Monday, April 11, 2011

The Tree x 4 - ACEO pastel landscape studies

Labels:  ACEO, original art, pastel painting, southwest landscape, tree, sunset
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Tree #1 - Yellow Sky & Red Wildflowers
 I seem to be in a bit of an indecisive artistic lull lately.  Can't decide what to do as far as larger works go; the idea of doing something big just seems daunting for whatever reason.

But yet, I still want to paint something.

So, I find myself coming back again to these little mini-paintings.  Not much to dedicate in the way of time or materials, which seems about right for me, at least today.

Tree #2 - Stormy Skies
South of Durango, along Hwy 550, is Florida Mesa.

And, along the highway is some farm or ranch land upon which resides a lone ponderosa pine in an open field.  I really dig this tree, and have photographed it on different occasions.

So, I decided to paint it and vary the background in each version.  This would actually be a great subject for a "Multiple Variations" challenge, similar to what jump-started me back to pastel painting 1 1/2 years ago with this series.


Tree #3 - Overcast Sky Sunset
 I may do more of The Tree, or not.  But, for tonight, it was good.

Tree #1 has maybe a bit of Tonalism to it?  All warm colors.

Tree #2 is similar to this one, based on a summer monsoon storm.

Tree #3 sports one of those intense sunsets with high-chroma colors, of which we have plenty of here.




Tree #4 was what tonight's sky looked like, sunset-wise.  Semi-plein air, I guess.
I guess until I have further inspiration to do a larger piece, these minis will tide me over.

I decided to add the black border around them using GIMP.  Looks neat, I think.

And, on an unrelated note, Blogger's formatting continues to confound me.  The text in Preview mode looks nothing like the actual blog post - large gaps between photos that I can't seem to fix.  So, sorry about that.


10 comments:

  1. Love the colors - each one unique!

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  2. I know how you feel trying to decide what to do next. But the little ones are sometimes just fun and can be artistically rewarding so don't feel angst over it. Enjoy it for a while.

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  3. Hi Ruth - I appreciate your comments, and you're right: they are fun and I get benefits from doing them. They are perfect when I can't muster up enough energy to do larger pieces. I'm really glad I started doing them for these reasons and more.

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  4. Your work is beautiful!

    Thanks for stopping by. Star gazers are a favorite of mine, too!
    Have a great week,
    Barb

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  5. Hi Barbara - thanks so much for the visit and kind comment.

    Enjoy your week as well!

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  6. These are so lovely, Sonya! And I know how you feel about just taking it easy with small paintings. I'm feeling the same way. Small works are a great place to think visually, experiment, and produce a lot of work fast. Then later... blow them up to mural size if you want.

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  7. Thanks, Diane! You are right on all accounts, and it's nice to hear other artists comment on the virtues of working in small sizes. The bonus is that sometimes they turn out nice enough to find their way into private collections :).

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  8. Those are so cool Sonya, I esp love the yellow sky one!!!!

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  9. Thanks, Sarah! I'm sure you must know about that field along Hwy 550 where this tree is. There is another tree closer to a large metal barn or shed on the same property, on the east side of the highway.

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Your thoughtful comments add value to this blog - thank you so much for taking the time to leave them!

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