Prickly Blue - SOLD

"Prickly Blue", 5 x 7" Pastel, Matted and Framed
● SOLD

I've never seen and artichoke flower, but when I saw this, I knew I had to paint it!  Soft pastels can really capture the vibrancy of a specimen.  I felt challenged and intrigued to decide which colors to include to emphasize the unique color and texture of  this blue artichoke flower.  I worked small at 5 x 7" and started with bright pink acid-free card stock coated with pastel medium.  I worked with mostly extra soft Sennelier pastels - a bit challenging working so small, but they really can lay down luscious pigment - just what I like.

So, not only are the fruits of the artichoke lovely and delicious, the flower is delightful too.

Simply Pink

Painting flowers is always fun - especially when they're as cheerful as this one.  The pink on neutral, dark background really makes this one pop.  Soft pastels worked nicely for this little 5 x 7" piece.  It looks great framed in a contemporary black frame with double mattes of black and white.

Farms, Farms and More Farms

Farm I, 12 x 6"

Farm III, 9 x 12"

In early May this year our family made a long drive from Oklahoma to Michigan to attend a wedding.  Anytime I travel, I like to take my camera so that I can snap scenes that might inspire a painting or two.  The dominant theme of this drive was farms.  Of course, we were after all driving through the heartland!

Earlier I had done some practice pieces in pastel and so I thought it would be fun to distill a few of those scenes down to their geometric simplicity and represent them in a funky, colorful way, this time with acrylics.   Each of these three, small cradled panels were designed to be a pop representation of these farms.

The Spring weather created bright, clear skies during the sojourn. I had fun snapping dozens of photos, and then cropping them down to an abstract level.  Using bright, unreal colors in some of the pieces made for a really fun little project.

Farm II, 6 x 12"

Burst of Summer - ● SOLD

Working with pastels has been a joy and has reinvigorated my creative spirit.  These summer-themed, abstracted florals were just what I needed to motivate me to paint more.  As much as I enjoyed doing the smaller pieces, their success impelled me to try a much larger piece.  I have to say that working this size - much larger - was very freeing and lent itself to abstraction.  "Burst of Summer" is pastel on 18.5 x 26.6" sanded paper.

WHITE BARN - EXERCISE IN 20 STROKES

Here's a continuation of the counting strokes exercise and creating a work in as few strokes as possible.  This one was done in 20 strokes.  4 x 7" pastel.  The foreground grasses are actually one long connected stroke.