Plein Air Jaunt

Our Arizona Pastel Artists Association wants to try some outdoor painting trips, so several weeks ago, our Pres. Gary Binder scheduled us to met early in the morning at Piestawa Peak in north Phoenix at 7 a.m.  Traffic delayed me so I arrived there at 7:15 a.m., but the early sun was still in the low eastern sky to give us wonderful shadows on the rocks and trees.  Only three of us made the early morning rendezvous, but we had a gorgeous day before us and we were psyched!

We did a little surveying of the scenes before us, but it wasn't long before we decided to set up and start painting!

Gary & Dona set up just a few paces from me and it was fun to see what each of us had focused on to paint.  Here is the actual scene from my viewpoint:

I loved the way the Palo Verde trees twisted and turned as they grew and hoped to capture that look.

Gary took on a view just to the left of me, but I did not get a photo of it.  For 3-1/2 to 4 hours, we had enjoyed talking with hikers and dog walkers who passed by us.  We asked one hiker to take our picture to document our outing.

Gary's paintings are the two on the bottom, Dona painted two and I painted one.  From my earlier photographs, you should be able to discern which one that is.

I caught the bug to do more plein air painting (which means "outdoors, on site"), so I have signed up to volunteer at the Plein Air Convention to be held in Tucson, April 13 - 18.  It will give me the opportunity to meet and watch professional Plein air painters (over 30 of them) and then go out on site and paint on my own.  I hope to post more photos and paintings from there.

Rocky, the Rescue Dog

My Sis-in-law adopted a rescue dog, who turned out to be highly intelligent and just all around fun as well as being loyal.  When I took a workshop with Kim Johnson of Phoenix, AZ, I decided to use "Rocky" as my portrait candidate in this "Painting Animals"  workshop.  I hope I captured his exuberant nature

Granby, Colorado

"Mullein Weeds & Daisies". 12" x 18".

Pastels.  $400. Unframed.

Summertime in the Rockies showcases a variety of greens and atmospheric colors in the landscape.  Walking in the country from our condo in Granby, Colorado, brought this scene to me.  My first rendition was a little stiff, but I put it back on my easel this week and brushed out areas I didn't like and strived to make it more painterly.  I hoped to capture nature's cheerful juxtaposition and balance of weeds and flowers.

The Smallest Studio Yet

Evening Thunderstorm,   8 x 10",  $80.

My husband and I have decided to share a home in Lincoln Nebraska with our son and grandchildren. My husband and I have developed our apartment in the basement.  It is cozy and small, but I especially wanted my own little studio space.  "Mini-studio" is an understatement in this place!

At the end of the family room is a recessed closet with about 2 feet of standing room where I could put my small Guerrilla painters box & tripod easel.

My iPad, with reference photos I have taken, sits on the shelf and any other supplies are handily right there as well.

Since we are just a week new into the house, I haven't filled all the space as I normally would. Thank goodness!  

A bright natural fluorescent light serves its purpose well. When finished I can shut the doors and the space stays neat & clean. I love it!

My "Pastiche" Jewelry work

This is my jewelry "studio" workbench.  In reality, it is a counter in the Laundry room.  I have been working in enameling  copper. I call this my "Pastiche" collection…meaning a mixture of many things.  I combine copper, bronze, brass, pewter metals, with a myriad of enameled colors, which I create in my small kiln in the garage.

I combine the components into earrings and pendants strung on faux suede cording with handmade wire clasps.

Necklaces with pendants--$59-$75.

They are colorful and very eclectic!  Perfect with dressy black or casual denim.

West Valley HQ and Birt's Bistro in Surprise  are carrying my jewelry in their gift shops.  I will be participating in an Arts Festival at the Goodyear Baseball Stadium Oct 31st-Nov 1st, 2015.  

Come see me!

Murphy's Law of Framing

Even after making numerous changes in a painting, it seems that I still missed something that only reveals itself, AFTER I have Framed and Sealed it!!

Take this pastel I painted from our South America trip to a hacienda B & B south of Santiago, Chile. 

I was pretty happy with it .  It was an upside down "L" composition with the center of interest being the small vivid red flowers that receive shelter underneath the palm tree.  However, in the frame, it looked like a dark mass with no relief on the left.

It needed some light ground peeking through the palm on the left to create depth and a normal sense of the scene. 

So I removed the tape and the glazer points, and took it out of the frame ( a real pain in the ... , well, you know) and worked on the painting. 

I also added a few hints of close grasses to aid the perspective.  It felt better now.

           "Sheltered Under the Palm"

12" x 18" (Unframed).  Pastels    $395.    

I Can Relate to DILBERT.....

Change "novel" to "blog" or "painting" and it would probably express the trepidation a blogger/painter feels when they are getting started....

But then I remember reading once that Cezanne painted over 12,000 watercolors, and I ask myself:  "Surely they weren't all keepers?"