Ben Lomond

I belong to an online group of artists, and this month's challenge was a beautiful photo of Ben Lomond, Bavarian landscape. Soft pastels, 10 x 13

The Gathering

This painting is simply blackbirds on a fence. It feels peaceful, warm, yet with a hint of autumn in the air.
8 x 10, pastel

Blue Ridge Sunrise

I just spent a week in North Carolina, where I hope to move soon. Although I should be doing laundry, and getting some food in this house - this beautiful image was stuck in my mind. This is the Blue Ridge Mountains as seen from the parkway early in the morning as the fog and clouds were beginning to lift from the mountains. I hope you enjoy the view too.

Pastel 4x5

Sky Ablaze

I am always in awe of a truly spectacular sunset.

4" x 5" pastel
mounted and framed

Currently for sale through my shop on etsy.
www.artalamode.etsy.com

It's been about a month since I painted last, and I have to admit that I really missed it. I need to try and set aside some time just for painting. I really do find such comfort in painting peaceful landscapes.

Smoky Mountain Winter

This place holds very special meaning to me. I hope to be moving there within the next year. God willing, all the pieces will fall together.

Until now I had been painting on sandpaper, afraid to spend the money on sanded pastel papers. I think I've progressed enough to work on this fine paper on a regular basis now. 

Kids on the Beach

My good friend took this photograph of his kids and nieces and nephews. The photograph itself looked like a painting to me, so with his permission, I captured it in pastels.

Calm Sea

I can't understand exactly why I am not consistent in what I create. I suppose because I'm still so new to pastels. I had started on some other flower paintings and finally set them aside for another day. This image actually had my kids playing in the surf. I opted to leave them out for the time being. I may attempt to do the painting again and add them in then. For now though, I like the simplicity of nothing but the ocean, the beach and the sky.

Spring

I started this little painting (5x7) first thing this morning. It came together so fast, that I didn't want to stop and get ready for work. As soon as I got home, I finished it up and am quite pleased with the results.

"Sunset Lake"

I paint to escape the daily hassles. It soothes me. Prior to ever picking up a pastel, any kind of creative "thing" would help ease the stress and tension of the day. Today was one of those days. It didn't take long for my stress to start subsiding when I began working the clouds in this painting. This scene reminds me of my youth - spending weeks at our cottage, the rickety dock we'd jump from, or sit and fish for hours on end. I think I like painting clouds and water best.

I am still working from 2 very small packs of basic pastels and found I'm missing a lot of colors while I did this one. And being rather pleased with myself at the outcome of this painting, I broke down and ordered up a more complete set. This painting is done on 400 grit sandpaper and totally ripped up my fingertips!  LOL... i'm going to get a new supply of 600 tonite. And then?  I think I may be ready for the big girl paper - I would love suggestions of what to buy. 

"Reflections"

I had been sharing my painting by email with my parents in Florida. They seemed to be impressed with what I was doing, so I painted this one with them in mind. Back on the canal in Foxton England...

I took the photo of this painting and noticed a few things that bothered me, so afterward refined it a bit. Sorry, don't have another photo to show those changes. Trust me, it's a bit better!

Flower Study

I still don't think I have any particular style. It's still only been a month though since I picked up my first pastel. I study the paintings done by other artists, and am truly inspired by the work they create. This painting is my first attempt at trying a more impressionistic style. I was quite pleased, and although loved it as it was, I cut it in half and mounted each into it's own frame. Popped it up on ebay and it (they) sold! You have no idea how that made me feel....

"Foxton Canal"

I spent a couple weeks in England, and absolutely fell in love with the countryside there. As soon as I came home this was the first painting I did. The canals there offer a new painting at every turn. This may still be a little primitive? but I liked it enough to mat and frame it, and have it hanging in my own home - my little piece of England on my wall.

"Rapid River"

I bought some pastel pencils after watching a couple of videos on You Tube. I love how you can get some more intricate detail with them. Trees have always given me fits, and after removing most of them - I think I captured this alright. The original photo was a complete forest, and left nothing for the eye to travel to. Now not only does the eye travel through the water, but also into the woods upstream. It is the artist's interpretation, isn't it? I gave this painting to my friend in England for his hospitality.

"Cowboy"

Nearly every day I want to try and paint a new painting. This one looked very interesting to me, and similar to the fisherman one. I liked doing the mist, so figured dust rising from a horse's hooves would be similar. I still need practice in figures though. I ended up giving this as a gift to my good friend's father on my trip to England. He fancies himself an American cowboy, and he really liked this. I felt honored they actually hung this on their wall.

"Sand Pipers"

I'm torn on this one. Because I'm posting these a month after I started, I see how juvenile they look. I do want to put them all on here though, just to keep track of my progression.

still hoping for comments, good and bad.

"Into the Mist"

Back to sandpaper! I chose 600 grit and created this painting in an hour. I know it's not all that great - the fisherman could be better, but I've never been very good at figures. I still like the way the steam is rising from the water.

Crisp Point Lighthouse

One of my favorite places to visit is Crisp Point, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Sitting on the shore of Lake Superior is Crisp Point Lighthouse. I had taken this picture a few years ago, and decided to paint it. I used pastel paper this time, and found it was much harder to work with. I also don't care for the lines of the paper that show through. This painting took me a few hours to complete. 

My first pastel painting

Just a little over a month ago, (april '08) I found a new joy in life - painting with pastels. I had the pleasure of taking a 2 hour class and found a new passion. I have decided to start this blog after finding a wonderful site called dailyartists.com. I do believe that with each pastel I paint, I'm already getting better. I'm excited about the possibilities of what I may be able to accomplish. At this point, I don't have a style. I'm sure that will evolve over time. I hope that you'll comment on my work. I've never had any formal fine art training, however I was pursuing a graphic arts degree at one time, and remember how much the critiques helped. So with that, I welcome your comments, good and bad. 

During this workshop, the artist provided us with the pastels, and taped to an easel, he had a sheet of 400 grit sandpaper. I was very surprised when I started working the pastels into the sandpaper at how well it seemed to work. Later, I asked about what paper he suggests for future paintings, and he said I could buy the expensive stuff, but sandpaper works just the same, and no need for fixing. So off I went to Lowe's, and bought a small supply of my own sandpaper to continue playing.