A pair of chicken portraits in oil

Yep, it's another challenge from DailyPaintworks:  The Chicken Challenge:

Ethel

6x6 inches 

oil on 1/4 wood panel

[source photo courtesy of C. Marine]

Freddie

7x5 inches

oil on canvas board

[source photo courtesy of C. Sheeter]

An unexpected break from the landscapes - I honestly didn't consider that chickens would be the subject matter for any paintings this week.  But, it sounded like so much fun that I just had to try it.  And, I enjoyed painting "Ethel" yesterday afternoon that I started on "Freddie" last night after the brownish madder I used to tone the canvas was dry.  I finished him up late this morning.

Of course, I have never painted a bird or chicken before.  I've been wanting to paint more animals ever since I did Observation Deck.  Unfortunately, I didn't have a single reference photo of a chicken, so I went with Carol's provided photo and one found in the Reference Image Library on WetCanvas for Freddie's.

I like chickens, actually. They are clearly unaware of their low order on the food chain, and you always hear stories about how mean roosters can be, especially when defending their hens.  The look in Freddie's eye tells you he is not to be trifled with.

This very short video never fails to make me laugh:



Ethel started out with a pencil sketch onto the board, but with Freddie, I jumped right in with the oils, making some corrections as I went.  The easiest parts of the paintings to do, beside the backgrounds?  The eyes.  Probably not what most people would say, but back when I was doing mixed media equine sculpture, I painted many tiny equine eyes.  And quite well, I might add.  They are the key of animal (or most human) portraits - if the eyes aren't right, the painting fails.

The hardest part was trying to get Freddie's feathers to look acceptable.  He is a Barred Rock rooster, and the black and white feather pattern is complex to say the least.  The extreme darks of the feathers in the photo didn't translate so well to a painting, so here it is just suggested; I ended up wiping it off twice before settling on this final version.

Palette used:  alizarin crimson, cadmium reds dark & medium, burnt sienna, yellow ochre, ultramarine blue.

Can't ever be too far from the landscapes, but I'm really liking these chickens.  I have a few more reference photos, so who knows?

A Vintage Light

tags:  contemporary realism - still life painting - Zippo lighter - 5x7 - daily painting - oil painting

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A Vintage Light

5x7 inches 

oil on canvas panel

Yep...it's another from the weekly challenge paintings from the Daily Paintworks, this week hosted by Michael Naples:  the Zippo Challenge.  The challenge was to use burnt sienna, ultramarine blue and white to paint this vintage Zippo lighter.  I altered the format and experimented with different crops, being mindful to not repeat intervals and paying attention to values.  

The easy part was matching the variants of gray using just the BS and UB; the hard part was getting those details down correctly.  I'm actually surprised I was able to do this alla prima and not have it be a smeared mess, especially since I've never attempted to paint anything quite so detailed in oils before.  

I freehand sketched this on the canvas with a pencil yesterday, but did double-check measurements with a ruler just to make sure, and then adjusted shapes and lines as I went along with the paint.  This makes me want to do more still life paintings of shiny things!

Apologies for the reflective glare...I really need a polarizing filter for these wet paintings, especially when they are taken inside.

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This afternoon's sky - sweeping cirrus clouds:

Two more in Southwest Skies series

These paintings were actually completed on Wednesday, but too late to get photos.  An all-day snowshoeing trip on Thursday caused me to miss the opportunity to photograph them on that day, and yesterday, I just didn't get around to doing the planned blog post.

So, here they are, finally.  I'll probably do 1-2 more, depending upon what grabs me, and wrap it up.  I've been thinking about the next direction I want to head, subject-wise, and am starting to gravitate towards figurative work, both animal and human.  We shall see.  I may do a short series of winter landscapes based on some of my recent photos.

Along the High Plateau

oil on panel

9x12

SOLD

Painted Desert Sky

oil on canvas board

5x7

Both of these locations are along I-40 in Arizona.  Just west of Gallup, the Painted Cliffs form an unexpected addition to the land, tapering away near the AZ border to form wide, sweeping plains with pinion-juniper as the dominant vegetative zone.  The land is cut with washes and arroyos, the edge of which is seen in the first painting.  Near Holbrook, the Little Colorado river , on its northwestern path towards the Colorado, passes by, follows along the interstate, and takes its exit north at Winslow towards Leupp and Grand Falls.  The geologic make-up along much of I-40 east of Flagstaff is Chinle formation - Painted Desert.  Both the Petrified Forest and Meteor Crater are also right off I-40.

Both of these were again done with the limited palette of the two blues (phthalo and ultramarine), Indian red, yellow ochre and purple lake.  "Painted Desert Sky" was sort of an afterthought to do as a quick painting on these small 5x7 canvases I'd purchased shortly after I started my Four Corners roadtrip series.    Despite the extra layer of oil primer I used over the canvas, I really don't care for the texture at this small size.  Once the other two are used up, no mas - only MDF or Masonite panels.

The snowshoeing trip we did on Thursday was amazing on many different levels.  I was going to include some photos I took here, but I think they warrant their own post.  So, I will post that later today.

Four Corners & Colorado Plateau series - #5 & 6

Here are two more from the Hwy 160 drive.  One is the Church Rock study that I wasn't originally going to post because it was quickly done and basically just an experiment with the paint already on my palette using canvas paper.  But, today, as I was finishing the smaller piece I started yesterday, I decided to work it a bit more and figured I may as well post it because I didn't get the other piece I started finished, either - I decided to try that in washes, so it had to dry.

The second is the windmill from 2 days ago.  Ugh.  I guess I'm setting myself up for disappointment when I try to paint something detailed and small using a medium I'm not experienced with using.  With pastels, it would have been much easier to control the lines for making the blades on the windmill.  Here, well...you'll see.

I'm out of the gessoed boards I made, so I'm off to the art store to pick up some small canvas panels.  We'll see if painting on those is any better/worse.

Church Rock study - #5

9x12 inches

oil on canvas paper

Since this was just a study, no thought was given to composition, so there it is - right in the center of the paper.  I was really interested in playing around a bit with the subtle mauves and grays, along with the shadows, in the structure itself.  I really didn't want to spend much more time on it, but it does look a little better than it did after the first session.

Desert water - #6

5x7 inches

oil on gessoed card

Windmills are a common occurrence in arid climates such as the Colorado Plateau; they are often the only source of water for miles.  I'm not sure if this is still actively collecting water or not; the tank itself had a range of colors from the metal and rust, and some graffiti that I wasn't going to attempt to paint.  Despite how unimpressive this small painting turned out, I could see doing a larger, more detailed painting of the same subject later.  The dark red cliffs in the background open up to Monument Valley.

Fall colors & blog anniversary

I realized today that yesterday was actually the one-year anniversary of my art blog.   It's hard to believe a year has gone by since I began the more formal process of documenting my artistic endeavors and process via this blog.  I've mentioned it before, but my inspiration for joining the blogosphere was all the art blogs I was reading that were inspiring *me*.   I found that the blog helped discipline me to create things regularly,   and while maybe there were few, if any, readers, I wrote as if there were people who were interested in my thoughts and artwork.  

And thank you to those who have been regular readers, or occasionally stop by for a look, and to those who take the time to comment; it sort of helps validate the effort put into the posts.  I used to not leave comments on other blogger's sites, but then realized that I wanted people to know that I was reading and enjoying their artwork and blog.   I guess it falls under the "do unto others" theme.

Anyway, yesterday I set to work on my quota of 2-3 paintings, but got stalled out on the first one because of extra details it needs (it's a windmill).  I'm still not confident enough with the alla prima handling of paint, especially on these small sized canvases, that I can just do precise applications of paint wet on wet and get it not goofy.  So, I'll probably add the last bit to that one later after the sky is dry, and continue on.

In the meantime, here are two fall color paintings I did with the extra paint on the palette after I'd done the Four Corners paintings for the day.   And a couple of photos from the short hike we went on along Hermosa Creek out by the Purgatory ski area yesterday afternoon.

aspen leaf portrait

7x5 inches

oil on gessoed card

Based on a photo I took on our Purgatory Flats hike last week, this was done from a graphite drawing on  the card.  I learned a lot from doing this still life painting.  I happen to really like vignetted paintings, so I went with that here.  Unfortunately, I thought about it a little late, so it's not as spontaneous as I'd have liked.  

Aspen hillside

5x7 inches

oil on gessoed card

Another based on the Purgatory Flats hike from last week.  This was a good exercise in just seeing things as abstracted blocks of color and value - something I'm definitely getting much better at.  If this were a bigger size, I probably would have added a it more detail, and finished the scattered pines on the two higher hills.  Still trying to figure out the best way to get fine lines for the trunks...as well as sign the painting - clearly, a brush isn't working so well for that.  

Hermosa creek

The view to the right from the double-track trail, about a mile from the trailhead.  This creek is used by fly fishermen, and we spoke with three who were fishing it that day.  Rainbows, native cutthroats and brown trout inhabit these waters.

Colors of fall 

The view to the left of the trail, up the slope.  Aspen tower over the firs scattered within their stands.

Hermosa Peak afternoon

Better light on the way back shows the aspen-covered hillsides and meadow through which the creek runs, with Hermosa Pk. is in the distance.

Meandering creek 

On the dirt road back to Hwy 550, Hermosa Cr. is a series of oxbow meanders through the meadow.  According to an interpretive sign nearby, the area had extensive restoration work after years of cattle grazing took their inevitable toll on the ecosystem of the creek.  Thankfully, the area is now closed to grazing.  A brilliant stand of aspen breaks up the evergreen forest in the distance.

Four Corners & Colorado Plateau series - #4 & 5

I had planned to post these yesterday, but by the time I finished painting for the day, it was too dark to take photos [I usually take them outside].

The first is of a wash - one of many that run through the plateau country.  Most are dry except right after a rain; this had a few residual pools of water, which were no doubt gone within the next day or so.  They follow the path of least resistance, usually bordered by sandstone outcroppings and cliffs, as shown here.

Along the wash  - #4

5x7 

oil on gessoed card

It's been good practice to mix up a variety of greens for the grasses, shrubs and trees.   The clouds for this were based on what was out my window at the time, so it's got a touch of plein air.  

Outcropping  - #5

5x7

oil on gessoed card

Jurassic period Navajo sandstone is the predominate rock along Hwy 160 as you cross into AZ.  It forms both cliffs (as in Lake Powell) and scalloped cross-bedded slopes - a testament to its eolian (dune) origins.  Grasses and other hardy desert shrubs take hold along the eroded debris piles and in the fissures.  

Four Corners & Colorado Plateau series - #2 & 3

Two more done today for this series.   My plan is to keep all of these as alla prima pieces and not re-work any, lest I get bogged down in trying to fix mistakes; it's best just to recognize the issues and try to avoid them in the next painting.   I'm also not overly concerning myself with composition issues at the moment; I'm choosing photos where the composition is interesting enough to me to warrant painting it.

I actually completed 4 paintings today, including a larger one on canvas paper of Church Rock, and a still life of sorts.  It was fun, so I will probably mix up the landscapes with other subjects and post them as groups.

For now, here are the next two.  Clouds for both are from memory and rather spontaneously painted, which is probably quite obvious.

Cottonwood View  - #2

5x7 inches

oil on gessoed card

Cottonwoods against weathered Navajo sandstone rock indicate the presence of water in this arid climate.  I'm sort of starting to figure out the best sequence to add the various elements and not turn everything into an overblended mess.  

Towards the Rise - #3

5x7 inches

oil on gessoed card

Heading west along Hwy 160, the road takes many curves and undulations through washes and over small elevations on the plateau.  Need to work on the cloud placement for sure.   Those yellow highway marks are a challenge to get right, and mistakes aren't easily corrected.  Better luck next time on that.  

A new series and a new medium

It's finally time to shake things up in the studio a bit.  I've been working exclusively in soft pastels for the past year (almost), and while that has been great and I don't plan to abandon them, I am feeling the urge to return to oils.

I say "return", because for over 12 years, I worked exclusively in oils...but never on 2D canvas, and never a single landscape, still life or portrait.  The "canvases" were polyresin equine sculptures and the method of painting was decidedly different than the direction I want to go now.   It would often take me weeks to complete a single piece, done in multiple thin layers and glazes, with much attention given to minute detail and careful blending and color matching for real equine coat colors and patterns.   Brush strokes or any kind of impasto technique was absolutely, positively not acceptable, nor was loose, impressionist-type work; it was all about photorealism.   That was good for many years, but eventually I got burned out and desperately needed a break.

So, while I feel comfortable working with oils, it is somewhat limited in scope:  no alla prima painting, no juicy.   Over the past several years, I've accumulated many oil painting technique books, with a focus on landscapes.  I've managed to replace almost all that were lost by the PO this past spring, and I've been re-reading them.  I follow many landscape painter blogs and almost always have books by contemporary or deceased master artists I get from the library.  I'm inspired by the works of O'Keeffe, Hopper, Maynard Dixon, Edgar Payne, and contemporary landscape painters Ed Mell, Matt Smith and Clyde Aspevig.

Our trip to the north rim of the Grand Canyon, across a good slice of the Colorado Plateau, was the inspiration for a new series of paintings, based on the photos taken during the drive along Hwy's 160, 89 and 64, and of course, the Canyon itself.

Here's the piece that kicked it off - my very first landscape painting in oils:

West from North Timp Pt

5x7 inches

oil on gessoed cardstock

Perhaps not the recommended subject matter for a first painting in oils, but it worked for me.  Reason:  it's a subject matter I'm very well-aquainted with, and thanks to haze and time of day, what would normally be an overwhelming degree of detail had been rendered to a series of horizons in simple shapes and a simple palette.  What better way to work than as a value study devoid of distracting detail?  Plus, it follows the tenets of atmospheric perspective.

I probably fussed over it too much, and it was clear that I need to overcome my resistance to loading the brush with paint, but it was somewhat exhilarating.  I ended up doing it in two sessions, as I needed to correct some values and the paint was just too thin.  

For those familiar with the Grand Canyon, you'll instantly recognize this topography is not in the main part of the park:  those wide benches are known as the Esplanade, which is the thickest layer of the Supai group of sandstones and mudstones, and it trends thicker and towards forming these slickrock extensions as you head west.  The reddish cliff layer visible in the lower left section is the Redwall limestone, so named from the stained appearance from the 4 Supai group layers above it.  

I used a simple palette of burnt umber, ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, yellow ochre and titanium white.   BU + UB makes a glorious chromatic blue-black - perfect for those receding horizons.  

Anyway, my goal is to do 2-3 of these small studies per day, working my way across the Colorado Plateau.  I figure by the time I work back to the Mesa Verde area, I should be much more proficient!  And probably pretty close to 100 paintings as well.

Here is the first in the Four Corners & Colorado Plateau road trip series (or, second, I suppose):

Road to Red Mesa

5x7 inches

oil on gessoed cardstock

Alla prima - added cadmium yellow and A. crimson to the palette for this piece.  Red Mesa is past Four Corners and on the Navajo Nation, as is all of Hwy 160 as soon as it enters AZ.  I had issues with the paint thickening, possibly because the oil was leaching into the palette board I was using, so I may add some walnut oil for future paintings so the paint is less tacky.  I'm used to using Liquin for a drying/glazing medium, and may use it in the future.   

The cardstock, which I made from existing white archival matboard pieces cut to size and coated with 2-3 layers of acrylic gesso, works okay, but I may switch to small canvas boards in the future.  These are nice because they are excellent to practice on, but if a piece turns out well, it can be framed.

I'll keep tossing pastels into the  mix, probably as pieces for this series, and maybe some random other pieces as well.  For now, though, it's onward along Hwy 160 towards the Grand Canyon!

Fall comes to the San Juans

Back when I lived in AZ, I always loved the fall.  In the desert, it meant a break from the hot temperatures and resuming outdoor activities, like backpacking in the Grand Canyon.  In the higher country, the mornings are crisp, the air is dry and there is a distinct change in the quality of the light.  And, of course, fall colors.   In the west and southwest, that means patches of broadleaf deciduous trees interspersed with conifer forests, and coupled with the mountains, canyons and plateaus of the region.   Greens fade to yellows, rusts and brown as the grasses and wildflowers fade away and go to seed.  The whole land has a warm, inviting glow to it.

People rave about "fall colors" in the east coast, particularly in New England.  They are hit or miss, I found, and the season is short - about 2 1/2 weeks.  One good wind or rain storm, and it's over sooner.  Once the leaves are gone, the forests are completely barren and lifeless for the next 6 months.  I found that depressing, and never looked forward to fall.

Now that I'm back home, the excitement over fall has returned.   Everyone waits for the aspen to turn, and turning they are!  Yesterday, we hiked the trail that we did the day after we got into town:  the Purgatory Creek trail.  It goes through several stands of aspen, and we hoped that we'd see some of them in full color.  We weren't disappointed.  The trail starts across from the Durango Mtn. Resort (formerly known as Purgatory Ski Resort), follows the creek down the mountain and onto a valley where Cascade creek runs.  The views of several mountains are spectacular.  

I'd originally planned on doing another series of landscape paintings, focusing on oils, but I couldn't resist doing another small pastel today, based on one of the photos I took along the trail yesterday.  Another piece is on my easel, probably finished up tomorrow.  This is a good way to include some photos from the hike without a separate post, so below are some of my favorites.

"aspen trail"

7x5 inches

Strathmore paper on foamboard

It was just great to pull out the high-key yellows for this painting.  The sky looks a bit flat in the photo; we had overcast skies and rain all day, so the actual painting looks better in person (don't they always, though?).   

"Aspen curves"

A tall aspen with a graceful, curving trunk, is flanked by smaller trees and evergreens on the trail

"West Needles in Shadow"

This view to the east along a rock outcropping shows the patches of aspen, both yellow and green, amongst the fir and spruce forest on the West Needle Mtns.

"Engineer & Aspen"

Engineer Peak is visible to the northwest in this view from the Purgatory Flats river valley

"Cascade Creek"

Just under two miles from the trailhead, the trail approaches this perennial creek, which attracts fly-fishers as well as hikers and backpackers

"Color Study"

These stands of aspen show off their range of colors in this abstracted image, shot at 70mm

"An Intimate View"

A small branch of aspen leaves, backlit by the afternoon sun, shows color detail and shadows, in contrast to the bokeh of the distal trees and sky

Two small landscapes: East & West

Resuming the landscape theme here, with two small pastels that were another experiment of sorts.  I wanted to see how it would work to dry mount some Strathmore paper on foamboard, both as a painting surface and just for ease of handling (and, more importantly, framing).  I see lots of pastelists talk about painting on paper mounted to Gatorfoam, archival matboard, or other rigid backings.  But, no one explains techniques or materials they use.

I've experimented with the 3M photomount spray, which was messy, toxic-smelling, and didn't seem to work all that well.  I've used the double-sided tape that scrapbookers use, and while it wasn't messy, it wasn't terribly efficient, especially for larger sized pieces.  And, I've never used it with pastel papers - only sandpaper and only on matboard, not foamboard.

I came across a glue stick (Elmer's, I believe) in the scrapbooking section of the store a few weeks ago, and it looked like something worth trying.  Permanent adhesion, acid-free (important; I've had drawings from college ruined from using rubber cement) and in a stick form, so not messy and probably wouldn't buckle the paper.

Using some of the strips remaining after trimming the Strathmore papers to 12x12" and some acid-free foamboard pieces, I decided to give it a try and make some 5x7" panels.   I have a Logan matboard cutter, which is extremely handy for getting a nice straight edge on foamboard.    

I found that a good technique was to draw a line on the wrong side of the paper, apply the glue past it, and then carefully line up one corner edge to the foamboard.  Starting in the center and pressing out seemed to be effective at removing/preventing bubbles, at least in the 3 samples I tried.  Then, after it had dried for a minute, I carefully measured the two remaining edges and cut them with a small hand-held Xacto blade.

The glue, which was in a dry stick form to begin with, dried without darkening or warping the paper, and assuming I got it past the edges, has kept the paper from lifting.  It was easy, not messy and had no odor.  So, I'll be using that for any paper mounting to backing surfaces from now on, and with any photos I mat as well.  

Anyway, here are the two paintings.  They were done quickly; I tried to keep things loose.  The first is based on a photo taken in northern NM a few weeks ago; the cloud is actually in CO.  I simplified the scene by removing a bridge and other undesirable elements that were in the photo.  Just a line of trees, some brief foreground, and the sandstone mesas to anchor the cumulonimbus.   

The second is a farm in PA, from a photo taken on our move drive.  I was drawn to the simple shapes of the treeline and the way the golden grass/grain splits the cornfields and curves around, almost like a river in a canyon.  

Monsoon Season over the Mesas

5x7 inches

Strathmore paper (blue) on foamboard

Field of Plenty

5x7 inches

Strathmore paper (rust) on foamboard

Bay Reflections

After a few days of no painting, I finally sat down in my studio this evening and did something.  My last attempt at painting was nothing but an exercise in frustration, and I'm not sure why I couldn't make it work, but it just wasn't happening.  It's not so much that I care that the painting didn't turn out, but my analytical mind wants to know why.   have been missing my clouds and still haven't lost interest in the reflections.  I went through my reference library and re-examined some of my ocean photos, and pulled a selection to work from.

Here is the first - sparkling late afternoon sunlight reflecting off of Little Narragansett Bay in RI.   Much simplified from the reference photo.  Done in less than 30 min.

"Bay Reflections"

5.5"x 8.5" - 320# sanded paper

Aerial Sky Series - pastel

Here are the first two paintings, both completed yesterday evening, of an aerial sky-themed series.  These, like the "Take Off - DIA" painting from a few days ago, are also based on photos taken during that short flight from Denver to Durango.  It will remain to be seen how many of these end up in the series; I'll continue as long as I have inspiration and material to draw from.

After doing the canoe painting, which was a bit tighter than I like to work, I kept these small - 5x7"- so I could work quickly and keep them loose.  The first was done with an alcohol wash.  The second just had a quick initial sketch with a white pastel pencil prior to jumping in with the softies.  I could see revisiting these later as larger pieces, perhaps in oils.

"Monsoon View" 

pastel on sandpaper, 5x7"

"Sunset over San Luis Valley"

pastel on sandpaper, 5x7"

More to come.

Two plein air pastels

It has been over 20 years since I did any plein air painting, and that was during one of the art classes I attended while at the U of A.  When I came out to AZ, I shipped my French portable easel out anticipating lots of outdoor painting.  Alas, that did not happen.  Weather, lack of a travel tray for my pastels, aversion to sunburn, and other reasons really kept me from going out. 

However, the other day, I was tired of being inside.  It was a beautiful warm day out, not too windy, and beautiful swirling and fan-shaped cirrus clouds were decorating the sky.  I decided to do some plein air sketches of the clouds/sky, and then my attention turned to the nearby section of the Tucson Mtns. that is east of where my mom lives.  I love the way the afternoon light falls on these; I've taken some photos, but never as a dedicated photo session.  It occured to me, however, that I didn't have to go anywhere to paint these!  In fact, I could sit in a chair, in the shade, which clinched the deal.

The first is a quick study I did of one of the cirrus sets above the house; these are very fast-moving clouds, and by the time I'd blocked in my sky, the cloud itself was already well to the south.  But, it was good practice.  These were not the wispy cirrus clouds one often sees, but thick, robust clouds that blocked out most of the blue sky towards the horizon.

The second is of the mountains.  Not trying to create any sort of masterpiece here was good, because I couldn't be overly concerned about composition:  the foreground area from where I was sitting is my mom's backyard, an ugly chainlink fence, and neighbor's homes.  Not interesting to look at, let alone paint.  So, I just left it with the tree tops present in neighboring properties to account for the foreground.  I was also delighted that clusters of cumulus clouds were appearing in the distance, adding some contrast to the higher cirrus and the mountains themselves.  The mountains themselves are primarily volcanic in nature, with rough, red cliffs and rocky slopes covered in saguaro cacti, mesquite and other Sonoran desert vegetation.

I used a limited palette here; maybe 8 colors total.  Not much more was needed.

cirrus study - pastel, 5x7"

"East Towards Panther Peak"

pastel on sanded paper, 9x11"

A trio of landscapes in pastel

This is a bit of a catch-up post, since I haven't had regular internet access for the past several days. I'd intended to post these throughout the week, but I've got plenty of new material to be adding, so I'll just include all of these together in a single post.

All are based on photos taken at various locations and dates, so there's no real continuity of subject, other than mountains and sky. Details follow each painting.  They're posted in the order completed.

"Winter Storm Over Mule Mtns" - 5x7

pastel on sanded paper mounted to acid-free matboard

$45 ppd, ready to frame

This small painting was based on a photo similar to this one.  I loved the way this one portion of the mountains was sunlit in an otherwise overcast sky, and the small area of precipitation adds to the sense of drama.  I also was finally able to use the pastels in the much-anticipated Mt. Vision thunderstorm grey set I recently received.  In fact, other than the foreground greens and yellows of the mountain, the rest of the painting was done with this set, demonstrating its versatility as a southwestern palette as well.

"Towards Ramsey Canyon" - 9x12"

pastel on Colourfix sanded paper

$95 ppd, ready to frame

This painting could be described as a "reclamation operation" based on both the paper and the reference photo.  The original painting, done from a photo taken at Saguaro National Park, was my first time using this particular surface.  It's quite different than the sanded papers I've been using, where the pastels go on like butter.  This is much more textured and I found myself fighting the surface.  Despite the effort I put into the original painting, I was not pleased with the result, primarily as a result of the paper surface.  So, out came the paintbrush and off came the pastel!  I then applied black pastel to the remaining ghosted surface, used an alcohol wash to unify the surface color, and it was back to the beginning. 

I didn't want to try and re-do the same SNP image, so I decided on a photo taken during this same hike.  While the photo was nothing to get excited about due to the poor light, it is one I felt would translate well into a painting.  Simple shapes and strong values of the land elements contrast with the muted greys of the stratus cloud-filled sky, which is what I did .  The location is not far off the trailhead for the Brown trail, off of Ramsey Cyn. Rd in Sierra Vista, at the base of the Huachucas.  Residual snow is visible on the north face (although I'm not sure if that reads as such in the painting...) and the granite cliffs contrast with the evergreen slopes of the adjacent mountain.  Scrub oak and juniper dot the foothills and foreground along with the bright yellow grasses.  After looking at the photo, I think I will go back and adjust some of the areas of grass to the lower left side - they are a bit too dark and tend to pull the eye away from the center of the painting. 

My photography and PP editing skills aren't doing this painting justice - I think I may have reduced the contrast a bit too much, since the actual painting is more vibrant when viewed in person. 

"Cumulus, Rising" - 9x11"

pastel on sanded paper

$65 ppd, ready to frame

Here is another somewhat "experimental" piece.  It is based on a photo I took shortly after arriving in Bisbee, in early Dec.  Taken from the Mule tunnel overpass in late afternoon just before sunset, I was in awe of the very top of this brightly-lit cumulus cloud that was just peeking up over the hills of the Mules to the north. 

The surface is a 220-grit aluminum oxide sanded paper that I've used before, and while it has a good tooth for the pastel, there is a tendency for the pastel to come off if the paper is tapped vigorously.  Since I do this after finishing all my paintings to remove loose dust, this is a problem.  I'd decided not to use the paper anymore as a result, but then thought I'd try the alcohol wash with black pastel and use a bit of fixative and then do the painting on top, just to see how that worked.  It definitely was an improvement over the original surface as far as this technique went.  I never use fixative on my finished paintings, but decided to just try it here - a light sweep of Krylon Matte Finish spray.  It didn't appear to dull the painting down, which is usually the reason pastel painters don't use fixative. 

I modified the original photo slightly by shifting the hills over to the right so that the "v" didn't fall right in the center.  The cloud mass has been slightly enlarged and yeah, it's still mostly in the center, but I think it's okay here because of the lines and curves of the hills keep it from being too staid.  I kept the dark cloud tatters in the photo to add some depth and context of a cloudy sky to the painting.  They read better, as do the pinks and creams of the center cloud, when the painting is viewed in person.

Sunset Clouds in Mixed Media

One evening last month, I went out east of town along Hwy 80 for some sunset photos.  The sky had scattered remnants of earlier storms and would-be storms, and I suspected they'd make for some beautiful clouds.  As is often the case with the skies in this part of the state, a wide variety were present just within the location I stopped right along the highway - cumulonimbus-types to the east; windblown cumulus to the south and patchy altocumulus to the west: an evening cloud festival!

I have plans to do some of these into pastels at some point, probably as larger paintings, but couldn't resist doing one as a small 5x7.  That is also when I discovered that my pastel palette is a bit lacking in the appropriate sunset and greys necessary to do the types of skies and clouds I wish to paint. 

For now, here are some photos and one pastel of the evening clouds from that evening.  I've also included the reference photo I used for the painting.

Cloud Cover to the East

The evening light highlights the interesting projections from this receding cumulonimbus.

Winter Evening Glow

These clouds cast a beautiful coral and peach glow to the southeast.

Three Pink Clouds

This trio of cumulus, with small trails of icy virga, are over the southern-most hills of the Mules.

"Three Pink Clouds" - 5x7

pastel on sanded paper

Sunset along Hwy 80

Bright headlights of cars heading towards Bisbee contrast with the darker land and softer colors of the sky.

Mountains and Paths - pastels

Here are two more small pastels completed over the past few days.   Both are based on photos taken around the area.  The first is of the Mule Mtns. as seen from Hwy 80 towards Douglas.  Both have a combination of hard and soft pastels.

"Mules from the South"

pastel on sanded paper, 5x7

available for purchase

"Path Towards Council Rock"

pastel on sanded paper, 5x7

available for purchase

Sunrise through Sunset - pastels

I got into a painting groove a couple of days ago and finished a few paintings, including the one that had been giving me fits for a while.  I finally decided to stop tweaking parts of it at the risk of ruining it.  The process reminded me of a quote I heard from an attending doctor I trained with years ago during a surgery rotation; he asked me:  "What is the enemy of 'good'?  Answer:  'better'".   This is the first actual sunset painting I've done with a complex cloud form, and I'm definitely pleased with several elements of it.  I also learned a lot while doing it, and realized that I need some more grays in my pastel palette to more accurately capture the muted colors seen in clouds.   As often seems to be the case, the photos don't do complete accuracy as to the colors or saturation, even though I try to match them as best I can. 

The others are 5x7's done from photos taken from the backyard of the Jonquil.  I am rapidly amassing a large collection of these photos, taken at all times of the day, to capture the skies of sunrise, mid-day and sunset.  They are presented in the order of the time of day they represent and not when completed.  I have decided to offer select pieces for sale, unframed, at reasonable prices.  If interested, please contact me.

"Hillside Sunrise"- 5x7  study

Nupastel on Canson paper

 

"Hillside and Clouds #2" 5x7

pastel on 600-grit sanded paper

Available for purchase

"Evening Clouds from Mule Overlook"

~ 9x11"  pastel on 400-grit sanded paper

sold

Weekly challenge paintings - week 3

I ended up doing all four of these in the same sitting last week.  I'll keep doing this particular challenge for another week, and move on to another scene that offers more versatility as far as the sky and landscape elements go.  This has really been an excellent learning experience and has given me the chance to try different palettes and color combinations, including some that are clearly not in the realm of possibility of an actual landscape but fun to do nonetheless. 

Weekly challenge paintings collage

#09 - Fall colors redux.  Canson pastel paper, 6x8"

#10 - Greens, both warm and cool.  600-grit sandpaper.  5.5x8"

#11 - Complementary colors:  orange and blue.  Canson, 6x8"

#12 - Pinks and purples, aka the "candyland palette".  Canson, 6x8"

Two more challenge paintings

Final two pastel paintings for this weeks' challenge:

Moonrise after sunset

soft pastel on Canson Mi-Tientes paper, 6x8".

The sky, moon and foreground colors were based on a photo I took a few months ago on our trip back to the southwest, along Hwy 180, just north of Flagstaff.  I really like the original photo, and plan on using it as the basis for a full painting some day.  This was a useful study for colors to use (and not to use). 

Split complementary study

pastel on Mi-Tientes sienna paper, 6x8"

For this, I chose purple as my starting color, and used colors adjacent to its complement (yellow) on the color wheel:  yellow-green and yellow-orange.  I like the palette, but I'm not keen on the final result.  There are many things I'd change if I did this again.  Despite various post-processing attempts, I was unable to get color accuracy for the purple used on the right side of the mountain; it is not maroon, but a darker blue-violet purple.