Painting 12 of 31 in 31 Days

Among the Thistles 9x6 pastel available $25.00

I finished this painting yesterday morning, but didn't get a chance to post it because I got side tracked coming up with a costume idea for a Halloween themed wedding I attended last night. This was my first Halloween wedding, and I have to say, it was a lot of fun. I ended up being a scarecrow.

For this painting, I was inspired by an artist I follow on Instagram.  He paints such beautiful birds and leaves very little detail in the background.  I wanted to try to paint minimal details but still get the feeling you were in a grove of thistles, and play with colors that I don't usually use like the turquoise and the yellow.  I'll be practicing backgrounds more this week.

On another note, I have to confess that sometimes I feel like I'm boring readers with the bombardment of paintings on Facebook and Instagram, but I've received such wonderful comments this week from various people about how they look forward to seeing the paintings.  Hearing these kind words really gives me the confidence to keep moving forward.  I thank all of you this week for those kind words.

Day 11 of 31 in 31

Nearing the End 14x11 acrylic palette knife painting available $75.00

One of my favorite flowers is the peony.  I have just one peony plant in my gardens -  I get so thrilled when they begin to bloom, and a bit sad when they start to wilt.  But they are filled with gorgeous colors no matter what stage they are in - well except during the winter when the plant is completely gone.  This is a palette knife painting of my last peony bloom of the season.  I really love the texture you can get with the palette knife - thick wonderful globs of paint.  If you've never tried the palette knife, I challenge you to give it a try.  Watch a couple of You Tube videos from the pros, and then jump right in.  So much fun! 

Day 10 of 31 Paintings in 31 Days

Another Season 9x6 pastel available $25.00

Have you ever took the time to look up high into the tallest trees?  The beauty of the sun shining through the branches and the colors of the leaves will leave you breathless -

I decided to try my hand again at photographing the various stages of one of my paintings.  Usually I get so into the painting process that I forget to take pictures.  This time I really tried to concentrate to STOP after each step. 

I started with a reference photo I took during my trip to Virginia, and wanted to tone the paper a blue violet color.  The tiny painting to the right will be used for purpose.  It's a surprise - so say tuned for the future reveal.

I did a quick sort of generic sketch - not a lot of detail -  after blending the background color using circular motions with my fingers. I wanted to add the details with the pastels as I went along.

Time to add some cool toned greens.

And now for some medium yellow.

It's at this point in my painting process that I stop looking at the reference photo and just look at what I think the painting needs to become more interesting.  I know you don't usually see yellow trees without a bit of orange mixed in so I grabbed one of  my Terry Ludwig oranges and added a bit of color here and there.  I also used some Sennlier bright yellow and touches of white for the very tips. Then a vibrant blue for a bit of highlights.

Close up of blue highlights

The finished piece

Added a few branches with some Rembrandt red violet.  The roundness of the Rembrandts make it easy to "roll" up the paper to create the look of branches or grasses. 

All my colors used in this painting

31 paintings in 31 days #9

Rapid Rush 6x9 pastel available $25.00

I seriously could not believe my eyes.  Kayakers braving the rapids of the Potomac River.  This was dangerous stuff! Now, I love gliding around in my kayak, but when there's steep drops and boulders at every turn - you can count me out!  But the scene did make for a great painting subject.  This is painted on UArt 400 pastel paper using Nupastels and Sennliers.  Zach, my son - I love him bunches, but he knocked into the easel and sent my only white sennlier falling to the ground shattering into a million pieces.  I tried my best to use the teeny tiny particles but I really need to put in another order to replace it.  Sennliers are so buttery soft and a lot of the time you can catch them on sale at Dakota Pastels.

If you are interested in purchasing this painting or would like to view other works available, just click on the title under the painting and you will be magically transported to my etsy store. Many thanks to all that took a moment out of their day to view today's posting.

Days 7&8 of 31 paintings in 31 days

Gerbera Daisy in Red 11x14 acrylic available $55.00

I know what you're asking yourself..... I posted days 7 & 8 but only have 1 painting shown.  This is what happened - - I spent most of the afternoon on Sunday attempting to paint a pumpkin scene - "attempting" is the key word here.  It was really awful. It needed to be changed, and I didn't want to waste the canvas I was painting on.  Solution ? Cover it all up in white paint and start fresh.  The only problem with that solution was I tried painting the pumpkin with the palette knife so it was very think and you could still see the outlines and textures after covering it all over. I wracked my brain as to what to do - A flower was the answer.  The entire center of this flower used to be a very ugly pumpkin.  The moral of this story?  You can never go wrong when using paint - if it's not coming out like you've envisioned, then cover it up and start fresh.  So this is the story behind days 7 & 8. Day 7 was a day of painting an ugly looking pumpkin, and day 8 was finding a solution so I wouldn't have to post the ugly pumpkin and be completely embarrassed. lol

Day 6 of 31 paintings in 31 days

Sitting Out the Storm 11x9 pastel available $25.00

When you find your stash of pastel paper running thin I have found a cost friendly substitute.  Regular old sand paper.  This painting was done on black sand paper - that's what I had left over from some home projects.  I pastel went on very nicely - in fact, it held the pastel just as well as the more expensive pastel papers.  I still favor UArt because you can apply water to it and other substances for underpaintings.  Now I haven't tried to apply water to the sand paper yet - so I guess that will be my next experiment.  The little guy in this painting was above my head while I was sitting on my deck and he hung around for quite a while just watching me. 

Just a reminder: 

If you'd like the chance to win a free painting, all you have to do is click the follow button at the bottom of my blog page on the home screen.  I will be pulling a name from the hat so to speak of all those listed as followers.  I will be having give aways once a month as a thank you to all of you that take the time to read the blog and check out my lasted artwork.  I can't say enough how much I appreciate it. 

Day 5 of 31 paintings in 31 days

Sunset Sparkle 6x9 pastel available $25.00

The inspiration for this painting was during my much needed weekend away to Lake Isaac in Gordonsville, Va.  We had the great fortune of staying in one of the log cabins of the Shenandoah Crossing Resort.  What a beautiful place! I've been to this resort 3 times now and always find something new here that I hadn't seen in previous visits.  During this visit, I finally got the chance to see the lake.  I must have taken 50 photos just of different views of the lake.  Don't worry.... you'll see them all eventually in future paintings. 

Today I'm giving away a painting.  I'm going to call this day "Friday Freebie".  One day each month I would like to give a painting to a viewer as a thank you for all the "likes"  and "comments" and "follows".  It really motivates and inspires me to keep the paint flowing so to speak.

5x7 pastel on Ampersand pastel board

This is the painting chosen for my first Friday Freebie.  The painting is the inside of a lily. Georgia O'Keefe style.  I love these flowers and have bunches and bunches of them in various gardens.  This is one of my peach colored lilies.  There were so many colors in the center! I picked one of them and set it on the dining room table, then placed a flash light behind it.   Wow! I can't even begin to describe how amazing a lily looks in front of a flash light - you'll have to give a try for yourself.   

If you'd like to have your name included in the drawing all you have to do is click the follow button on my blog page.  The winning name will be chosen this Sunday October 22nd.

31 paintings in 31 days Day 4

A Little Happiness Along the Way 12x12 acrylic sold

I am really having so much fun practicing with the palette knife.  I have always been drawn to paintings with a lot of texture, and the palette knife will give you lots and lots of texture.  I thought I'd try something in black and white, but in the end, I decided the painting needed a pop of color.  So here is the end result.  "A Little Happiness Along the Way".

My stash of acrylics was next to none in my art box since I've been painting with pastels this past year so I made a quick stop to Ben Franklin to restock.  $95 later I'm ready to jump back in to acrylics for a bit of a change.  I even found some metallic colors that I cannot wait to try!  I also have a few ideas for a couple more black and white paintings - what to do, what to do.  Check back tomorrow to find out. Have a great day~ and grab a sweater~ it's COLD here in Maryland!

Day 3 of 31 paintings in 31 days

Poppies Impasto acrylic on canvas 24in x 30in available $265.00

Last night I felt the urge to get out the acrylics and try my hand again at palette knife painting.  I watched a couple of how-to videos on You Tube and found this great video series called Painting with Jane.  I must have watched one of the videos 6 times!  Then got down to business. I mixed up different colors than what Jane used, and I made up my own composition. This painting is much larger than what I've been working on - it measures 2ft x 2ft 6in.  but really had fun with this one... just letting go and playing with the palette knife.  This is my second palette knife painting.  I did use a brush for the base color and the stems.  In Jane's video, she used the knife to create the stems, but I just couldn't get it to work, so I cheated and brought out a small brush.  I've decided to do a couple more paintings like this one to get more practice, and I'll share a step by step as well.  If you've never tried using a palette knife, I say give it a try!  You just might surprise yourself!

Day 2 of 31 paintings in 31 days

For the Love of Poppies pastel 9x6 available $25.00

I finally got my hands on some poppy plants this summer from Walmart and was so excited to plant them! All I could think about was the beautiful pictures I would take for future paintings - oh how I love paintings of poppies!  I researched for the perfect spot in the yard to plant my 3 little plants and with garden gloves in hand and my shovel I placed them into my landscape.  I kept thinking about how small they were right now, but next summer they would be huge and so full of blooms.

I walked out to them a few times that day just in case a new flower might have opened, and I'd taken a couple of pictures.  The next afternoon at watering time I only counted 2 plants! Wait a minute! Where did the 3rd plant go?  Where once a pretty little poppy was blooming was now an empty hole.  I was upset, but thought I still have 2, and once they reach a good size I'll divide them and make more plants.  NO,...... the next day another poppy was replaced with a bare patch of dirt!  It was then that I realized the moles were making a meal of my precious little poppies!  I was ready to wage war against them!  I moved the 3rd poppy to a different garden and stomped on all the mole trails I could find.  In the end, they won, for on the 3rd day my last poppy was also stolen.  At least I had a couple of days for just a few pictures. This painting is the result of one of my pictures.  I'm in the mood for poppies today, so I'm headed to the easel to do another poppy painting, but I think I'll put the pastels away today and bring out the acrylics. It's been quite a while since I've painted with them.  Check in tomorrow to see the results.

A Visit to Newark

Sunday Stroll in Newark pastel 9x6 available $25.00

I recently had the chance to hang out with one of my "girls" from my old Girl Scout troop up at her college. The University of Delaware.  We had a great time! She gave a tour of the college and the lab she's working in and we hit some little shops and of course a quaint historic restaurant with an amazing back story.  It's so amazing to me to watch my "little scouts" grow up and become such extraordinary women. 

Our troop loved hiking - or at least I told myself that as I pushed them onto various trails that would challenge them and hopefully have them appreciate a life away from the electronics!  So I really enjoyed the hike "Mel" chose during our visit.  A beautiful little park tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the city. I can't remember just now the name of the park (she'll have to remind me) but I took a ton of photos and this is the first painting from those photos.  There will definitely be more to come in the near future. Thank you Mel for a special day - really proud of what you're accomplishing.

September Sky

September Sky 9x6 pastel available $25.00

I thought I'd share a step by step pastel painting.  This is of a view I had while taking a walk down the road.  The sky was just beautiful.  And what was left of the wild flowers along the road popped with colors - I just had to paint it!

First layer of color laid down

 I've been trying to work on speed (I'm such a slow painter) and laid down the lights and darks.

Gamsol applied with a brush

I left the center of the sky alone because that was the brightest point and I really wanted that part to stand out and catch the eye.  That's what really caught me eye on my walk.  It was at this point that I began adding more color starting from the top of the painting and working my way down, and was so involved in the process that I forgot to take more step by step photos.

I really try to repeat the colors found in the sky to the ground so I added some of the purple and the blue from the clouds to surround the flowers - hopefully achieving a little harmony.