The Hill beside the Church

4x7 pastel and watercolor on Uart
Today was sort of odd, mostly overcast, but yet I swear the light was gold.
I did this one yesterday because I am leaving now to visit relatives in Pennsylvania. We are celebrating my nephew's first birthday. I hate missing a day of painting...it makes me feel so unbalanced! Habit is a very good thing.

March 15, 2008 Overlooking the Potomac River

5x7, pastel and watercolor on board, $100. plus tax and ship
Sometimes the impression of the scene is beautiful and I just go for it even though the whole thing is just so confusing. This was one of those. It was overcast with rain coming in soon. The icy green Potomac glowed through the layers and layers of spring pink trees. A strip of land (Virginia) was in the far distance and the towpath was down below the big hill. I simply put in color notes, not painting things at all. It was more like sculpting with color.
This trail was a brand new to me. I love exploring new land.... maybe I should have lived in the 1700s.

March 5,2008 Late Afternoon Light in March

6x7 pastel and watercolor on board
I posted this yesterday with the wrong date. Today I reworked it and am reposting with yesterday's date (the correct one.) Now for today's work.
This late afternoon I was on my way down to the river and I had one of those...irk, stop, look, drool, oh, my! It was dramatic and blinding. No camera could catch it since it was back lit. The thing was I only had a very small amount of time to catch it for it would change quickly. So I quickly painted the main light and dark shapes. No time for fussing. Yellow lights, purple darks, then note some color nuances with pastel. It's raw, but still, I like the feel if light, the impression of the moment. The forms grew on their own. I simply recorded the light. Maybe I will use this and some photos to create a bigger, more finished one.

January 18, 2008 Snowy Prayer

8x8, pastel on board, $100. plus tax and ship
Yesterday's beautiful big snow flakes made for great picture taking. Even better still, the photos all appear in gray values. That means fun for me as I strive to paint the beautiful soft feeling that the snow created. I wanted it to seem like it was snowing without placing flakes. I used a pre-selected very limited palette on top of a watercolor under painting. I like this one.