Working from a gesture to develop a finished pastel with simple shapes

Gesture

Developed from charcoal gesture.

Another gesture

Finished pastel based on the charcoal gesture.

A Day At The Norton Simon

It was a fun day of looking around at art and the people that love art.  This was one of many scenes I saw that day.  Educating children about art is very dear to my heart.

This is a pastel on UArt paper.

16x12

Girl In Green

Sheila Is a lovely model that frequents our painting group.  I typically like to crop scenes like this for fear of space, but thought not this time.  Space is just hanging out there.  How to deal with it, can be challenging.  Will it over come the subject?  

After this session one of the other artists and I discussed background.  We spend lots of time covering up shelves with drape to take away what could be supportive to the figure architecturally.  That would help on layout and visual enhancement to the composition.  

Ken Howard is an artist whom I have enjoyed pouring over his work.  He places the figure in a room with tons going on and makes a fabulous statement.  His calligraphy in suggesting tools and desktop things is amazing.  His attention to value and color is exciting.  I have had my book for sometime.  Each time I open it I find something new to just wow me, that I had not noticed before.  

Click here to see on Amazon.

12x16 oil on canvas

Princess For A Day

Last weeks model brought her wedding dress and wore it for the session.  Painting the white fabric was challenging.

14x11 oil

Lalapalooza Muse

It was a few years ago when our family took a vacation in Chicago. We have three grown boys, four if I include my husband that love music and play various instruments. So we decided that the inclusion of a music festival would be quite the ticket for all. I am delighted to tag along wherever those four guy are headed.

I was tickled with the colorful crowds of people in this wonderful park in the middle of my favorite city, Chicago.

I have poured over these photos for sometime hoping that I would grow to paint them. So time has come and here is the first one.

18x18 oil on canvas

Patty and little Oliver

I enjoyed my pastels and the application on this little sketch.  It was a happy and silly day with fellow artists.  I laughed and it was just wonderful.  The experience is often more important than the original purpose.  I'm still laughing and smiling.

10x8, soft pastel

Aware

A couple of weeks ago I started going to Cynthia Grilli's for inspiration and guidance with the figure and the portrait.  It has been a process of decisions.  First I had to remember why I was there.   I want to let go of what has been safe.  Do I need to constantly prove I can draw by doing only what I know?  So I get out of my comfort zone to revitalize and that is a good thing.  I mean what if I push and lay down color, value and temperatures that make me scream out loud.  I can tell you in the process of this painting I let go of a likeness and fought with emotional attachments to explore palette knife textures and scraping with those rubber carving tools.   I laid down thick yellows and found every part of me tingling with fear and excitement.  My whole body felt alive and I was sort of lost and did not care...maybe a little.  I am going to stick with this and hopefully carry this to my pastels too.  We will see what happens.  All I know is it is time to let go and see what the process will bring.  

Preparing to Dance

This is Katrina. A very talented model and artist.  I worked on this Monday at our model session.  I enjoyed lots of things about painting Katrina.  Increasing intensity in the flesh of the shadows was one and feeling a little freer with brush work.  The surface quality looks richer in person.  One thing I realized is that I never paint hands and have avoided doing so.  Not a good idea, so I must start looking and understanding. This creates a new item on a long list of personal creative to do's.  

14x11, oil

Good Times

Freedom and fun out in the salty surf.  Good times are had and the memories last a life time.  We remember and we return with the next generation to enjoy the wonderful sensation all over again.  

There is a beautiful illumination that comes when using pastels on a sanded surface.  I love the richness of the medium.  Simply yummy.

12x16, pastel on ampersand pastelbord

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Morning On The Plaza

The challenge of the week on DPW put up by Dana Cooper.  Click on the names and check it out.

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Her

Another in the series of figurative pastels.  I love mark making and this was very fun!

Fatigue

Fatigue, 16x12, pastel

Denise is a  regular at my model sessions.  I love setting up the scene.  Hanging fabric from a clothes line and moving furniture around is the fun of the set up.  Denise sat in this very comfortable chair and almost fell asleep.  I thought the glass in her hand suggested a long evening ending in reflection and fatigue.

I once again enjoyed the application of dispersion color as an under painting.  Pastels are always fun.  Love the feeling of dragging the pastel over the surface of the Ampersand, pastel board.  It was a fun day with lots of music and discussion among artists.

She

She, 6x8, pastel

I started this series a few months ago and got to #2 and stopped.  It is a new direction for me.  In the past few weeks I have had a few conversations with artists that has made me want to push in a new direction or just play for a while until I find out where I am going.  Why I start and stop is my own discomfort and maybe a lack of faith in my journey.  I like this little figurative and the fun I had while doing it.  So I put the map down and I think I will cruise along and see where I go.

One of the artists that I enjoyed talking with is Katherine van Schoonhoven.  She lives in the Oregon area and is down in California as part of a very extensive road trip.  We met at a Kitty Wallace workshop in Portland over a year ago and it was so nice to see her again.  Always inspiring to talk art and with Katherine, she also talks music.  Such a treat!  Visit her blog, Art and Music, follow her creative journey. 

She presented me with a blog award.

Part of receiving the award is to recognize a few blogs I enjoy.

Mary Maxam

Marian Fortunati

Julie Hill

Dana Cooper

Kim Vanderhoek

Time Well Spent

Time Well Spent is a 10x8 oil of a valuable past time.  This is a precious moment in the life of this father and son.  It is priceless.  The young boy, standing with careful observance to the end of the fishing pole, is my great nephew James with his father Scott.  James has a little brother Nathan that I painted with Scott some time ago, "Precious Moments," and the painting hangs in a gallery of family photos at the top of their stairs.  According to my niece Mary, James wished there was a painting of him and his dad to go along with Nathan's.   James will be having a birthday this week and this was commissioned for him.  So he too will hang as an oil painting in the gallery with Nathan doing what is most precious...spending time with dad.

SOLD

Painting From Life

"Resting"

6x6 oil

"The Pose"

6x6 oil

TEXT

Stood Up

12x9, oil

Spent a Saturday in Irvine at Art and Frame enjoying a wonderful model day.  I loved the pose.  It seemed a bit commercial and she looked stood up with distant thought.  I liked the gesture and the boots.  

CHILLY WATERS

6x6, pastel

Last year on one of our trips up north we stayed in Carmel.  It was cold and misty.  The sky was clear and the water was very chilly.  It really did not matter to all of us visiting.  What a gorgeous place.

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STEPP'IN WITH MY BABY

6x6, pastel sold

Another workout with my pastels.  I am gonna keep at it.   My hope is to keep both oil and pastel as a regular thing.  There are so many things I like about both.  

WITHOUT LIMITS

24x24, oil on stretched canvas

Here is the larger version of the last post with some changes and adjustment.  I thought about the title and changed it slightly too.  I am happy with the end results.

I wish everyone a very happy 2011.

LIMITLESS

6x6, oil, sold

Working out some thoughts for a larger piece.