Mixed But Beautiful

This is my nephew's son that is mixed race. I am biased but I think he has a modeling career ahead of him. He is very photogenic and his look screams paint me. I'm sure as he matures you will see more images of him here on my blog.

Elk Crossing

 

I was last in Northern California in January. We took a trip to the Point Reyes National Seashore. The elk were all over the place plus other forms of wildlife. At times we would literally stop for a herd to cross the road. I was shooting in manual mode on my camera and some of the shots didnt get the details of the elk. I used one of those images as a jumping off point with regard to color. I did the initial drawing with a Keurotaki brush pen on St. Armand paper. I then added the pastel.

Sunflower Triad

Finally finished this one. I painted the flowers long ago and couldn't think of a background. Lately I have been playing with color theory. So one night this background popped into my mind. There you have it.

A Bridge At Sunset

This painting is from South Carolina. I was there last year and was smart enough to sketch and photograph as much as I could. This painting was inspired by a photograph. I hope to visit again just to paint and sketch.

Midday Tree Shadow

We got to the park at about 3 in the afternoon and the light was grey and a little flat. Pam asked if I could get anything out of the light. My response was that I could work in any light...as long as I have some shadows I enjoyed the light in the background because it challenged me to see the various greys in the atmosphere.

Jilted

I love painting the Gerbera daisy. I wish they came in variety packs with regard to color. The last a long time too. The title "Jilted" came to mind because the smaller more decayed flower reminded me of a jilted lover. The surface is an 8 by 8 inch piece of Wallis paper. I started out with a watercolor under painting and used a variety of pastels including Sennelier's iridescent colors. I added some purple highlights to the flowers to give it a bit of a bounce.

Pond Reflections Point Richmond

For years I have heard of using oil as an under painting for pastels. This was my first foray into it. I worked with black and white oils to establish the values and under painting. Once dry I added pastels. I have noticed that some of my values changed when I added color. I really think its best to adhere to the original value map. Fortunately I can make adjustments because I photographed the under painting. I was at Point Richmond and happy to be free of obligations for a while when I painted this. I used Fisher400 Art Paper as my surface. As to pastels I used Terry Ludwig and Rembrandt's. My desire here was to focus on the reflections in the pond and the limited foreground shadows.

Daisy Almost Undone

I love painting flowers that have just about reached their last stage. These daisy's were just about ready to wilt. I set my easel up near the kitchen counter. I started with an under painting in watercolor. I laid in both hard and soft pastel to finish it up. I also let parts of the under painting peek through. I am exploring color more and I like it. The surface is Fisher 400 art paper. It was created by someone in the UK. It is similar to Uart paper.

Wet Sand

When I last visited Fort Bragg, California I sat on the beach and painted a few trading card paintings. This is one of the studies that deserve enlarging.

Richmond Still Life

I like painting items in Pam's kitchen. The light is great and she has a lemon tree out front and a garden which includes tomatoes. The tin was new to me. I set the fruit and tin up in the kitchen and frankly painted the piece from multiple perspectives. That happens when I multitask. I played with color a bit too.

Soaking Friends

During a visit to McKinney Fall State Park I saw this group of people soaking in the water. I took a quick photo and this is the first painting. I liked the way the water distorted the shapes of their bodies.

Photogenic Friend

I used a photo from the nineties for this one. This is a family friend and distant cousin. She has always had striking features.

Approaching Wave Pastel

I used one of my plein air sketches as inspiration for this little pastel. I worked with a black surface because I'm geared that way. My pastel palette varies according to the painting. A skilled blogger once reviewed this space and encouraged me to discuss my process more. When I was younger I wrote a lot. I poured out my emotions on paper daily. As I grew older, I was less compelled to spell it out. So I, from now on I will discuss process more and also tools and medium.

North Texas Snow

I rarely get to see real snow where I currently live. This snow scene is from where I grew up in Commerce, Texas. A year or so ago we were treated with a really nice snow storm during Christmas. I of course went out with my camera to get some images. While I was shooting I was amazed at how peaceful it was to walk around my hometown while it was snowing.

Swept Away

I spent a lot of time playing with the waves during my last visit to Fort Bragg. I'm trying to improve my memory by painting waves as I remember them. Its an ongoing process because its art and exploration. It works best when I can sketch out what I see in a sketch pad using gouache.

Guiding Light

The entrance or one of many to Noyo Harbor. The lights that blink are almost hypnotic.

About Peace

The title comes from where I go when I see a beautiful sunset over the Pacific Ocean. I got a new sets of Terry Ludwig Pastels for the holidays. I've been taking them for a stroll. The under painting is watercolor and the surface is print making paper.

Clouds Through Treetops

In the evening I like to sit outside and watch clouds if we have them. I like how they dominate the tree tops with color and what appears to be volume.

Justin Study

This is a painting of my nephew Justin. I worked small for this color study. The next larger piece will be in watercolor.

J W Pastel

I used the sketch completed in Commerce as the jumping off point for the pastel version. The original sketch is below.