April, 2012
Thursday, April 26th, 2012
This is a 9 X 12″ pastel on Fabriano paper. It’s been awhile since I’ve done a process study. I hope you enjoy seeing the steps to the finish. I usually start with a rough sketch in a neutral color to decide placement of objects, etc.

Next I work on the sky. I know a lot of artists leave the sky to the last, but, for me, it sets the tone of the scene.

Now it’s time o start adding color and painting the objects.

I always work top to bottom and then later go back and add or change the interior items I’m not satisfied with.

Finally, the bottom half is completed and any corrections are made…..actually, I made several to the buildings!

As usual, any comments are more than welcome. I think I’d like to spend a little time at this farm.
Tags: buildings, Color, Flowers, landscape, pastel, process study, trees
Posted in Architecture, Color, Flora, Landscape, Paintings, Pastels, Process Studies | 5 Comments »
Monday, April 16th, 2012

This is a 9 X 12 pastel of a Bearded Collie done for my sister’s birthday. She has had several and I can understand why. They may be in the herding group, but they have a very out-going, playful personality.
Tags: Animals, black & white, Color, dogs, pets
Posted in Animals, Color, dogs, Pastels, pets | 7 Comments »
Sunday, April 15th, 2012

For newbies, I must explain that I joined a pastel challenge (a loooooooong time ago) that was started on Wet Canvas. The idea was to design a small picture of any type (landscape, still-life, etc) and complete 100 versions of the same picture each using different colors. The idea was to loosen up and stop grabbing the same colors all the time. We were to set our own standards and go to it! Mine are 5 X 7, and must be completed within 30 minutes. This one was fun because each time I reached for a color, I put it back and choose nearly the opposite. You’ll find the other 69 at various spots in the blog. Sometimes I get tired of doing them and drop it for awhile, but I’m committed to finish!!
Tags: 100 Pastel Challenge, Color, landscape, pastel
Posted in 100 Pastel Challenge, Color, Landscape, Paintings, Pastels | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, April 10th, 2012

Well, not working in watercolor for several weeks really shows up to me. This is a 5 X 8 done on sketchpad paper rather than watercolor paper, but it didn’t buckle too badly as I had applied masking tape around the edges. We’ll see how it goes. Comments are always welcome!
Tags: Color, Flowers, Watercolor
Posted in Color, Flora, Paintings, Watercolor | 2 Comments »
Thursday, April 5th, 2012
Something strange happened today and my comments didn’t appear on the site that referred to the vase of flowers below (although they were there when I previewed it before publishing). I was really just explaining that I had promised myself to be honest on the blog and if somethings didn’t turn out as well as expected or hoped, it’s all a learning experience for me (and maybe you, too).
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »