Sometimes Good Things Happen!

We artists who enter juried and non-juried shows have to deal with some rejections and keep on going.  Art, after all, is a subjective thing.  One juror may love your work, and another doesn't select it.  It is all part of the game.  So, this year, after several "denials" into juried shows I entered, the same paintings won awards in another show!

I am honored to share with you that my paintings "Flick of the Tail" and "The Pond" both won awards in the Sierra Pastel Society Spring Membership Show this month!  I was entered in the Signature Category and both one an Award of Excellence ribbon and award money.

This was a wonderful and beautiful show, all beautiful paintings and strong competition!  We have some very talented artists in the Sierra Pastel Society!

An artist never goes on vacation!

5 x 8 watercolor sketch

...because artists can never stop working!  We are in Aruba - our first time.  It has been a little cloudy here, but when the sun comes out we can really see that "Carribean Blue" color.  Gorgeous!

One thing that is happening here that we are not used to - when we turn on our little camera and the lens comes out - it fogs up!  I took this picture of my little sketch out on our balcony and it fogged up.  So, my painting has the "misty" look to it.

This cute little ship is the Jolly Pirate - one of the many snorkel and tour boats you can go out on.  The other day we went on a very nice catamaran boat and went snorkeling in 10 feet of water.  It was fun, we saw lots of colorful fish, sponge plants, a pipe fish, and even a sea turtle resting on the bottom.

Two recent plein air paintings in oil....

I have been painting outside on location every week.  And these paintings have been drying in the studio and some of them I'd like to touch-up.  Sometimes when you paint outside, you think you get the values right and it looks OK there - outside - and then you come home and look at it indoors......and it looks so different!  Sometimes too dark, sometimes too light....funny.

Anyway, here are two that I did recently and have not touched up yet.

View of Jobe's Peak from Dangberg Ranch, Minden, NV

View of Mt. Tallac from Tahoe Keys

I just did a big, long post on the Reno Tahoe Plein Air Painters Blog.  Not pictures of me or my work so much, but great pictures of our day painting at different locations.  Check it out!

"Transcending Into Spring" pastel painting

9 x 12 pastel

This painting began plein air.  I began with a watercolor underpainting and then began to pastel over it.  At home, I continued painting, layer upon layer....using workable fixative between each layer.

This is a portion of Little Washoe Lake where the willows and marshes are.  The grasses were just beginning to poke up through the old dead, flattened grasses and the red stick willows were fading to a softer color.  I'll have to go back in a week or two and I bet the colors will be very different now that Spring is warming the air a little bit here in the high desert.

"Down By The Pond" pastel painting

12 x 9 pastel on panel

This painting has been re-worked!

It was horizontal before - 2 blog posts past -

I decided to hose it off in the backyard and start over!  The first attempt prepared me for this second one.  I have to admit - I haven't painted a green landscape very much!

Lots of paint-outs!

Yesterday I went painting with two friends in South Meadows area of Reno.  We had a great view and we plan to come back.  be sure to check renotahoepleinairpainters.blogspot.com  for more details if you would like to attend.  Below is my painting - for once I was really happy how my painting came out!

8 x 10 oil on panel

About a week ago I joined Sierra Pastel Society's spring paint-out.  It was held at a ranch near Auburn, Calif.  For a high desert resident - it was WONDERFUL to see green-green-green!

My friend Kathy's easel

9 x 12 pastel

This painting of mine above needs more work.....

The week prior, I joined the Greater Sacramento and Sierra Chapter of the California Art Club's paint-out in Loomis, Calif. at the Flower Farm.

oil on panel

20 or so artists were all over the property painting

cute fancy chickens lived here

they have an earlier spring than we do....

Step-by-Step Pastel Demonstration

"Light on the Peak" 12 x 9 pastel on blue/green Sennelier La Carte

OK, it has been a long time since I've posted!!!  I won't go into the boring details WHY.  I have FINALLY finished a painting I started about a month ago!  So, since you have been so patient, waiting to hear from me....here is a special treat:  a step by step demonstration of this painting from start to finish!  Woo-hoo!!!  This is your lucky day!

I started this project by driving over to Lake Tahoe to see a friend's art show reception and stopped for a quick paint from inside my car at Sand Harbor.  I did my quick paint in watercolor:

12 x 9 watercolor plein air

I also took a photo.  At home in the studio I started blocking in with pastel on a blue-green colored Sennelier La Carte support:

Next, laying in more pastel....doing a little blending to get it into the tooth.  I don't want much blue-green to show through because it will cool the picture too much.

...and more pastel...getting more definition of the fore and middle ground....

...and then....working on the trees a little and adjusting values between the fore, middle and backgrounds....

...and...now focusing on  describing the focal point - adding contrasting colors and values in that area....and softening other areas that call attention away from the point of interest.  Finding areas that don't work (like the right-hand peak took away from the main peak.  And, I'm done!  Signed!