Straight Up

 

"Straight Up"  (pastel, 5x7 inches)  click here to bid or buy

Here's one of the two paintings I did from my hotel room window, after wimping out on the cold Saturday afternoon at the Plein Air convention. I took tons of beautiful photos, and really was dying to paint. I'm just too much of a 'studio' painter to uncover my hands and stand in one spot outside when it's less than, say, 65 degrees!

Here was one view from our hotel room (the view changed very rapidly on Saturday!)

...and here was the painting I attempted to create from the awe-inspiring view:

"Weathered Range" (pastel, 4x6 inches)

I had to settle for a general impression of the range, and the feeling of temperamental cloud patterns, as various mountains appeared and disappeared with the clouds and rain. It was also a learning experience to realize how very high-key such a distant landscape really is when viewed with the eye. The photo shows it much darker than it really was. Still, I had a very hard time with the red of the rock; that was quite subtle and difficult. I was glad I hadn't tried this outdoors!
When I finally tired of keeping up with this view, I rolled my eyes in frustration and caught sight of the breaking clouds above. I instantly set to work on "Straight Up", which was much less trouble, as clouds still look like clouds even when they change position. This little piece of sky soothed my need for some sort of creative success on that day!

Away from the Overlook

"Away from the Overlook"  (oil, 6x6 inches)  click here to bid

Here's a better image of my one plein air painting in Nebraska. From last weekend after judging the Sand Painters Art Guild show in Valentine. Many of the Sand Painters group are devoted plein air artists and I so admire the dedication that takes, so I was excited to join a few of them on Friday evening. We drove up to a beautiful overlook with several views of the valley below. I found it all a bit overwhelming... so much information! So I settled on the simpler view of the pines, facing away from the overlooks. I do believe this is my first oil plein air. It was hard! All that getting situated and mixing paint, while the gorgeous cloud patterns that first attracted me disappear and the light fades! Arg!

I posted a couple shots from that evening on FB a few days ago, but here they are for you blog followers!

the scene

chasing the light

my improvised 'easel-free' setup

I know you're going to ask: I don't remember where I got the chair. I think I ordered it online somewhere, years ago from one of the art supply stores.. Just Google "chair bag cart with wheels" ;)

Summer Storm Gathering

"Summer Storm Gathering"  (pastel, 5x5 inches)  click here to bid

This was the last in my short spurt of sunsets and skies before the desperate rush of my 2-woman show last week. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, I've decided to offer this one, and maybe some others I've got laying around, to the relief effort. 100% of the proceeds of this auction (minus the shipping) will be donated to the American Red Cross to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy. I've reduced my usual auction starting price of $100 to encourage bids! Please be generous!

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Sunset #55

"Sunset #55"  (pastel 5x5 inches)  click here to bid

The layers of dark and light were challenging. This is on dark gray Art Spectrum Colorfix paper. I used a small flat brush to 'whisp' the cloud edges.

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Sunset #54

"Sunset #54"  (pastel, 5x5 inches)  click here to bid

Sometimes the light from a sunset is silvery instead of pink. I'm not sure but I suspect it has to do with the altitude of the clouds. (Or maybe it's the levels of dust in the atmosphere?)  This was painted on black Art Spectrum Suede. I also used a flat brush to 'swish' the silvery golds across the bottom of the clouds.

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Summer Sky #2

"Summer Sky #2"  (pastel, 5x5 inches)  click here to bid

I sometimes have a few 'other' sky scenes in my sunset series that don't quite merit a "Sunset" title. This one was more of a late-afternoon, almost-but-not-quite-stormy day. Just like summertime.

Painted on a dark gray Art Spectrum Colorfix paper.

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Sunset #53

"Sunset #53"  (pastel, 5x5 inches)  click here to bid

I was happy with the looseness of these strokes. I didn't need to fuss over this one too much.

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Sunset #52

"Sunset #52" (pastel, 5x5 inches)  click here to bid

Back by popular demand, I've got just a few more of my sunset series to post this week. These are on some sanded papers I found in my studio. This one is on black Colorfix Suede. I blended the under-layers of pastel for a smoother finish.

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Cloud Study 1

"Cloud Study 1"  (graphite, 7x7 inches) 

A couple days ago I was lost for a few hours in my endless file of sky photos, adjusting and cropping about a dozen compositions for potential paintings. This particular one called to me to draw it RIGHT NOW! It didn't allow me any time to sync the photo to my iPad or cross the 60 ft to my studio out back. So I opened my sketchbook in front of my computer and got to work!

(New note to self: Keep a spare set of pastels in the house!)