Red Barn Progression

Red Barn, pastel, 5x7 inches Available

 

 

 

Red Barn, pastel, 5x7 in virtual frame

Sure Mount

Judy commented on yesterday's post asking what adhesive I use to mount pastel paper to Gatorbord. Here it is. When it arrived, the jug had leaked all over the instruction label so I had to Google how to use it. Can't remember now but I just Googled it and found this information.

Study#2 for Tucked Away

Study#2 - Tucked Away, pastel, 9x6 inches

​As much as I loved the angles of the buildings in Study#1 for Tucked Away, they kept getting in my way as I tried to simplify the scene. I used a vertical format this time to emphasize what the story is about (the "tucked away" house). Different paper, different application of pastel. 9x6 inch image, Wallis mounted on Gatorbord.
Sold

A study challenge in simplification

I have a reference photo of an old farmhouse off the main highway, down a dirt road around a fenced pasture, between outbuildings and suddenly, an uphill driveway to the main house. Definitely "tucked away."

Study - Tucked Away, pastel, 5x7 inches Sold

Love all the angles and planes, reflected color. I will continue simplifying this scene for a larger work.        
My September update

filling frames

I'm still bonding with my new studio. When we first arrived here, I jammed everything I didn't want to deal with into my storage room. Suddenly, it is Fall and I have to begin painting for a couple upcoming gallery shows so I have to get organized. I pulled everything out of the storage room, repositioned the shelving unit to a different wall and ordered a work table to go along the wall where the shelf had been. I left my collection of frames in the main room of the studio beside my drafting table so I would have to look at it daily and do something about it. I culled those with imperfections - I thought I would use them someday for personal work. That left about 50 frames, wood and metal, some with mat and glass.

I was excited to paint a larger version of my Chicken Coop study and use a frame I had on hand but the first frame I pulled out of a box had a mat and glass in horizontal format instead of the vertical format of the small study. Well, an added challenge, that's okay.

When I begin a new painting, I almost always take step x step photos but then when the painting process gets exciting, I forget to stop and take photos so there are only three below. They will give you an idea of how I begin a pastel when I don't use an under painting. This painting was FUN, maybe because I was so fond of the little Chicken Coop study. This is a scene from our new, more rural neighborhood. I love it here.

 

Chicken Coop, pastel, 11 x 15 inches

One more

Reference photo for Brambled

A few days ago I painted the street-side of this little ivy and bramble covered house and named it "Forgotten." Today, using this reference photo of the side view, I painted "Brambled" in a 6x6 inch format. See the painting below then use the Daily Paintworks Magnifier.

Brambled, pastel, 6x6 inches

Memories

An old chicken coop, no longer used but still standing.

Three months ago we moved from the hustle and bustle to a more rural location. Not so many people, much quieter and more scenic. The landscape is dotted with old buildings where people lived, laughed, worked. This is the  same area where I visited my Grandma, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins when I was a child. I've painted three little scenes: the images are 6x4 inches on 7x5 pastel paper. I may paint more, or not. These three will go to Daily Paintworks for purchase. Use the Magnifier there for a closer look.

I call this the Ivy House because one side is covered in Ivy. No one lives there but it is on my route to the Library and Post Office. It seems to be forgotten but deserves to be painted.

We came upon this original homestead on a Sunday Drive. I'm sure a lot of memories were made in this simple little house. Sadly, it now stands open to the weather.

In appreciation

Study for Leaving Home, pastel, 5x4 inches

I recently shipped Study for Leaving Home to it's new owner and received a nice email from her.  Thank you Jory! Take a look at her beautiful paintings through the link below.

Dear Barbara,
I received your perfect little gem “Study for leaving home” yesterday. It is a perfectly detailed brilliant little painting and doesn’t look like a study at all. I just love it! It is already at my framers and it will be in a place of honor.
Thank you! (feel free to post this testimonial if you want)

Jory Mason
jorymasonfineart.com

Two new ones

Study for Spring at Gold Creek, pastel, 5 x 4  inches

Study for Spring at Gold Creek Pond, pastel, 4 x 5 inches

See both of these little studies with the Magnifier on my Daily Paintworks Gallery page.

Take a look...

After my post yesterday showing a small pastel study, I had a conversation with my husband about why I posted the green reference photo along with the colorful little pastel. I told him about a follow-up post I would do as soon as I had time - one in which I would put into words what I showed as a visual: take any reference photo and push the color. If you have trouble imagining how to do this, put the reference photo in Photoshop and slide the "Hue" bar. It is an interesting experiment. Meanwhile, today Marla Baggetta has posted on the same topic and she has saved me a lot of typing as well as explaining it better than I might have. Here is a link to Marla's post. Thank you Marla from all of us!

The other thing I wanted to tell you is that the little studies on Daily Paintworks, mine and those of others, are inexpensive little gems of education, especially if you can't study in person with the artist. If you want a real, live example to study composition, value, color or stroke, invest in one of these. Place it on your easel next to your painting and put it to work by example to improve your own art. Here is one I have available now -  Study for "Leaving Home". See it on Daily Paintworks.

Study for Leaving Home Sold

The second time around

My new Studio is full of natural light during the day but last night was the first time I painted after dark. I found a reference photo in one of my old sketchbooks and used it for a little color study.

This morning the skies are overcast making it MUCH easier to get a good photograph. This is a Study for "All Things Good and True" (the second time around). Sold

Inspiration

A few days ago I was informed by the folks at Patience Brewster that August is Artist Appreciation Month. Patience designs hand-painted ornaments for Christmas and all year decor. They inspired me to write a post on this blog about a few artists that have inspired me.

The first artist that comes to mind is my former instructor at Burnley School of Professional Art, William Cumming. Below is a photo of my office wall and his painting - girl leaning toward a window -  that he gifted me when I was his student. Bill Cumming encouraged me to carry a sketchbook and to make a habit of capturing everyday events in quick, spontaneous line drawings. He showed me the joy of line and the emotion and moods a simple line can convey.

Next to my Cumming painting are two works by my first husband, William Iles. As I look back, I am inspired by his perseverance and dedication to express himself through art regardless of his circumstances.

These days as I work in pastel and oil, my art heart beats faster when I see the lovely works of  Tibor Nagy and Alex Kanevsky. I can't express in words how their work makes me feel. The play of color and texture in their paintings inspire me to get into the Studio. That's where I'm headed now!

painting from my sketchbook

I used to be diligent about adding entries to my Sketchbook. These days, it is fun to look back to review my art struggles - most of them now a distant memory. The work itself also shows my challenges of the time. When I came across the painting Days Ease I remembered how much I liked it. I even remember the person who came to my Studio to pick up another painting and saw this one and purchased it also.

Today I wondered how differently I would paint the scene now so I propped the sketchbook up on my easel and began to paint. It was fun, and the best part was walking away when I had said what I intended instead of belaboring the painting.

Days Ease, pastel, 4.5 x 6 inches   Sold

painting light

Painted on Wallis paper toned with Venetian Red gesso.

Leavenworth Light, pastel, 7 x 7 inches Sold

Paint it twice...

I painted "Leavenworth Pine" twice this morning. I had to rip up the first painting because when I removed the black artist tape that held it to my easel, the tape took the right bottom corner of the Colourfix pastel paper with it. Here is the second try shown in steps...much improved anyway because I was familiar with the subject (same as doing a study for a larger painting).

Leavenworth Pine Step 1

Leavenworth Pine Step2

Leavenworth Pine Step3

Leavenworth Pine, pastel, 6x6 inches   Sold

Light Show

Light Show, pastel, 7x5 inches Sold

Painted from a reference photo that I have had for years, shot on a winter morning. I have taken liberties with the color palette but the focus is still on the way the early morning light comes through the trees.

Goodbye, Hello

Goodbye to all my stashed pastels! I had boxes of pastels:  some especially for workshops, pristine unopened sets for landscape work, boxes of special pastels I wanted to save. Save for what? I emptied all my boxes into my working boxes. May as well use them now - if not now, when?

I took the hinges and handles off my two Dakota Art boxes and lined them up on a table next to my pastel easel. Next, I rearranged all my pastels with white, gray and black in the middle, cools to the left and warms to the right. No particular reason why other than that I haven't had them arranged this way before. With them all in one place, I was inspired to paint.

Red Trees, 6.25 x 4.25 inches  sold

Red Trees is my first offering on Daily Paintworks since last February! Good news to WA collectors: sales tax is less in my new location. Click here to see this painting on Daily Paintworks. 

The bonding process and floater frames

I woke up early this morning remembering that I agreed to be one of three artists in a Fall gallery show... and here it is, almost August! That motivates my need to bond with my new studio. The painting area is really half the studio. The other half is the sleeper sofa, table and Annie bed. I hope to be back to painting soon in this compact area.

I found floater frames in two styles/sizes, two of each frame - one new and one used (used ones are shown here and have hanging wires attached). I doubt that I will use them again so if you use this type of frame and live within driving distance, let me know. Prices are very reasonable, I just put them on OfferUp.

The top frame(s) is for a painting 18 x 18 inches. It is black with gold front. The bottom frame is for an 18 x 24 painting and is dark brown wood composite with a backing board.

First project out of the new Studio

I'm starting to bond with my new Studio. No art yet but I have a couple windows that need privacy and found a way to get it with clear Contact Paper.

Bathroom window before.

Bathroom window after Contact Paper.This is a tedious process, cutting out each shape with scissors and positioning them on the glass without bubbles. Lots of "aargghhh" but looks OK in the end. This isn't my idea - I saw it online somewhere but I can't remember where.

Thoughts of Home

A few thoughts about what it means to "be home."

Thank you NWPS

I am honored to become the eighth Distinguished Pastelist of the Northwest Pastel Society and to have a feature online interview by NWPS Webmaster, James Geddes on the NWPS website.  Here is a link to read the feature. Many thanks to NWPS and James.

First shots of the new Studio

My new Studio is finally organized enough to share some photos. It is smaller than my old studio but  I have a separate storage area behind the door at left in the above photo. The little niche where the table is was originally designed to have a studio sink, then the sleeper sofa but in reality I like the table there. The stainless steel sink for studio cleanup is just down the hall in the laundry room.

I have two painting stations, the one on the left is my big Hughes easel for oil, acrylic, etc.  The one on the right is my good old MABEF for pastel because it can accommodate the Artists Air Filter System. A huge improvement over my previous studio is the track lighting. I don't even know what these bulbs are but I know they're LED and expensive and should outlast me. Between the two easels is my old Boeing drafting table with a ton of stuff crammed under it for now. My pastels are still in boxes to the right of the pastel easel; I don't think I'll get to them until it starts to rain.

This is the West wall of the Studio looking out onto the back patio and the flower-garden-in-progress. The Studio gets blasted with afternoon sun so all windows and the french doors have blinds. I look forward to painting plein air on the back patio and in the garden where I'll only have a few feet to haul supplies.

This sleeper sofa was gigantic in our old house but it looks small here. This weekend the Studio will turn into a guest bedroom. Look how FEW art books I have kept for the move! I should post a shot of the titles. The non objective painting in this photo is a Cathy Woo and the very small piece in the previous photo of my easel wall is by Carole Barrer alongside a drawing by colored pencil artist, Bill Nelson. These artists inspire me. Wishing everyone a happy Fourth of July.

Our Twentieth Anniversary Show

Our Critique Group is celebrating 20 years with an anniversary show at American Art Company, Tacoma, WA July 11 through Sept. 5. Opening reception: Saturday July 18, 2-4 p.m.  Thanks to Kay Dewar for creating our postcard.

Checking In

Busy days since the move to our new house in mid May. Here is a little catch-up link

Great News

Great News! My painting, "Path to Gold Creek" has received the Directors' Award at the Northwest Pastel Society 29th Annual International Open Exhibition at American Art Company, Tacoma, WA. Show runs May 9 - June 20, 2015.

This award gives me NPS Distinguished Pastelist status. Yay! I'm happy. Many thanks to NPS and Juror Michael Chesley Johnson.