improvising

I finally figured out a way to keep the pastel dust off of my computer while I view the reference photo on the screen. I set the laptop on a chair, set the chair on my worktable next to my easel.  On the left of the easel is an air filter that (hopefully) is sucking the dust in as I work. The painting on the easel is a beach scene of the Carmel river painted in the Spring of 2010. I unframed it and reworked  95% of it today. See the new "Carmel" below, 11 x 14 inches on Ampersand™ pastelbord.

a little help from my friends

With another birthday approaching, it occurred to me to review all the paintings in my studio and divide them into two categories: those I am proud to leave to my heirs and those that might end up in a garage sale (with my name on them).

So, I'm beginning the process of getting rid of the mediocre work...one way or another. First up is a little 9x12 to be reworked into something better. I brushed off the pastel, turned the paper upside down, and after about an hour the top part looked good to me but the rest just wasn't coming together. I sent the image by email to several members of an artist's critique group I belong to and asked for 'a little help from my friends.' With good feedback from them, I was able to resolve the foreground and I'm now happy with the painting.

Here is the image I sent to them by email for critique:

They each suggested more work on the foreground. I brushed off all pastel except the top 1/3 of the painting and reworked the rest. Here is the completed painting, "Meadow Lights."

I thought it would be fun to show you the work of three of the artists who gave me feedback.

another 6 x 6

Another little 6 x 6 inch painting, this one is called "Northwest Meadow" and is from an old reference photo I came across on my laptop. I set the computer near my easel and painted from the screen image instead of a photo print-out. I'm painting these little paintings on charcoal color Pastelmat. Click on the image to enlarge.

morning walk

Another 6 x 6 inch study of the dog park. The reference photo was taken at the end of summer when grasses and seed pods were dry and still had some color. Now all is gray and soggy.

perhaps tomorrow

Here's the dog-park path again, this time much smaller ( 6 x 6 inches) and painted in a different palette. Click on the image to enlarge.

byway

Another scene from my daily outing with Annie. This path or byway runs parallel to the off-leash dog park fence.

my art on stage

 I am pleased to have two of my paintings included in the set for the production of Amy's View at the ArtsWest Playhouse in West Seattle, Washington. We saw the performance last night and it was an interesting experience to have my work referred to in the script as having been painted by one of the characters in the story.