April 29, 2008 The Party is Waiting

8x8 pastel and watercolor on wallis board sold
My favorite section of Connecticut Ave., this time I am looking the other way towards the Avalon Theater. I loved the little guy who seems to be racing toward a party at the Avalon.

April 28, 2008 Stillness in Violet

8x9, pastel and watercolor on marble board
Quiet and beautiful, that's the canal at "big pool."

April 27, 2008 Less is More

14x17 pastel with oil underpainting
I have been working on this one for awhile now. I was ready to give up and then I had an idea and finally it is starting to come together. Less is more.
The location on the canal (beside the river) near Cabin John. I want to live in that little NPS house. Can you see it back there?

April 26, 2008 River Farm

8x10, pastel and watercolor on wallis
River Farm was my destination today. It's way over on the other side of the city...thus hard to get to on weekday morning rush hour. (Imagine a painting rush hour?!?) The farm is one of George Washington's. Its view is from above the Potomac which makes it worth the drive.
The lovely Washington haze has begun to settle in for the summer. That, combined with the spring colors, wows me!

April 25, 2008 Around the Bend

I just figured out that yesterday's entry was blog painting number 200. Celebrate!
Oh, and I want to add another reason why I paint, a totally selfish reason - I paint to surprise/astonish myself! It can be so cool.

April 24, 2008 Muddy River

8x10 pastel and watercolor on wallis board
The river is very full of water and glorious red mud. The contrast of the mud to the baby greens is compelling.
Today I met a someone on the canal who was full of questions of how an artist makes decisions and why. While I can only speak for myself..... it's true I don't set out to duplicate nature, nor do I think I can make it "better." I simply try to make a painting that makes a feeling, a kind of peace in this crazy world. How about you other artists out there?

April 23, 2008 Big Sky and Spring Green

5.25x6 pastel and watercolor on wallis board
The field in Potomac is beginning to show its green. Everything is bursting out GREEN! Skies are changing.

April 22, 2008 Waiting at the Curb on Connecticut

8x10, pastel and watercolor on wallis board
Connecticut Avenue right near Bread and Chocolate and Child's Play, it's a happening corner. There is always a good umbrella or a running pedestrian. Check out Childe Hassam's amazing rain landscapes, they are inspiring!

April 21, 2008 Violet Reflections on Connecticut Avenue

7 1/2 x9 pastel and watercolor on wallis board
Standing on Connecticut Ave in the rain is a challenge, especially when you are using pastel and watercolor, both incompatible to rain. So I finally decided to take the picture and go back to the studio. Anyone out there have any outdoor rain tricks to share? I am really starting to like the watercolor underneath. What do you think?

April 20, 2008 Canal Early Morning

9x7, pastel and watercolor on marble dust board
Spring's challenge is all the wonderful green. It's worth it.

April 19, 2008 Tangerine and Silver Vibes

5x11, pastel and watercolor on wallis board
Hard to see in my photo because this is a very high key painting. The light was just vibrating off the water, almost blinding. The river is always different!

April 18, 2008 Pink Lace

5x5 pastel and watercolor on wallis board
Spring colors on the river are so sensitive and delicate, like lace.

April 17, 2008 Peek-a-boo River

9x12, pastel and watercolor on wallis
A beautiful peek through the trees to see the light-soaked river. Ah!

April 16, 2008 Golden by the Bend

7x9, pastel and watercolor on wallis
Late afternoon trip to the river and I saw a whole new light. In addition, I explored a place I had never been before. Of course, I was in search of bluebells. This time there were only a few. I think that it simply wasn't swampy enough. At this point of the river the towpath and river are very far apart- maybe 1/4 mile. It simply amazes me that we, in this area, are so fortunate to have 185 miles of undeniable access to the river. Where else in this country can you get that?

April 15, 2008 Dazzling Light on the Bluebells

about 8x8, pastel and watercolor on wallis
The way the light penetrates the leafless trees adds an extra sparkle to sunlit passages of bluebells. This morning, as I stood in the woods surrounding the river I all of a sudden noticed a very male presence. The footsteps were just feet away. My heart raced. I turned around to find a teenage buck wondering what I was doing in HIS turf. Phew! Ah! The wonders of the river never cease to amaze me.

April 14, 2008 Bluebell Morning

7x 7 1/2 pastel and watercolor on wallis
I am back to the wonderful bluebells and the river, of course! Do you love spring?

April 13, 2008 Bluebells by the River

8x10 pastel and watercolor on board
The river was awesome today. At the beginning of spring, before the trees break out in rich foliage, the ground is covered in flowers. My favorites are bluebells. Today, out on one of my favorite little islands, the ground was thick with bluebells. Wow! I was just on a walk with my camera, but I ran back to the car for my pastels! It turns out that I like this little one and I'm glad I did it. No photo can do justice to the beauty of nature.

April 12, 2008 underpainting for canal painting

14 x17 oil underpainting
I realized that I was making a big mistake once I took out the oils.....mixing the local colors. Daag...I can't believe I did that! An artist's job is not to just observe and record (anyone can do that! Instead it is to feel and create a feeling. So I started with a sketch and some photos from the canal. I love the foggy peaceful feeling the canal has when it is empty and the sun peaks through the fog. A feeling of possibility for the day to come and wonder of what our world really is. My compromise to oils was to under -paint on my favorite prepared board. This is that under -painting. My goal was to get the feeling with just the oil alone. Now, let the pastels begin!

April 11, 2008

I don't like today's painting... so I have chosen not to post. ..oils...humph!

April 10, 2008 The Gorge through the Fog

5x7, oil on gessoed masonite
I didn't want to post this today since I am feeling like such a beginner again. Relearning is hard and then to expose yourself to anyone looking...yipes!
This morning was simply amazing to be outside on the river and warm and comfortable. The fog was thick. WTOP was announcing its pea soup fog horn (you just have to be here to know that one.)
As far as oils, I do like playing with edges and it means a whole different thing than pastels because gooey paint can make its own edge.

April 9, 2008 Morning View of Oxford

6x8, oil on single primed linen on board
Oils and pastels are so different. I love the weight, all that oil and pigment to mush around. You put the pigment down and there is so much room to move it around....VERY different from pastel. And edges!!!!!! Extra pigment makes an edge! WOW! Single primed had too much drag for me, or maybe it was that galkyd.

Dreamy Clouds in Potomac

6x8, oil on double primed Belguim linen on board
OK, so I am having fun already and my new colors from Gamblin have not even arrived! I did most of my color charts but my impatience to paint kept knocking at my door. So with a day hiatus I let it in. Not only will I be trying new colors (so many are available now that weren't before) and making the switch from pastel to oil, I will also be trying different surfaces to see which suit my pastel to oil needs. I like the juicy nature of the oils and the flexibility. With pastels changing things can easily get muddy.

April 6, 2008 Light on the Gorge

Today I came back to the gorge painting full of ideas. I knew just what to do. It's hard to tell by the photo the light rays are much more yellow. After a day of work I need to stop and refuel, decide what is next on this. I had my new Munsell color wheel by my side to assist my color choices. My dominant hue is purple with blue purple and red purple as my side kicks, complement is a green with yellow and discords orange yellow and blue green. I tried to keep my discord to my focal point.
Now I will go on to color charts in oil. Recently I have been having dreams about painting in smooshy oils. Long again that was all I would use. The painting of mums at the top was from the period of my life where for 3 years I only painted mums (in oils.) So I think I going back to see what oils can do for me. To see if what I have learned in pastel will help me make luminous oils. Therefore I may be absent for a few weeks as I try to figure it out. Or if things go well you may hear from me before.

April 4, 2008 The View

15x20, pastel and watercolor on board
Finished this today with not much time for anything else. The clouds needed reshaping.

April 3, 2008 Twilght on River

8x10, pastel and watercolor on board
Ah, the river! I love the way the haze settles in and the moisture in the atmosphere makes the colors dance.

April 2, 2008, View Across

same dimensions, more marble dust, binder and pastel (almost looks like a different painting, eh?)
So I found the limits of my marble dust/binder on board. But no, that didn't stop me ( fool?). Instead I just painted more binder loaded with marble on top of my painting. It just wasn't working! I guess it's because the light was not understood. This is better. Twenty-seven layers later...I may have to apply fixative to this! I think I will stop now and go to bed. Sleep on it than I will know what to do. Comments?
Thanks for your cloud poem Elly!

April 1, 2008 Dramatic Clouds over the Eastern Shore

16x20, pastel and watercolor, step three, Dramatic Clouds over the Eastern Shore
Clouds seem like they should be easy to paint...but then again how to you give the feeling of water vapor with light coming through? It has form, but then again it's amorphous.