"MALIBU BOARDWALK" 5" X 7" Pastel

I wonder how many times the beach at Malibu or the boardwalk has been painted, drawn or photographed. It has such a sentimental quality as well as beauty and interest. This painting was done on Art Spectrum sanded paper in a terracotta color. I tried to leave some of the color showing through in the sky and the foreground. Brings back good memories.                                                                       

"REFLECTIONS GONE WILD" 6" X 6" Oil

I imagine this painting borders on abstraction or semi-abstraction, really. These plums were painted while they sat on a piece of foil which because of its texture (wrinkles) breaks up the reflections into segments. I think I may have gone a little crazy with them, but it was such fun! I use scrapbooking paper with all its pretty colors and patterns behind the still life set up, so there are as many  possibible combinations as there are papers.  The foil is an idea I gleaned from one of Carol Marine's blog suggestions some time ago.                                                            

"NEUTRAL REFLECTIONS" 6" X 6" Pastel

The Daily Paintworks Challenges continue with a new one posted every Saturday. This week's challenge was posted by Michael Naples who asked all participants to paint the Zippo lighter he had pictured using ONLY Titanium White, Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Sienna. The color combinations needed can be obtained by mixing only those colors in various combinations. This is a little trickier using pastel as the medium as the way to "mix" colors there is to crosshatch the strokes or to blend or scumble with the pastel stick. Either method will mix the colors optically. I must admit  that the background and foreground were done using one of these methods, but the lighter itself was painted using the pastel stick that most closely matched the color I needed. The spaces in the lighter were just too small for me to crosshatch or scumble. I really did enjoy doing the reflections in the chrome of the lighter. Something new for me.                                                                    

"TRANSPARENCY" 11" X 14" Pastel

                                                                        
On a hike my husband and I took in a Colorado forest we came upon this little "scene" right at our feet. I was intrigued with the way the light shone through the leaves leaving shadows of one another. I hope I captured somewhat the fragile beauty of  that that little setting.

"FIRST ROSE" 5" X 7" Oil

 This week's DailyPaintworks "Challenge" was to paint a rose or variations of roses for Valentine's Day. A very appropriate task! The word "challenge" in this case couldn't be more fitting as I have only painted one other rose in my life and that was in pastel. Roses are such exquisite flowers...they deserve "due diligence"  in any painting effort. Well, you should see the abundance of gorgeous roses that is displayed on the DPW website. I swear, you can almost smell them! Here is the link to click in order to take a look.  http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Challenges                                                                                                        

"A LINE IN THE SAND" 5" X 7" Pastel on Pastelbord

Margaret Dyer is an artist I admire greatly. The beauty she portrays in the human figure is breathtaking. And, I love the scenes in which she places her figures - people doing ordinary, everyday things such as eating at a restaurant, taking dancing lessons, shopping in an open air market, hugging a grandchild, bathing...it's always something that causes that instant reaction inside of us to something familiar and pleasant. Margaret likes to work a lot of her pastel pieces on a Pastelbord surface. I wanted to try that for myself, and I loved it! It accepts a lot of pastel and is easy to clean if the need arises. The little girl above is done on Pastelbord.                                                                  

"TEN MINUTE CHALLENGE" 6" X 6" Oil

This is my contribution to the weekly DailyPaintworks Challenge. Participants were asked to divide a surface into three or four inch squares and choose one subject...a single item. Using a timer set for 10 minutes we were to paint as much as we could of the subject in ONE square. You absolutely HAD to stop when 10 minutes was up regardless of being finished or not. Then do the same with the remaining squares. The point of the challenge was to encourage painters to look at the LARGE shapes and not focus so much on the details which I have a tendency to do. Believe me this WORKS!! The 10 minutes goes fast and my priority was to paint the shapes of the cherries with stems and get the color accurate. I was exhausted when I finished, but really delighted because I DID them each within the time limit. Yes, it was 9 minutes and 57 (+ or -) seconds, but I DID it. It is wonderful to see all the work of other artists and their ideas. Anyone can participate in pastel, watercolor or oil. See the challenge and the results at http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Challenges

"LILY IN BLUE" 8" X 10" Oil on linen panel

This was the first time I had used this brand of panel, and I was really impressed with how the oil went on. It felt like it was absorbing somewhat into the surface, and it just kind of flowed. A nice experience.

"COFFEE AND THE NEW YORK TIMES" 10" X 15" Pastel

This gentleman has the right idea of how to start the day...on the patio...in the sun...comfy chair...cup of coffee...and all the time in the world.
This pastel was painted on Ampersand in a terra-cotta color. I love this paper as the texture allows you to just skim the surface with the last layer of pastel leaving a irregular, grainy effect. It's always fun to experiment.