Deep Sheep going to NYC!

"Deep Sheep" (pastel, 28x25 inches) $2800

I've posted this one before but just have to brag that it's been accepted into the IAPS (International Association of Pastel Societies) 28th Juried exhibition, to be hosted at the historic Salmagundi Club in New York City! The show dates will be from June 6th to17th, 2016. The awards reception is Thursday June 9th, 6-8pm, and several other events (tours, a demo, and a brunch) will be happening throughout the exhibit dates.
Keep an eye on the IAPS site for upcoming details!

I also found a few progress shots hidden deep in my photo files somewhere, that I hadn't yet posted:

Bosco

"Bosco" (pastel, 7x5 inches)  sold

One of my demos from the workshop earlier this month. Sold to and named by a student. When I sell a fresh, untitled demo I ask the buyer to title it and I'm always amazed that they're able to come up with titles I've not ever used before... and good ones too! Sometimes I say to myself "I wish I'd thought of that one!"

applying the pastel primer

the photo, the underpainting, and elbow

imparting random bits of wisdom during the demo

My next workshop is in Arkansas in August! Click the flyer for a closer look, or visit my Workshop Page for info and links!

Prince (the cat)

"Prince" (pastel, 12x6 inches) sold

In honor of Prince (the musician) who passed away today, I'm happy to show off one of my demos from last weekend's workshop in Lee's Summit, MO. This cat, coincidentally also named Prince, belonged to one of the workshop students and she graciously allowed me to use her photo to make a portrait of him.

I used three colors of pastel primers for the underpainting; the gold, the terra cotta, and the black.

 The gold is Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold fluid acrylic color mixed into Golden (brand) Fine Pumice Gel. The gel is clear, so the color mixture is semi-transparent, and gets darker on each application. I do about 2 more layers of this to start the value-scaled underpainting.
(The initial layer of gold I usually spread across large pieces of Gatorboard, then cut to size and transfer my drawings, working in 'batches' of 6 to 8 at a time.)

 The next layer of primer is the Art Spectrum (brand) Pastel Primer in the terra cotta color. I lay it into the darkest areas, then scrub and dry-brush it into the medium values of the gold to continue the value scale and add more depth to the monochromatic underpainting.

 Then, on some subjects that contain a considerable amount of black (fur, or clothing, etc) I apply a final layer using the Art Spectrum pastel primer in the black color.

On the black, my first pastel application is Terry Ludwig's famous Eggplant! Darker than black! haha!

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PS: to see some more photos from this fun workshop, visit my facebook page!
(Like it while you're there! ;) 

Anna

"Anna" (pastel, 8x6 inches)

This was my demo on Saturday at the Marble Falls Paint the Town Plein Air Event earlier this month. A few artists were invited to demo our painting skills on some beautiful ballerina models between 1:00 and 3:30 pm, to fill the time between the competition entry deadline at noon and the award reception that evening.

There was another paint-off on Friday evening with some of the same elegant girls, but after my exhausting "Candyscape" I struggled with unfamiliar paper and an awkward pose (my girl of choice decided to hold her arm up in a graceful overhead arc - something I'd never tried to paint before!)

photo by Debbie Slangal

So this time I used my usual golden-red primed board in the familiar small size and close cropped portrait. It also turned out I had the model to myself, so I asked her to put her hair down - abundant, glorious hair!

photo by Debbie Slangal

I felt privileged to be painting along side some fantastically talented oil painters such as Patrick Saunders (Best of Show winner). Here are a few shots of some of the artists at work:

Patrick Saunders

Here's a short video of us taken by Debbie Slangal on Saturday painting these lovely ballerinas:

Tenacity - a Plein Air warm-up, and workshop reminder!

"Tenacity" (pastel, 10x10 inches)  click here to bid

This was my first plein air landscape in ... well, a very long time! Maybe fall of 2013. I had scoped out almost all the locations on the list that Marble Falls has for us last weekend, and this was my last stop on Thursday at a little park called The Falls at Slick Rock (at Hole #14 of the Slick Rock golf course) It was a beautiful place filled with visual overload. I especially loved all the little watery falls rolling over tiers of rocks and plants.

But I knew I'd need something simple as it was already after noon and getting later by the minute. So I settled my rolly-cart-with-chair on that big rock that you can see in the first photo above, clamped on my umbrella, set my pastel box in my lap and got to work on this little tree growing out of this other rock over on the left:

photo

I wish someone had come by and taken a photo of me perched on the other rock. I had a feeling I looked like a real professional plein air painter! But I did get some shots of my own progress:

It looked better on Friday than I thought it looked on Thursday, lol. A big thanks to Terri Ford and Barbara Jaenicke who's workshops I look last year and was remembering techniques and procedures while painting this!

Speaking of workshops, I still have spaces left in my Pastel Workshop in Lee's Summitt, MO (Kansas City area) later this month. Be spontaneous and treat yourself to a fun weekend away! Click the flyer for a closer look, and visit my Workshop Page for more info and a convenient payment link!

Candyscape - Wins at Plein Air Event!

"Candyscape" (pastel, 12x9 inches) sold

This is my delicious 3rd Place winner at the Paint The Town Plein Air Event in Marble Falls, Texas last weekend. (This is the display inside Choccolatte's.)

I love Marble Falls. I've participated in this event several times since their first annual Paint The Town in 2007, when I took a break from my caricature booth (they had street vendors that year) to play around and paint a couple of little 4x6's...

"At the Music Fest" (pastel, 4x6 inches) 2007, sold

"Main Street" (pastel, 4x6 inches) 2007, sold

They each sold at auction for much higher than my valuation at the time! I was hooked!

The next year I went gung-ho and painted 9 paintings in all, including this one of main street...

"A Gray Morning on Main Street" (pastel, 5x18 inches) 2008, sold

and this historic old tree in the courtyard...

"The Hanging Tree" (pastel, 18x5 inches) 2008, sold

The main street shot did quite well on auction, so in 2009 I decided I'd do it again, from the other end of the street. The weather was blessed with sunshine that year...

"A Sunny Morning on Main Street" (pastel, 6x18 inches) 2009, sold

My participation was blessed that year as well. Among other things, this painting won First Place! Read more about it on this post!

In 2010 I did yet another view of Main Street, while standing on the tailgate of my truck, in the rain...

"A Rainy Day on Main" (pastel, 7x17 inches) 2010, sold

I think by then I had exhausted the Main Street Panoramic market.

But I won 4th Place with this quick painting of the creek behind the school sport fields:

"Backbone Creek" (pastel, 9x9 inches) 2010, sold

I missed the rest of the Paint The Town events until the fall of 2013 when Marble Falls had a little Quick Draw event to build anticipation for the next spring's Paint The Town...

Untitled (pastel, 12x12) 2013, sold

I won First Place with this one! (See some progress shots on this post.)

I didn't make the 2014 Paint The Town, but had a blast this year, and met lots of talented artists and old friends.
Finally (thanks for reading this long) here are some progress shots of "Candyscape"...

photo - scoping out the possibilities...

the drawing took as long as the coloring part!

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