More water, please

Whidbey Island Life

16 x 20, pastel

sold $775 partial proceeds to Orca Network Organization

Though well-planned, this piece is straight from the heart. Those are "my" waves, the ones just outside my studio and I study them with a passion, almost to the point of drinking them, I think. I'm back to Sennelier La Carte ~ I just love this paper. I chose the salmon-colored paper, which I often do since it is the complimentary color for the blues in the water. It adds a great vibration in the painting. I photographed this painting as I worked through it in anticipation of using it as part of an instructional video (thanks for that idea, friends and family). Please stay tuned for that and let me know if you're interested. If you are, it will kick that project up a notch further on my radar.

Whidbey Island Life (16 x 20) can be seen in greater detail on my website.

Getting Sparkked

Just before the entry date closed, I discovered Pastel Journal's Creative Spark competition and entered this piece from our first trip to the Grand Canyon, along with some others. I really enjoyed the process of reliving the trip(s) through my own art and realized, once again, just how much we, as artists, put in to each piece we create. It was a great exercise and one I plan on doing again, as soon as I can find that block of time.

Here's the link to the blog where you can read more about the Creative Spark project/competition. I hope it will get your creative juices flowing: http://pastelblog.artistsnetwork.com/default,date,2008-05-16.aspx

This piece is titled Grand Indeed (25 x 20). You can read more about it on my website.

Seascape using Hahnemuhle Velour

Always going and always growin' - or so it seems. Times are busy but I've come to realize I must be the one who makes it that way. I get wrapped up in wanting to do so many different things, it gets difficult to fit them all in to the bucket. After a spell of other projects, I made it back to the easel for a day of painting.

This is a scene from my local area, Whidbey Island, Washington - I LOVE it here!

Hahnemuhle Velour
I wanted to try out some new-to-me pastel paper. It's Hahnemuhle Velour, mould-made paper, from Germany. The company has been around since 1584 so I figured they should know what to do to make quality paper.

This is my first attempt on the new surface. It's 9.4 x 12.6 inches because that's the size of the paper. It's soft and I like how it takes the pastels. I used the same variety of pastels I usually do. Nupastels, Unisons (ahhh), Schmincke, Sennelier & whatever else is close-at-hand. The paper held it well but there are no hard edges here! I'll probably try some more experimenting with this ~ I enjoyed working on it.

I think artists typically fall into two different categories regarding supports and supplies. Some work with what is there and standard and others just can't seem to stop trying to reinvent the wheel. As torturous as it is; I fear I fall into the second category. Such as it is; it is.