Haven’t had a chance to post anything lately.
These live oaks are located at Adams Ranch in Ft. Pierce. They have such a happy, lyrical, uplifting look to them that I had to paint them with happy squiggles.
The painting panels I use are “Pintura” and they are canvas on wood.
This lake is located within the community that we live in. It actually doesn’t have a name, as far as I know. Out in the middle there is a small raft that turtles and the occasional alligator sun themselves. Turtle Lake seems like a good name.
The pastel painting was started with a water color underpainting. Just using the maroon color in the land masses and a rosy pink in the sky and lake enables me to then quickly put in the middle values. You might notice that I didn’t use any green. Honestly, I just felt like not using green so this is probably considered a tonalist painting.
This painting was done in Ft. Pierce as part of an invitational paint out. The last time I was in the neighborhood, this building was completely renovated. It wouldn’t be my choice as a painting subject anymore because all the character was removed.
The title is from that song by the B52’s – “Love Shack”. Of course being in Ft. Pierce it was probably more likely a Drug Shack.
In honor of Father’s Day I thought I’d post this pastel of my father’s truck. Don’t be surprised if I post it again next year! It’s not a new painting, but a favorite. He never finished restoring the truck so that I could paint the “after” shot, but he did see and love this painting.
This pastel is done on a maroon piece of acid free mat board that I sanded a bit to give it a little more tooth. When you sand mat board or paper (sometimes it helps to rough up Canson paper before using it too) you should use a very fine sanding block, not regular sand paper. The block is sturdier and won’t make unwanted bends, folds or marks on the paper. Just a gentle once over is enough.
In honor of “Uncle Phil” Algozzini who passed away recently at the age of 82. This portrait was done as part of the Hobe Sound Project a few years ago – the exhibit wouldn’t have been complete without him, just as Hobe Sound isn’t complete without him. His portrait is as colorful as he was. He was such a supportive person that he claimed he liked this painting, but it scared one of his nieces. Algozzini’s Hawaiian Shop is on Rt. 1 in Hobe Sound, FL.
This was a quick study that I did some time ago. Since I’m working on something else right now, I’m not able to post that painting until it’s finished. Pastels go through an ugly stage that I don’t share with anyone. My husband used to pass by my works in progress and think the paintings were horrible, but then would be surprised when he saw the finished product. He would be seeing the first layer of pastels. Although all the layers contribute to the final painting, they sort of disappear eventually – or visually mix together. So the first layer is usually the undertones, the shadows and might not even be the right shape yet. It’s all very scratchy and scrawly. It’s a different story when using an underpainting though and one of these days, when I have a chance, I’ll post that process.
Hopefully the new painting will have the same energy that this does. However, there won’t be any bouganvillas in it, but plenty of other flowers.
This is from Adams Ranch in Ft. Pierce, FL where the live oaks grow undisturbed. They are huge trees with far reaching limbs. A bit farther down this dirt road on the ranch is a picnic area with a giant tree house.
I’m getting ready to start a new commission and while taking stock, making sure there were plenty of pastels in the box and planning my approach this painting came to mind.
The new painting won’t have a path with dappled light but many of the colors will be the same, as well as the size.
Better get to work!:)
For the 2012 Sketchbook Project (I’ve put a link over there on the right for ArtHouse Coop) I wanted to do something different. It’s a great way to try out new things and experiment. There is a large portfolio in my supply closet with assorted handmade papers so it seemed a good place to start.
Some of the papers were crinkled up and colored with water colors – sort of dyed. The colors made a small palette of purple, green, blue and orange. Then of course there was white paper. One piece of paper was hand made mango paper – appropriate for my part of the world. My decision was that the sketchbook would be all about paper as a medium.
Although collage is not one of my mediums – it seemed the right thing to do.
and then there were two pages that are from a book of my husband’s – in honor of the mathematicians:
Can’t wait to figure out what to put into the 2013 sketchbook.
The Sketchbook Project is fun to do and I’ve just signed up for the 2013 project. In a nutshell – you sign up, pay for a blank sketchbook plus touring expenses and when you return it to the ArtHouse Coop it is cataloged and then goes on tour.
Here are some pages from my 2011 sketchbook – my theme was “Down my Road”, so these are all very local scenes.:
and last but not least because it is once again that great spot on the Loxahatchee River:
There were many more pages but this is enough to give you the gist of the sketchbook. The method that I used was fun. The first sketch is with watercolor crayon, then apply water, let that dry, use the marker pens to outline or do some fancy scribbling and then a final layer of gray or white on top for atmosphere.
I’ve scanned in the 2012 sketchbook but haven’t downsized the files yet. Will post soon.
Now I’m looking forward to the 2013 project and hope I don’t procrastinate as much as I usually do finding myself filling the book two days before it’s due.
Literary Agent
Barbies on Fire
Just another WordPress.com site
educational publishing specialist, author, editor, seeker of rabbit holes
Novelist of Literary Fiction
Just because you CAN read Moby Dick doesn't mean you should!
A meeting place for a world of reflective writers.
Julie Abery
Using All The Crayons 