Field Study - plein air pastel painting

9 x 6 pastel

When the weather becomes mild temperatures and no wind - you have to seize the moment!  That is what I did here.  I packed my mini pastel box and loaded my horse in the trailer and we went to Washoe Lake.  There was still patchy snow on the desert hills, and we went up there, following a dirt road.  After a while, the snow got deeper and I decided to lead him back down.  Don't want him to slip on slushy snow with me on his back.  I had my insulated snow-riding boots on - with tread - so I was fine sloshing through the snow.  When we got back to the trailer he was happy to "nap" there while I did this little pastel field study from the picnic benches.

"Open to Change" another Bodie, California painting

I finished this one today.  It was started with watercolor pencils and watercolor, and then I finished it up with Prismacolor traditional colored pencils. 

I have started another Bodie sketch while babysitting Baby Whit.  This is a good medium to take to babysit.  Baby Whit is starting to smile more and interact!  I am thinking about illustrating my own little book for him.  More on that later....

"Orange Edges" pastel painting

"Orange Edges" 8 x 10 pastel

Just finished this painting today.  It is done on dark purplish suede matboard.  Getting green and orange to look natural together was more of a challenge than I thought it would be!

A watercolor/drawing I'm working on - another scene from Bodie

I now have a part-time job - my daughter is going back to work and her mother-in-law and I are working out a schedule to babysit for her little baby boy (who is about 6 or 7 weeks old now)  I've been sitting all this week for a few hours so she can go to the gym and work out.  So, my progress is a little slow on this drawing/painting.  I need to do more in the foreground - I've only just started on that. 

This is from Bodie, California - you may remember my previous watercolor sketches I posted.  This was a ruin with an open doorway, that when I got down on the ground, it framed a lovely blue wild iris!

A thrill and a great honor! Good News!

I am so excited and also humbled at the same time!  My pastel painting "Tawny Gold" was accepted into the Pastel Society of the West Coast's annual Open Juried (and International) Exhibition.  (I think I'm hyperventilating right now - where's the paper bag?). 


Tawny Gold

The show runs from April 24 to June 19 at the Haggin Museum, 1201 N. Pershing Avenue, Stockton, California.  This is the first juried pastel show that one of my works has been accepted into.  Wow.  I've seen a few of their past shows and there is soooo much talent there - I'm amazed mine will be there too!

I made my own mini pastel box!

I got this idea from a fellow artist at a plein air workshop (Karen Margulis).  I went to Michaels Craft Store and bought a wooden purse for about $5.00.  I had some left-over Varathane from refinishing furniture and sealed the wood inside and out.  Then, I had some foam pieces from Harry & David fruit box we got as a gift and cut it to fit in the bottom and top.  Then I picked all my broken or small pieces out of my every-day palette and put them in this 6 x 8 box.  Awww, ain't it cute?

I plan to take this little mini box (and mini paper!) with me on trips where we have to fly.  These are vacation trips, so I plan to sit on a park bench or the grass and work in my lap on a small board.  The other way I'd like to use this is in a saddle pack when I ride my horse in the mountains in the summer.  Only thing I need then is a tree to tie Casey to!

Pastel Painting on Suede Matboard

"Courtyard Niche" 10 x 8 pastel

Some time ago, a framer was selling a box full of suede matboard cutouts for $1.00 each.  I bought about 15 of them.  They were all various colors and all 8 x 10. 

Today I pulled out a mauve colored one and painted this.  Nice thing to do on a cold winter's day with snow and ice all around.