playing around with pastels. I like the medium and the surface but there are too many difficulties with framing and conservation.

I haven't experimented too much in my career as artist. My college courses were mostly focused on drawing and design and then post college I studied for several years here in Austin with Elizabeth Locke. She focuses on classical education in value, composition, and color theory. Since then, I've stuck with oils.

A creature of habit.

We're expecting company in the next day or so. And my daughter is heading into her last week of school. So my posts may get more random both in frequency and in subject! Maybe some crayon drawings even.