Painting My World

Poppy Miniature Painting

2009-07-05T17:36:00.002-04:00

'Poppy Surprise' 3.5x2.5 pastel

I am back from the lake and had a chance to paint some small aceo size paintings while on the houseboat. I painted in the morning while the wind was calm. I had my travel size watercolor set and a very small box of pastels. I did about 15 little watercolor underpaintings. Once they dried I started to add pastel to some of them but it was getting quite windy so I had to put them away. This is one I managed to finished. I am getting better at letting the underpainting work with the pastel instead of covering it all up!

Water Lilies and Dark Water

2009-07-03T09:53:00.002-04:00

'Mysterious Beauty' 11x14 pastel

I am so glad to have so many water lily references photos. This one is actually from one of our VIP road trips where we pulled off the highway somewhere in South Carolina to take photos of a mini swamp filled with lilies! Today I am headed to the lake for the weekend. I plan to relax and just read and do something with all the beads I bought out in New Mexico. I did bring along a small box of pastels just in case! I hope everyone has a relaxing and safe 4th of July!

Sand Dune Painting

2009-07-02T15:34:00.002-04:00

I'm calling this painitng 'Dune Shadows' because it was the shadow patterns that attracted me to this scene. It was Autumn at the beach, actually one of my favorite times to be on the beach. There was color in the grasses and the air was crisp and cool. It's the perfect time of year to explore. This painting is 5x7 on Wallis paper.

Two Poppy Paintings!

2009-07-01T14:50:00.002-04:00

If you read my earlier post you will see that these paintings have gone through some changes! I decided that they would work better as two smaller paintings rather than one 11x14. The top painting is actually square 6x6 and the bottom is 8x10. I went from sand dunes to 2 poppy fields. You have to love the versatility of pastels!

Poppies on the Hillside

2009-07-01T14:22:00.003-04:00

'Hillside Poppies' 14x11 pastel

Pastel can be so much fun! I just totally changed this painting from it's original state by brushing it off and starting over. It started out as a demo painting I did to illustrate how to start a painting with big shapes. It was a beach dune scene and I liked it because of the shadow patterns but it wasn't exciting me. After I brushed it off I looked at the dark mess on my paper and envisioned this poppy field. Ok......change of plans. I am looking at the painting and I see that it is divided in half and really would work better as two paintings. Stay tuned!

Water Lily ACEO

2009-06-30T15:01:00.002-04:00

This little painting is just 2.5 x 3.5 and looks great in a mat and frame. I did a few of these while I had my pastels out for my recent water lily paintings. I like the almost abstract feeling to this one but I bet I wouldn't be able to get the same effect if I tried it larger. Hmmmmm now I think I just challenged myself!

Pond with Water Lilies Pastel Painting

2009-06-29T14:28:00.002-04:00

'Drifting' 8x10 pastel

For this painting I did a watercolor underpainting. I didn't use much pastel at all this time. I tried to let the watercolors I put down do most of the work....after all I was painting water! I know I could do more to refine this painting but I like the soft dreamy feeling and since that was my concept for the painting I decided to leave it alone.

Bird Nest Painting

2009-06-28T19:03:00.002-04:00

'Hidden Nest' 6x6 pastel

We discovered this little nest on our trip to New Mexico. A pretty little bird had her nest in a small fir tree in the planter next to our motel room door. We hated to disturb her as we carried our luggage and gear in and out of the room but she really didn't seem to mind the activity as long as we didn't get too close.

In The Meadow acrylic painting

2009-06-27T18:28:00.002-04:00

'In the Meadow' 7x5 acrylic on canvas

Today was spent organizing my studio. I'd rather be painting but every few months it needs a good clean out. I feel better now so tomorrow I will be able to relax and paint all day if I want! I have a few ideas I want to explore. This acrylic painting was done last weekend. I want to try some more larger ones.

Water Lily Painting #2

2009-06-26T18:50:00.002-04:00

'Sunkissed' 10x8 pastel

For this painting I did another technique with an ink drawing and wash then pastel. I had one big lily in the middle and I didn't like it at all so I brushed the whole painting off, sprayed it with fixative which made a nice dark background with my ink drawing still there. I think tomorrow I will take out my acrylics again.

Water Lilies Pastel & Watercolor SOLD

2009-06-25T14:30:00.003-04:00

'Letting Go' 11x14 pastel

I've been in 'water lily' mode this week as I prepare for my upcoming workshop on pastels and mixed media. Our theme for the workshop is water lilies to go along with the Monet exhibit at the High Museum. We are trying to get our classmates together to go see the exhibit before the workshop. Hopefully we can work out the timing. Summer is such a busy time it seems!

Queen Anne's Lace Acrylic Painting

2009-06-24T15:07:00.002-04:00

'Beautiful Day' 12x6 acrylic on canvas

I was excited to paint these flowers on this size canvas. I had originally bought it to use for a marsh scene but it just spoke to me that it needed to be a glimpse of a field of Queen Anne's Lace. I am planning on doing a 20x10 pastel version of this painting. It was fun building up the texture of a field of tangled flowers.

One of my Early Paintings

2009-06-24T14:57:00.002-04:00

I did this painting back in high school about 30 years ago. I reconnected with my high school friend on facebook and she posted this today. Seems she kept the 'Karen Taylor' original I painted for her after our high school trip to Europe. I was very much into Switzerland at the time and most of the paintings I did were of the Swiss countryside. All I can say is I have improved my painting skills since then! How fun it was to see this. Brought back some good memories!

Wildflowers on Canson

2009-06-23T15:45:00.002-04:00

'Into the Meadow' 5x7 pastel

I am testing the limits of the Canson paper I recently bought. So far I am enjoying it quite alot to my surprise. It's just a nice chance of pace to just start painting without thinking about underpaintings and taking out extra supplies. I have some more left so I will be trying some more.

Poppies 16x20 Acrylic SOLD

2009-06-22T15:21:00.003-04:00

'Morning Breeze' 16x20 Acrylic on canvas

Here is the second acrylic painting I completed on Saturday. I did two other smaller ones that I will be posting later in the week. I am having fun painting with a brush and having the ability to build up texture with the paint. I have heard from many that it helps to paint in other mediums....one helps you improve the other....I need to make room in my weekend schedule to do more of these.

Escape from the Summer Heat

2009-06-21T20:30:00.002-04:00

'Summer Reverie' 8x10 pastel

Today was a hot one here in Atlanta so a cool painitng was in order. For this one I used cooler colors and the sky was overcast and grey. I remember this day...a cool summer morning with a morning fog. It would have been a welcome relief today!

Abiquiu New Mexico Acrylic Painting

2009-06-20T18:24:00.002-04:00

'Dreamer's Chant' 18x24 acrylic

Here is my finished acrylic painting. If you read the post below you will see that I spent a nice afternoon playing with paint! I wish the texture in this painting showed up better in the photo. If I had bigger tubes of paint I would have put it on even thicker. I had so much fun with this one I did another one of red poppies. This scene is from one of my New Mexico trip photos. I believe it was at Ghost Ranch. We stopped here for some photos and tried to find the wetland hike....but the wetlands were dry!

An Afternoon's Work...Acrylic Paintings!

2009-06-20T18:09:00.002-04:00

I don't know what got into me today but I just felt like doing a painting with a brush! I didn't feel like waiting for oils to dry so I took out some acrylic paints. I ended up doing two paintings, an 18x24 and a 16x20. Did I ever have fun! I was actually inspired by the paintng that was in my room where we stayed in Taos. It was loaded with thick paint and I have been wanting to try it ever since. Mine aren't quite as thick. I was somewhat stingy with the paint. I will try to get a better photo of each one. I was happy with my attempts at mixing colors....I didn't get too frustrated which was nice.

Water Lily Painting

2009-06-19T14:07:00.002-04:00

'Water Play' 8x10 pastel

I am about to start a commission of a house so I thought I'd have some fun and play first! If you know me than you know that architectural things are not my favorite things to paint but my clients are giving me free reign to play up the mountain landscape so it will be a good challenge. I did these water lilies in preparation for my upcoming mini workshop on Juy 12th. We are going to play with some other media in our pastel paintings. It should be a lot of fun! If you'd like to learn more about my workshops, I have a page here with information and soon some more photos.

Queen Anne's Lace painting #2

2009-06-18T15:01:00.004-04:00

'A Simple Place' 8x10 pastel

This second painting is done on Canson paper, moonstone color. I had a piece cut and my pastels out from my first painting so I wanted to see what would happen. I am so used to the sanded papers and boards and doing underpaintings. This time I wanted to see what it would be like to just paint...no underpaintings. I found that I actually quite enjoyed it. I really don't use many layers in my paintings so the Canson had plenty of tooth for me. If you look closely you can see I have left some of the paper showing in some areas. I think overall I got a softer look than I get on the sanded papers but I think it works for this subject. I will probably play with this paper some more. It was a nice simple change of pace.

New Queen Anne's Lace Painting

2009-06-17T14:55:00.002-04:00

'Summer Heat' 8x10 pastel

You know the kind of hot summer day when it is so steamy you can even see the heat rise? The kind of day when you welcome even the tiniest breeze and long to be somewhere near the water to put your feet in for some cool relief? That's the kind of day it is today here in Georgia. The Queene Anne's Lace is blooming in force around here so I was inspired to paint this today. It is 8x10 on Uart pastel paper. I did a value underpainting/turpenoid wash using orange pastels and got new use some of my new Sennelier darks I got at IAPS.

Low Country Marsh Oil Painting

2009-06-16T16:02:00.002-04:00

If there only were more hours in the day I would experiment more with oil paints. I know I would enjoy it. Pastels are just more convenient for daily painting because I can leave my supplies out and paint whenever I have free time. I don't have to worry about set up and clean up. Maybe someday! This is a 5x7 oil I did a few months ago. I love to paint marshes and wide open spaces as much as I love to paint more intimate views of nature like my wildflowers!

I have more good news to share today. I am now be represented by Frameworks Gallery here in Marietta, Georgia. I am excited to be included with their wonderful group of artists. I will be updating my links shortly so please visit them or come in person if you are in the area.

Summer in Taos

2009-06-15T22:08:00.002-04:00

'Summer in Taos' 8x10 pastel

I finally had a chance to paint from some of my New Mexico trip photos. This is actually the second painting I did of the same scene. I did three versions each one using a different technique. For this painting I did a value underpainting/turpenoid wash. I will be posting the others. If you are familiar with the Taos area, this is on the way to Arroyo Seco. It was a stormy gray day but the clarity and color of the scrub was very striking.

Flowers by the Pond

2009-06-14T19:08:00.002-04:00

'Contemplation' 8x10 pastel

This pretty spot at the edge of a pond was the perfect place to spend a relaxing afternoon just daydreaming and making vacation plans. I didn't actually do that today. Instead the day was filled with errands, cleaning house, framing......whew. I did manage to get to paint though and it felt good!

Smoky Mountain Morning Pastel Painting

2009-06-12T17:51:00.002-04:00

'Smoky Mountain Morning' 8x10 pastel

Last Sunday we drove the Miata up to ride the 'Tail of the Dragon'. It is a road at the border of North Carolina and Tennessee and it has 318 curves in 11 miles! Before we got there we had to stop to take photos of this wonderful field of purple flowers. (Thanks Carolyn) I have tried to look them up but I'm not sure what they are. They were tall and came in various shades of purples...not lupines...and had very fine 'dill like' leaves. Anybody know what they are? They sure made a statement though! Oh, the road was fun too!