Sky light, 12 x 18, Wallis

During some hot, humid weather last week, I opted to stay in and work on a new portrait of Charlie. I got a photo of him sitting in the front hall with light from the sky light casting his shadow on a red Turkish kilim. A main challenge was the composition, given his shadow moving off to the left and his tail to the right. So I positioned him pretty centrally to make it all fit. I didn't want his face to be too far to the left. The 12 x 18 format worked perfectly. The next challenge was to simplify the background, leaving out the staircase. I just brushed in various green Giraults, with some added rose color and blue greens and it worked nicely. The biggest problem was the rug. I wanted to simplify it, but my first attempts didn't work at all. I finally had to draw in a pattern (simpler than the actual rug) and indicate where it was in light and shadow through value and temperature changes. Of course, the beauty of the picture is the reflected pink light on his white fur.  Charlie is a beautiful cat and I feel fortunate to have such a lovely model!

Clarksburg Farm, 16 x 20, Wallis Belgian mist

This is the farm I was looking for when I discovered the old house in the last post. On the top is the finished painting; on the bottom the underpainting done all in hard pastel and sprayed.  I got up early and spent the day in the studio painting and enjoying every moment! 

Years ago I painted this farm in a 9 x 24 format and I made the farm buildings yellow to give them some color. This time, I wanted to retain their off-white color, using soft blues and blue violets.

I like the 16 x 20 format as it gives me enough room for sky, fields and buildings. One of the things I love about farms is the grouping of various sizes of buildings and how well the seem to work together. This farm has always been one of my favorites. 

Abandoned, 14 x 21 pastel on board

Another plein air begun outside and finished in the studio. I found this wonderful old house in Clarksburg on a road I hadn't been on. I was actually lost and looking for something else when I found this!  The house is abandoned and the windows are broken. There are locust trees growing in the front and several large catalpas on the other side. I know I will return to this subject again.

This is painted on matboard with two coats of tinted Art Spectrum liquid primer. I used a combination of burnt umber and burnt sienna to tone the gel. It makes a nice warm neutral on which to work.

Spring Wheat, Sugar Loaf, 12 x 16, pastelbord and House on Peach Tree and Comus Roads, 12 x 16, pastelmat

It's plein air time again and I took advantage of a beautiful day on Saturday to paint two scenes from the same spot. I was taken by the deep blue green of Sugar Loaf (our only "mountain" in Montgomery County) and the light color of the wheat, which sometimes looked warm and other times looked cool.  After finishing this picture, I turned my easel around 180 degrees and painted this house. The view from the window is exactly what I had just painted! When the light hit it, I knew I had a great subject.

Plein air paintings: sunny and overcast days





In between rain storms and a bad back, I've been painting outside, either on my own or with a small class. I've been twice to Lake Needwood. This first painting was done on a day when the sun was shinging (rare!) and the shadows were distinct. I decided to work more quickly, focusing on shapes, and to use brighter, more saturated pieces of color. I worked on Pastelmat, a relatively smooth pastel surface that allows for beautiful applications of pastel.


Light and Shadow, 11.75 x 16.5, pastelmat

This second painting was done with my class later in the same week. It was an overcast day, with little direct light. The colors were more subtle, but beautiful.

The light of an overcast day, 12 x 11.75, pastelmat

Prague and Budapest

The colors of Prague, 5 x 7 pastel on board

We loved Prague! Had a great room by the river overlooking the cathedral on the hill. A wonderful walking city and so many beautiful buildings. This was a particularly colorful view (of course I took a few liberties with the typical gray building on the right). Also wanted to capture the lovely aqua onion dome.








Side Street, Prague, 5 x 7 pastel on board

Another street scene in a completely different color palette. The streets around our hotel were full of views like this, making it a joy to explore.









Along the Vlatava (Moldau) 5 x 7, pastel on board

I was so excited to see the Moldau for the first time, having fallen in love with Smetana's piece when I first became aquainted with classical music. This view was typical of the beautiful churches, spires, and colorful rooftops.

Back Street View, Budapest, 5 x 7, pastel on board

I loved the color and shape of the spire on this church. Budapest is a fascinating city. We were on the Pest side, in an art nouveau hotel, but, alas, no view of the river, as in Prague.

Note: all miniatures are for sale for $125, including shipping.

Salzburg, Austria and environs.

Alpine vista (view from the Eagle's Nest), 5 x 7, pastel on board

While in Salzburg, we took a trip to the German Alps to the Eagle's Nest, a building atop a mountain peak, built as a 50th birthday present for Hitler. The scenery from there was quite lovely. I tried to ignore the Hitler aspect and focus on the mountains and wildflowers.





Sidestreet in Salzburg, 5 x 7, pastel on board

The city of Salzburg is really lovely. Unfortunately, it was quite hot when we got there. One of my fascinations with our trip was the variety of church steeples and towers, and I tried to focus on these in the miniatures.

Rooftops of Salzburg,

5 x 7 pastel on board


This is a scene from early evening, at a restaurant high on a hill with a lovely view of the roof tops and the dome and spires of the cathedral.

Note: All miniatures are for sale for $125, including shipping.