Beau

 

"Beau" (pastel, 7x5 inches) bid or buy

 Here's "Beau", from VOS Episode 124 Part 2, which I finally finished. (Muses and Buddies on my Patreon can watch it here!)

See a quick speed video of "Beau" here!

Don Keyfurry

 

"Don Keyfurry" (pastel, 8x8 inches) bid or buy here

 The star of my recent Donkey Paint-Along! For your enjoyment, here's a fun speed video!

Argie in his Blanket

 

"Argie in his Blanket" (pastel, 8x6 inches) bid or buy

Here's a quick speed video of Argie expertly edited by my son. Enjoy!

Muses and Buddies on my Patreon can watch the real-time video in Episode 122 here!

If you pay attention you can see when I when I wipe off most of the first try, to correct the drawing and values and paint it again!

Star of the "Baby Bunny" Paint-Along!

 

"Baby Bunny" (pastel, 8x6 inches) bid or buy

Here's a little "Baby Bunny" for your enjoyment!

You might notice I used some black Art Spectrum primer over my usual gold and terra cotta on the underpainting, to get a good base tone for this black bunnyling. I did smudge some T.L. Eggplant and black pastel in there first, just to demonstrate an alternative.

I also decided to continue the little confetti-like strokes into the background to echo  the texture of bunny fur. :)

Muses and Buddies on my Patreon can watch and paint along to the full length Baby Bunny Paint-Along video of Episode 119!

See a quick speed video here!

#19 of 21-in-31 "Mewler Contented"

 

"Mewler Contented" (pastel, 10x8 inches, available framed) might be with me at the Midland Septemberfest Art festival Sept 9-11, 2022.

Back to some of my last underpainting batch now, heading into the final paintings of my month's goal!

This was from a pic of Mewler as a kitten, sitting on my lap in the morning. First thing in the morning (before the house has warmed back up to summertime temps) is the only time he's a snuggly lap cat.

I had fun painting all these textures! I hope you enjoy this quick video of the pasteling. I was able to leave a considerable amount of underpainting showing... Mewler's coloring was a good warm match for the gold and terra cotta colors.

#10 of 21-in-31 "Busy Bee Mini"

 

#10 of 21-in-31 "Busy Bee Mini" (pastel, 4x4 inches) bid or buy

I pasteled FOUR little minis at today's Virtual Open Studio! Here's the last one first because my son likes it best.

The Episode 115 video is still in editing, but will be posted soon for Muses and Buddies! Meanwhile, enjoy this speed video!

Beach Sunrise #6

 

"Beach Sunrise #6" (pastel, 6x8 inches) bid or buy here

This was the other version of the beach sunrise I painted at Saturday's Paint-Along. This one's on UArt 800, black. I had never used the 800 before. It's VERY soft and almost like velour, but with the holding power of UArt. Nice! But I think I do prefer a bit more texture. This one was demanding lots of intricate details with pastel pencils. I almost want to work even smaller on this fine grit paper!

See progress pics here!

Beach Sunrise #5

 

"Beach Sunrise #5" (pastel, 5x7 inches) bid or buy

Here's the first beach sunrise painting from Saturday's paint-along ...well, kind of the first and last, as I underpainted it and then painted the second one (coming soon) while the underpainting dried, then finished the pastel after the second painting. This one is on white Ampersand Pastelbord with a pastel underpainting washed in with Gamsol mineral spirits. We had a lot of fun at the paint-along, and I tried some new things! I think this might be the first time I have used the white Ampersand Pastelbord. I hadn't used the colored ones in a while, and I really like the texture of it.

Enjoy this quick speed video!

Sunrise on a Wave

"Sunrise on a Wave" (pastel, 20x10 inches) $650 framed

I pasteled this at my Wednesday Virtual Open Studio, the last before going to IAPS! I had underpainted it in Lyn Asselta's workshop in March but hadn't gotten to finishing it then. The underpainting is pastel washed in with denatured alcohol, on Wallis professional paper (yes, I still have a few sheets!) The reference photo is from a family vacation years ago, somewhere on the east coast. I remember we had stayed in a little motel with a patio that led on to the beach, and I was so eager to get sunrise pics, I woke up before everyone else and snuck out with my camera!

See a quick speed video here!

 

Snowy Bun

"Snowy Bun" (pastel 8x6 inches)

Bid or buy for a limited time on DailyPaintworks

The Fremont Art Association had me demo for them on Wednesday. They like my cute fuzzy animals so I did this cute fuzzy bunny for them! 

Enjoy these progress pics from the video:

Day 21 of 21-in-31: A Distant Light

 

"A Distant Light" (8x10, pastel on Pastel Premier paper)

My final painting in my 21-in-31  challenge for May! Yay!

As usual, I was hoping for something fresh and loose, but the Tight Monster took control. So I let it. I did have fun with the sky and I think I got good value subtleties on the clouds.

See a progress GIF here!

Day 19 of 21-in-31: Park Trail #60

 

Day 19 of 21-in-31: "Park Trail #60" (pastel, 4x4 inches) bid or buy
3 paintings left in my 21-in-31 goal! So I felt like doing something quick and easy today. I pulled up a screen shot of some landscape pics and picked a couple at random and painted two little 4x4's. This one is "Park Trail #60". I liked a relatively cool palette for a change, but couldn't resist putting in a few tiny flowers!
See a quick progress video here!

Day 17 of 21-in-31: Sunlit Glade II

 

#17 of 21-in-31 this month "Sunlit Glade II" (pastel, 5x5 inches) bid or buy

I was in a landscape mood today so I finished (fixed, re-did, did-over) this little glade that I started as a February workshop demo.

It's sort of a sequel to "Sunlit Glade" and I gave it a similar kind of makeover. See a short video here showing how!

Day 16 of 21-in-31: The Letter

 

Day 16 of 21-in-31: "The Letter" (pastel, 16x20 inches)
This is a portrait of my niece (doubled) that was a very long time in the making! Read more about it and watch a short video of the progress here!

Day 14 of 21-in-31: Don Key

 

Day 14 of 21-in-31: "Don Key" (pastel, 8x6 inches) Bid or buy at DailyPaintworks for a limited time

I'm still working on the paint-along video editing, but I wanted to share my Don Key finish with y'all. We had a fun time painting yesterday!

Of course, this will be counted as #14 in my 21-in-31 paintings for May! I did tweak just a couple little things after the paint-along, like the highlights on the neck and in the eyes.

See a quick speed video of "Don Key" here!

Day 9 of 21-in-31: Camilly

 

Day 9 of 21-in-31: "Camilly" (pastel, 6x4 inches) bid or buy here

I pasteled this darling baby camel the same day as Moofasa and Mimoo. Finally posting her! I had her underpainted since February, but didn't get to finish her then. She was the last little underpainting I had left over from the February batch.
I saw this baby at the Minneapolis Zoo last fall.

See progress pics and reference photos here!

Chic Chick

 

"Chic Chick" (pastel, 6x4 inches)

Here's another one of my little favorites that was languishing in a gallery all through the pandemic. "Chic Chick" is finally home with me and will be with me at The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival this weekend, hopefully to find her forever home. (If you're in the area, find me in booth 404 by the Watercolor Terrace!)

I love this one so much I had her as my Facebook business profile pic for a long while there! Enjoy this fun GIF and progress pics!

"The best paintings are sometimes the simplest."

Golden

 

"Golden"  (pastel, 12x9 inches) $1350

Painted in 2017, this is the fourth or fifth portrait I've done using the toned underpainting technique with the gold and terra cotta primers, and it's sill the most successful with my ultimate goal of  letting much of the underpainting "speak" along with the pastel. I think my favorite part is the reflected light under her chin. That's all underpainting and no pastel!

This was one of the merchants at the Texas Renaissance Festival during the daily parade. I love the parade for catching all kinds of excellent pics!

"Golden" is just now beyond her competition age (most competitions require works less than 4 years old) so it's time to bring her out to the art festivals! She'll be with me this weekend at the Naples Downtown Art Show. If you're in the area, find me in booth 222 on 5th ave between 4th and 5th streets.

See progress pics and read more about my process here!

Audrey with Flowers at Seven

 

This week I'll be sharing a few of my favorite paintings that I'll have with me at the Naples Downtown Art Show this weekend. This is "Audrey With Flowers at Seven" (pastel, 26x20 inches) Painted in 2011-2012, it has a long history and many awards. Read all about it and see the reference photo here!

Morning Meditation

 

"Morning Meditation" (pastel, 10x17 inches) $590 framed

This was started in the first day of the Lyn Asselta workshop I took this weekend. I highly recommend her workshop! She's an excellent and challenging instructor. Instead of teaching the 'how' of painting, she teaches the 'why'. Or specifically, how to learn to understand 'why' we paint something. Of course I had a difficult time because most of my 'why's are because "it's pretty and someone might want to buy it." 😂

And hopefully that will be true of this sunrise, which will be with me at the Naples Downtown Art Show, coming soon March 19 & 20! Find me in booth 222 on 5th Ave between 3rd and 4th Streets.

See a quick GIF here!