I think the 35 thumbnails did the trick to jump-start my work for the new year. This is the oil-wash foundation for my first painting of t...

Here is the result of my bright idea of painting 35 small watercolor thumbnails while viewing reference photos on my computer display. The...

I'm trying to jump-start my painting year. Went on a photo shoot (see two photos on my display above), then started with black and w...

Today we drove to my hometown for a photo shoot. I didn't realize there were so many marshy areas...we even found this elevated perch bu...

I'm cleaning out bookshelves and have 36 art books from my private collection that need new homes. A variety of mediums, all in very goo...

Some of you may know of my past with colored pencil and the book I co-authored, " Colored Pencil Solution Book ." Since I posted l...

2011 is here and I'm excited to begin painting again after the holiday break, but I was curious what 2010 looks like in review. I beg...

My nine year old grandson created this picture this morning.

It has been pouring rain in the Pacific Northwest for days. The colors of wet trees, grasses and branches slide into one another and on in...

This painting of dancing grass (again on gessoed rag mat with no pastel mixture ground) came together in about an hour last night. Add ano...

In my studio, another batch of 4-ply rag mag boards with gesso on both sides is awaiting the pumice-gesso ground for pastel. I wondered wh...

The good news is my "hand-made" surface held up through three total wipe offs of this painting. I wasn't sure if this surface...

I'm at a turning point with this painting. I was happy with the oil-wash foundation (left) but the painting went downhill from there b...

Today I used a reference photo that looked very much like this painting. And once again, I am reminded that though I am interpreting the s...

Another painting that I am pleased with on my marble dust/gesso ground on rag mat. I'm mixing different recipes to find the ground tha...

This painting was on my easel through the Thanksgiving holiday and it cheered me each time I looked at it. With Christmas less than a mont...

Ground test #2 seems a little better - less grit. 2/3 cup acrylic gesso + 4 teaspoons marble dust + 1/3 cup water. I applied it to another...

It occurred to me (duh!) that I should test the ground I'm applying to the cut mats since I've never used this mixture before.  I ...

Today I cut all the random sized pieces of 4-ply rag mat board in my studio into squares then applied an acrylic gesso + marble dust groun...

This painting has gone from "hope springs eternal" to "dashed hopes" then to "hope against hope." There are ...

There is a "hope springs eternal" time in the process of creating a painting when it is beginning to tell your story as you envi...

Today I attended the Northwest Pastel Society 24th International Open Exhibition. Steve Hill received Best of Show with a beautiful paintin...

Ahh...back to good old Wallis paper for the second painting in the Sleeping Lady series.  This one has a light watercolor wash on top of gol...

The painting of my second acrylic-turned-pastel was interrupted by a couple things but I finally got back to it today. It has been wiped...

My website has been updated! Please visit www.barbaranewton.net

If you have been following this journal for the past few days, you know that I prepared two acrylic paintings to accept pastel. I finished...

Here is my experiment of turning an acrylic painting into a pastel painting. The scene was inspired by the precious end-of-fall days we have...

Enjoy the process. I did! Recap: I had an old acrylic painting on a piece of 18 x 18 inch masonite. It was very textured because when I...

When the Golden Acrylic Ground for Pastels was dry, I began applying pastel but quickly found that the very textured surface (intentional) r...

You may have read my October 2010 article in The Pastel Journal magazine about reworking pastel paintings. Or, if you've been followin...

My very clever and artistic grandsons (ages 9 and 11) made this beautiful garden collage on the steps leading out of their mother's flow...

  I have taken about a million photos of scenery we hurry past when my husband and I are on road trips.  I'm always excited to view them...

This painting is from a reference photo taken while on a late afternoon walk at Sleeping Lady Resort in the Cascade mountains, Leavenworth, ...

The excess pastel dust (all colors mixed together) from my paintings falls into an aluminum-foil gutter attached to my easel. When I clean...

I thought someone might be interested to see how I store pastel paintings that are waiting to be framed. Paintings that are complete are a...

It poured down rain all day today as I painted in my studio. Maybe that's why this scene is more colorful than the subdued hues I talk...

The second day of the Handell workshop started with an overcast morning. Loaded with plein air gear, I wandered around looking for my mornin...