"Ripples in the Sky" pastel painting

Well, I didn't do any of my shopping, errands or chores today ... but I did finish this painting.  So that's an accomplishment.  Someday I may do more of my koi paintings, but for  now, I must start practising the techniques, surfaces and subject matter that we will be doing at Richard McKinley's workshop next month.  He uses white Kitty Wallis sanded paper and does a watercolor underpainting.  So, that is what I will be doing for a while.

Another fishy work in progress!

Yup, I'm just not done with fish yet.  (Sorry Liz!)  I hope I can pull this one off.  It is more complicated than the last one.  But it is fun and I'm learning a lot about water, movement and reflections.

Field Studies in Watercolor

After I got home I did some final touches on these two field studies done on my horseback ride in the sierras in the last post.  These are 5 x 7 on an Arches block.  The block I bought from the shop was too big for the saddlebag and they offered to cut it in half for me.  They suggested I put miskit (rubber mask) on the cut side so the watercolor doesn't seep to the next page.  It was a great idea and it worked very well!

Plein Air Painting via Horseback in the Back Country

An artist friend and I went for a trailride above Hope Valley, California.  We went on the Pacific Crest Trail.  We packed small watercolor kits and had lunch and painted by a beautiful lake.  Here are some pictures of this fun trip.

How do you like my stylish flymask?

"Koi Ripples" a pastel painting

It's done!  Yay!

More work on the Koi Fish

This is a really fun piece.  I can use colors that sit unused in my pastel box, and it is perfectly suitable for Koi Fish.  Also, the ripples distort the fish and make interesting abstract shapes. 

Koi Fish in progress

I have been out and about doing other things, so when I'm home I started a studio painting.  I have had the photo for years and have been wanting to do this so long!  I am using pastel on La Carte (Salmon colored).  I am not a professional photographer, but there was enough detail in the ripples and bubbles for me to study and try to reproduce here.  This will be a fun learning painting!  I bet my friend Liz would like to turn this into a needlepoint!