Florida color studies

two small Flordia studies: left 7x7, right, 8x10 pastel on BFK
When I am not painting in the studio with Sadie I am always managing to keep working to study my true love-the landscape.  The painting on the left is early morning- the values of the trees and mosses are so very close I had to nudge them a little to create more space. The painting on the right is an early evening painting, again the nudging took place. It's always amazing to me how very hard it is to acclimate to a new landscape. It takes a while to understand its nuances.
Sorry to answer everyone's comments so late. This morning I drove to Starbucks (which has free internet) at opening 5:30 so I could get it done before my morning vitamin. I value your input.

drawing tidbits; day 2

tidbits of the day:
*sketch your object, person, or landscape with straight lines. The mind does not accurately record curves...it understands angles.
*You want to make clear decisions so you need to work with a precision instrument. Sadie taught us to sharpen our pencils like a lance.
*Put down your hand between strokes, whether paint, pencil or pastel.
*Draw a portrait of every shape.... don't fudge it.

classical realism workshop

So here I am in Florida. I am taking a workshop with Sadie Valerie , a classical realist from San Francisco. I chose this workshop for many reasons. One, I read so many wonderful things about Sadie. Two, I wanted to learn more about glazing and traditional working methods. And three, it was the right time for my schedule (since I teach part time my time off is scheduled.)
Sadie is a wonderful giving teacher. She is here to share all she knows and we are here to absorb it.
The process I am learning is slow and somewhat pain- staking, but I am loving it. She says."art is investigation: the final painting or drawing is simply the result." "Look, look, look and when in doubt look more."
The whole day was spent in the drawing stage on a tiny 4x6 piece of tracing paper.  She encourages you to draw with straight lines and gradually find your way to the shape. Exact. Don't settle.
I am drawing my favorite beach stones from Nova Scotia. (Thanks Leah!)
The last moments were for transferring it to the board. When I have time I will write more...of course I have been painting landscapes on pastel when not in class. I will also answer past comments when time allows......till later!

PS sorry for the bad photo:-D

Oil underpainting/ spring sunrise

8x10 pastel on oil UArt
Painted a quickie sunrise. I used the oil underpainting I did a couple days ago as the base. My focus was on warm and cool. The whole thing was in my mind before I began since I have been watching this every day so it quickly painted itself.
I am at the airport, on my way to Florida... more about that tomorrow!
Spring is here and life is good!

Spring and Wolf Kahn lecture in May

6x12 pastel on BFK
Spring begins today in one something in the afternoon. It's easy to see how the colors are changing. Warm oranges and pinks show tiny buds on trees. The tree barks are warming with slight amounts of green. (nice contrast) When I arrived at the lake it was filled with fisherman, first time since summer. The kingfishers were talking in the trees. Oh, this time of year is glorious!!!!!
Heads up for anyone in the DC area and surrounding states. I just learned that Wolf Kahn will he at Glen Echo's Yellow barn to give a lecture May 21. The price is steep. $70.00, but well worth it. Here's a link. If you come in town, let me know. I bought my ticket already.

value masses and oil underpainting for pastel

All this talk about underpainting and paper possibilities makes me branch out and rethink.  Here is an oil underpainting for my next pastel....on Uart paper.
And.......

8x8 pastel on bfk
With the time change sunrise is much later. It makes timing quite easy for stopping my the side of the road for a little quickie sunrise painting while on my way elsewhere. This little hill is down the street from me. I tried to focus on what was important and not fuss with details. You ask, what was important? It's the two masses of contrasting values. I tried not to break up the land mass too much even though the house was lighter. Just a study.

spring's coming

6x10 pastel on BFK
Soft is the word I can use to describe what pastel on top of pastel can do.

thinking about underpaintings: watercolor vs. pastel

8x8 pastel on BFK This morning's sunrise.

 pastel on watercolor underpainting, Uart

This week Richard wrote about pastel as an underpainting (link here). And then, Sam, after reading it, had some questions in my comment section. I have been fortunate to work with Richard for many years. I consider him my mentor. He is a very gracious, generous teacher with a great sense of humor... not to mention all the amazing information he has stored in his head. (WOW) If you can, treat yourself with one of his workshops.
I learned watercolor underpainting from him. Watercolor makes a vibrant surface from which to work. When used loosely, slip and slosh (the Richard way), it makes a perfect underpainting from which a pastel can evolve, little by little as if solving a mystery. Oil works the same way and is great for studio works. The stain it leaves on the paper is even more intense. Drips and wonderful accidents are all part of the process. To underpaint with either watercolor or oil you need to use a sanded paper. Big paintings must be mounted and small ones can be taped done to a board (UArt paper works great for this.) I used that method to create the bottom painting. Pastelmat accepts watercolor and oil beautifully, although I find that the marks made are firmer and harder to blend.
 Rives BFK is my new favorite. Smooth, yet lightly porous it's a wonderful all purpose pastel paper. When using it I underpaint by rubbing in large shapes or bands of color with a paper towel. It creates a soft feeling (top painting.)
Other options are putting your pastel on a sanded surface and rubbing it in with a paper towel - some times paper towel bits also remain, which is a minor bummer. Pipe insulation is a great tool for blending pastels on sanded paper. It does the work so your wounded fingers are saved. (try that Sam)
Using alcohol or turpentine to move the pastel over the surface is another option. Once again you need sanded paper. I did try this method long ago. I couldn't get past the idea of making pastel do  paint's job...why not use paint? A bias of mine I guess.
Water is a method  for moving pastel which I don't like. I think it is clumpy and my bias is still there.
Everyone has his/her preferences and those are mine. If you have a new way to add please let us know.
Happy painting, whichever way you choose!

differences in paper, differences in style, diffferences in thought

8x8 pastel on BFK
Changing my paper from a sanded surface(wallis, Uart)  to a smooth surface (rives BFK) has changed my work style in many ways. It's funny because it changed my style and then it changed my thinking. First, I no longer do a watercolor underpainting, instead I underpaint with bands of rubbed in color (pastel) which I believe has helped my color harmony. The second change is harder to explain and I think that has happened because now I work in glazes of oil as well (on separate paintings). It relates to how I view layers of warm and cool. The methods I am employing in oil are part of my repertoire in pastel.
One more good thing about smooth papers is that I have fingers and fingernails without abrasions or scraped off nails. And that feels really good.
Oh, by the way Daniel Smith Artist Materials has a great selection of papers, of which I ordered a plethora last night. They have 20% off till tomorrow with the promotional code WR0310CT. Enjoy!
Bottom line, change is good. Shake up your methods a little, take chances and have a little fun.

more close value trees, a little Tryon and a little Wolf Kahn

mine,5x7pastel Dwight William Tryon

 Wolf Kahn

This is another painting from yesterday's plein air painting. I was thinking, no obsessing would be the correct word, about that row trees I painted on Saturday. It sparked comments on my blog about trees, painting, Dwight William Tryon and Wolf Kahn. So I sifted through Wolf Kahn  and Tryon images in books and online.

Here is one of each Tryon's and Wolf Kahn's paintings. While there are many differences in these paintings I believe there is one thing we have in common. The love of the ordinary: painting something others would just drive by. This is what these trees are about. There is no reason to go driving about looking for grandeur.  Recently I saw a wonderful blog by Rachel Maxi. She paints dumpsters. Yes folks, dumpsters! Each one beautiful and unique with personality.  The ordinary seen with beauty.  Here is a  link. 

I guess it makes me once again examine what I paint and why. Have you thought about why you chose your subject?  What draws you to it? More later.

close values and big daddy

6x12 pastel on BFK
Still raining, sometimes it's pouring and sometimes it's just a slow weep. Therefore I painted "en plein car" again. The overcast rainy land has close values with layering of warm and cool. Springtime is evident in the blush of rose now in every tree.
This is "big daddy" again. He still stands even though the construction around him is still in full force. Here is a link back to my Autumn version of "big daddy." it's funny how I find him most attractive when the light is low, especially in rain.
Thank you everyone for all your support and your comments about my work. I REALLY appreciate that you take the  time to give your thoughts. No thought or idea is too small or insignificant. You keep me thinking and wondering... but without being in a vacuum.

adjusting what you see and Dwight William Tryon

6x12 pastel on BFK

Pouring rain and strong winds kept me in the car this morning. I only had a few sheets of 6x12s, which made it a challenge when I chose to paint a straight row of trees. Decisions about placement and how to break up the strong horizontal straight line feel were important. Colors and shapes were manipulated. Very subtle changes of warm and cool were used to make it calm yet still visually exciting (hopefully.) I couldn't help but think of Dwight William Tryon.

While writing this post I searched online and found this image of his. Doesn't it just make you drool? It really makes me feel small, like I should just stop now. Still, I never give up. I will use it as inspiration for my next piece. I think I need to go downtown to the Freer Gallery to take in a little more Tyron.While many artists say Spring is the hardest time to paint...just too pretty,  I think Tryon relished it. I found this blog when searching for  images to share. The Blue Lantern, arts journalism for the love of it  was an enjoyable read, check it out when you have time.

griailles and what I have learned

8x10 oil grisaille

Practice has taught me that a grisaille needs to have VERY soft edges. It is much better to make the decisions of sharpness as the painting evolves. When they are pre-decided it's almost impossible to change.
I have also learned that, for me, warm is better. I have experimented with mixtures of burnt sienna, transparent earth red, alizarin crimson permanent, and transparent brown oxide. Who knows what will be next? Each painting demands a slightly different mixture....it's like cooking. Do you ever put the same spices in each dish? Nope. 
Ideas come first, but yet the grisaille must be allowed to speak. Make a "mistake"...who knows that could be the most wonderful change. Follow your heart and your brain.  They lead differently and they will take turns if you value both;-D

drive and stop, quiet divas

8x8 pastel on BFK
I decided it would be better to go to the same place as yesterday. It was overcast and certainly not an ooh la la moment. I chose the sky to be the diva. She wasn't the kind of sky that yells, "look at me." Oh no, she was a whisperer in quiet clothes. Her beauty was in her quietness.

drive and stop

8x8 pastel on BFK
Today's challenge was to drive only 5 minutes and stop- make a painting.  What I chose was Candy Cane Park. The geese were enjoying  the field and its giant puddle. Color harmony was my main goal.

another much better nocturne and more whistler quotes

6x16 oil on wood
Another try at a memory nocturne. Pushed the value of the land to be darker which implies about 4:00am, while yesterdays' was right before sunrise. I am working on wood again..birch this time-love it!
Scratching, rubbing and stroking the oil paint to experiment with what it will do.


I will once again end with two famous quotes from James Abbott McNeill Whistler in reference to his nocturnes:

They are "not painted to offer the portrait of a particular place, but as an artistic impression that had been carried away [from the scene]."

I wanted to indicate an artistic interest alone, divesting the picture of any outside anecdotal interest which might have otherwise attached to it. A nocturne is an arrangement of line, form and colour first. the picture is throughout a problem, that I attempt to solve. I make use of any means, any incident or object in nature that will bring about this symmetrical result.

He said these quotes during the court case Whistler vs. Ruskin. This was the case where Whistler became bankrupt. He risked everything for an opportunity to assert the supremacy of art over the increasingly powerful domain of criticism (Ruskin). Yay Whistler!

memory nocturne

6x11 oil on wood
Memory  just takes in what's important. I keep practicing to heighten my awareness to the initial impression. What made the impact?
Here is a small painting done solely from memory. I used a scrap of wood  given to me from my buddies down at the lumber yard. I LIKE wood. Firm, not fragile.

I close with a favorite quote from James Abbott Mcneill Whistler.
"To say to the painter that Nature is to be taken as she is, is to say to the player that he may sit on the piano."
He must have been quite a character!

writing, painting and postcards

10x12 pastel on BFK

The colors at the lake are changing rapidly. The violets are giving way to greens and rose blush. It's an exciting time of year. My different way of working is helping me. Each time I arrive at the scene I take time to observe and just write down exactly what I see, rather than start painting. I must admit it's a difficult thing to do since I can't wait to paint and the light is just perfect and changing fast. It's a good discipline though. After the light changes I now rely on my notes.

Now to the postcard.......

First a thank you to folks with written comments:

Chris

Double D (PB)

SamArtDog (Sam)

Casey Klahn

Maggie Latham

Ipskipskyblue (Domi)

Leah

Karen E. Lewis

Nika

Joanne

Jala Pfaff

Mario

elly

Janelle Goodwin

Kaylyn

Pam Holnback

Takeyce

Marie

Anonymous

Brian McGurgan

Katherine van Schoonhoven

I have posted their blog links. If you don't know their blog, please take a moment to check it out. These artists are doing great stuff. From Janelle's luminous landscapes to Mario's Pastel News to Sam's dogs and things to Jala's serene abstracts to Casey's well watched "The Colorist," they all all making art news. I can go on and on. All are interesting, worthwhile blogs. (PS the gray ones are links)

Thank you to emailers and verbal commenters, all very numerous. Carolyn, the person who helped me with the creation of a press release, made astute comments that Katherine reiterated. They swayed the vote. Two images are being worked with for the postcard at this point are:
Buttercups and Needwood. The show is about the transition times of light, dawn, dusk, and  twilight. And a postcard image needs to be eye catching and recognizable....enough to make a person want to look twice it eliminated slough (my personal fave.) It's funny too that I had to eliminate daisies/mom... it was too personal. It is named Hope and Longing and was painted for my Mom who fought cancer and died.
The graphics people will take over from here and decisions will be made based on other factors I am not able to fully explain.
Once and THANK YOU!!! xxooo Loriann

green tinted morning and whistler

10x10 pastel on BFK
Whistler's method was to go out at night, stand before his subject and look at it, then turn his back on it and repeat to whoever was with him the arrangement, the scheme of color,with as much of the detail as he wanted. The listener corrected errors when they occurred, and, after Whistler had looked long enough, he went to bed with nothing in his head but the subject.  The next morning, if he could see upon the untouched canvas the completed picture, he painted it; if not, he passed another night looking at the subject.
So today when I painted I first looked closely and took written color notes.  After completing that I did some work and later finished it in the studio. I will use the "sleep on it" method next.

I will post the outcome of the voting tomorrow. I have to compile the online, emails and verbal votes. Thanks everyone for all your input. I really appreciate the time you took to look and comment. Voting closes today at 8:00PM . Have a wonderful warm weekend! (Here it's finally warm!, Yay!)

dipytch, oil, in process

each panel is 16x16, oil on linen
This diptych has been on the easel for a couple of weeks. Each day I have painted and rubbed out most of the work. The glazing combined with scraping and rubbing has made richer, more complex color. It's especially noticeable in the reflections in the water.
This painting was inspired by all my work at the slough when I was in Washington State this summer. These links will take you to the pieces that inspired everything: link 1 , link 2 , link 3

It's funny that while I admire the quiet colors of the Tonalist. I will never be one, it's simply not in my heart. My colors are just different.

Thank you to everyone for all the votes I received about which postcard image. I will take votes till Saturday and then send the image. So if you haven't had a chance, please give me your feedback. K?

picking a postcard image-I need your help please

Second post today, a plea for help. I am picking a post card image. Sometimes you just know...this time I don't. I think it is because I have been working on a painting, hoping it would be the one......that IS ALWAYS dangerous! Well the time is here and these are the choices.
Please everyone come out of the the woodwork and comment on your choice.

code:
top left- buttercups
top right-needwood
second down left -slough
second down right-snow
third down left- topaz reservoir
third down right-daisies /Mom
bottom- green fog

march melt

10 x10 pastel on BFK
The lake is melting and the light was low. The values were closer than I showed. I darkened the tree mass in front to create distance.
Spring is in the air. You can see it in the tree edges. They have a pink/red tint; in sun, it appears orange. Love it!

Dwight William Tryon, mystery and memory

10x10 pastel on gray BFK

I was down at the Freer Gallery of Art the other day, there to get my hit of Whistler, and I was led astray. It was  Dwight William Tryon who captured my heart and made me go NUTS! These small images can't possibly do justice to what was there. Tryon is often considered a Tonalist, although his palette is much lighter in value.. He painted with close values, thick paint and very soft edges. He believed in "less is more" and mystery.
Later I read that he marked these words to remind himself as he worked in his studio:
“The value of memory sketches lies in the fact that so much is forgotten! In time we must learn to leave out in our finished pictures these things which we now leave out through ignorance or forgetfulness. We must learn what to sacrifice.”
Ah ha! That says it all doesn't it?
Perfect!

I have posted a recent value study. To keep the values closer I chose gray paper. My goal was to play with edge and shape. It was inspired by sketches done last summer at one of my favorite fields on Whidbey Island.

monotype and Degas

monotypes with pastel
In my quest to read more about monotype I have learned many interesting aspects of Degas' explorations of monotype. He used three different methods of inking the plate. 1. subtractive-he inked the plate and subtracted ink 2. he painted ink on the plate 3. He mixed both methods-brushing, wiping even using his fingerprints. This was his cuisine approach. Autumn Landscape by Degas is an excellent example.
What do I like about monotype? Loss of control and flying with the wind. Not only do you get the reverse, but the ink will "have its way with you."A surprise is around every corner.

I have now tried all three methods. And now I know I like the smorgasbord- cuisine approach

Above:
Two monotypes with pastel top: bfk, underneath: mulberry
Adding pastel after is a different kind of surprise.
1. 3rd print, more ink again on ghost print, mulberry
2. 2nd print, slightly more ink added to ghost print, mulberry
3. 1st print, on bfk, ink
Oh, two big changes this time-1. used etching ink-very sticky

2. used a piece of plexiglass (I wanted  a square) I thought I would look at it on the reverse as I worked but I was so caught up in the process I even forgot!

diptych pastel, grisaille and thumbnails

pastel on BFK,  2 panels 6"x6"  and its grisaille (bottom)
Yes, I know I am at a period of transition and struggle..does that mean that it's time to slide under the radar? Nope. I have decided that you may watch me struggle. Thank you Jala for your help.
These are the two parts for my new diptych. I haven't done a diptych since summer, but suddenly I had an idea.
I am working on a oil diptych as well.  I  toned two canvases (16x16 each) with a luscious orange /pink, then made a grisaille on top . I continue to work with these still..same thoughts, different process.
Deep breath.

Thumbnail color studies- This is the one I chose(bottom and much pinker.)