Nocturne study

This month I have been working on studying the Nocturne painting. This photo was gleaned from the Wet Canvas reference library. Thank you lisilk for the great photo. The whole process for this painting has been a first for me. I used Canson paper, the smooth side, Orchid color, 9 x 12. Working with pastels and no tooth has been a good learning experience. I started with a charcoal sketch and followed it with hard pastels, graduating to medium and soft.

I did find that I quickly filled the paper with pastel until it screamed at me "please no more". So I found myself with an unfinished painting, but I did learn a lot from the experience. My next Nocturne will be on larger paper, so I can capture more detail where needed. It's a bit of a challenge to include figures and not be able to refine the image I am going for. The colors also need refining (less purple).

Another try with a larger piece on Canson will be my next step. If I am not happy after that, I will move on to a more familiar paper with some tooth. I was just trying some new techniques before some up coming workshops. This is essentially unfinished and will remain so. It won't accept another iota of pastel!

Wishing for warmer weather

I wish I could say spring is here but I know there is still more winter ahead. The groundhog did say we can expect an early spring though. This painting is from the December Wet Canvas Spotlight. I've been a bit busy and am just getting around to posting it.

County Clare, Ireland

Spotlight on relections

This pastel is a painting of reflections. Clouds, mountains, ice, snow and water combine to give this a somewhat abstract feel. It was painted without the use of any white, utilizing the pale soft pastel colors and greys, to achieve the lightest of lights.

Along the road to Rio

This month the Virtual Paintout artists are painting Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I chose a simple landscape scene to start the month off. Palms are so hard for me to resist and one of my favorite trees to paint.

The paper I used was black and since it would not accept a watercolor under painting. I approached the initial block in using pastel. The most notable part of my start was the fuschia color, I used in the sky. I balanced it off with a bright green, to gray it down a bit, followed by a little lavender; one of my favorite sky colors.

I hope you enjoy my latest Virtual Paintout offering. It's titled "Along the road to Rio" and it is another pastel painting, approximately 7 x 11. Also, don't forget to check out the web site for The Virtual Paintout, hosted by Bill Guffey, and featuring art from around the world.

Down the hill and yonder curve

A little taste of autumn can be felt in this recent pastel painting. I painted this for the October Spotlight, hosted by the Wet Canvas Pastel Forum. It's titled "Down the hill and yonder curve". The focus of this October's Spotlight was using the warm colors of autumn.

San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

San Miguel de Allende, Mexico


The October, 2010, Virtual Paint out location was in San Miguel de Allende. This is my contribution for the monthly event It is a pastel painting and I just love the sky in this one. In fact, I titled it "Reaching for the sky".

This month has been a very busy month, for me. I had major computer problems this month, loosing everything stored on my computer. Couple that with some travel and I did not have a lot of time to paint.

Fortunately, my computer savvy husband was able to retrieve all of the items that I needed, to save. I am now adjusting to new software, as well as a new computer. That old Toshiba was a good old gal and I will miss it! I am so grateful that my spouse had the know how to save what was important to me. I would be lost without my address book!