Morning Hike

This is a 6x6 oil of a local trail I painted once before.  The last time I did it I used pastels.  It is fun to see the differences in the mediums.

Bid here -DPW Auction

Mighty Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus Trees are trees I have enjoyed most of my life in Southern California.  

They are trees with beautiful bark and tall, graceful profiles.  They are the mighty giants I remember that divided large parcels of land.  It was tricky putting a big tree in a small place.  Working small is a challenge for me in pastel.  Mainly because I like to work with chunks of chalk.  Working that way makes it difficult to be exact and supports my impressionistic style.  I am just loving color right now.  This is a 6x6 painting in soft pastel on Uart sanded paper with a compliment under painting.  I have been having fun paint with pigment as a foundation to apply pastel.  Sometimes the paint shows through and other times I cover it up.  I am okay either way.  

Forgotten Road

Forgotten Road is from a hike that Dana Cooper and I took sometime last year.  We decided to explore a road off the regular path at Irvine Park.  It was a fun hike that took us out of the park and on to a local highway.  

Forgotten Road, pastel, 12x12
Donated to United Society of Pastel Painters

Care Free

Life in Southern California weather makes it a good place to live if you enjoy getting out.  The temperatures make hiking an easy outing for my husband and I.   This is a place called Peter's Canyon that is not to far from home.  You would never know that housing surrounds this place.  Once in on the path, the cares of the day are long gone.

Care Free, pastel over watercolor on sanded Uart, 14 3/4x16 3/4

Reaching

One of my favorite trees lives in Irvine Park.  This is a 14x18 pastel that I did trying to capture it on a two dimension  surface.   I love the way it reaches of the sky and that it is a wonderful tree to climb.