In the Studio

Today’s painting was created on the shores of the South Saskatchewan River. It was midday so the sun was directly above, hence the highlights on the water. It was also a very windy day, so even though the river flows from the right to left of the painting, the wind coming at me head on was creating white caps and little waves coming in towards me where I lay on the sand. Summer’s coming to an end all too soon here in the Great White North, and this afternoon spent at the beach with my darling husband will be forever remembered in this painting!

Also, I recently learned some new painting terms…these pieces are not only plein air, but also alla primas!

Unfortunately, my scanner is seeing the ultramarine blue and burnt umber mix of the trees as blue-blue, instead of darker green, but other than that, this scan captures the painting fairly closely. I hope you enjoy!

“Sunny Day in August” - 8″x10″ pastel on suede

Today’s offering comes from a Sunday afternoon spent on the sandbars of the South Saskatchewan River, located about 20 miles south of Saskatoon. My husband and I like to spend our days off here, enjoying the peace and quiet and serenity that the river offers, while allowing my senior siberian husky, Roxy, a chance to romp and play in the sand and water, as well as with other canines playing on the beach. Makes for a beautiful way to spend the day, indeed!

Measuring approximately 7 3/4″ x 9 3/4″, pastel on suede, this painting captures the view of the riverbank from where I was laying on the sandbar. Enjoy!

Bid on this on eBay

Today’s installment is one plein aire painting of my backyard. Well, part of it. I was sitting out by the back corner, facing towards my neighbor’s yard, overlooking part of what used to be my miniature horse’s pen. (Damned stupid small town two-faced politics, anyhow! $%#!# But, enough on that subject.)

OKAY, where was I?

Oh yes, this is a little 45 minute painting of some greenery and part of the fenceline in my backyard. It’s late afternoon and the sun is shining through the leaves of our ash, maple and willow trees, and the blue sky is beginning to show slight signs of grey puff clouds forming. May mean storms overnight, yay, I love storms! When I first began this piece, I was tempted to scrap it. I can’t draw landscapes! I was just wasting my time, I might as well go back into the house and paint some real paintings. But no, I forced myself to sit and stay put, to see it through to find out what I could come up with. I knew if I stuck to it long enough to flesh it out, it would turn out halfways decent. At least so that I wouldn’t want to throw it away anyway. But I must say, I’m glad I made myself stay there and finish it. It turned out pretty nice! It does indeed look like my yard, and the lighting in this piece (you have to see it in person to appreciate it, the scan lacks the vibrancy of the actual work)…..it feels like I’m sitting in my backyard. So I’m slowly starting to catch on to this plein aire stuff. There is something to be said for drawing from real life that you just can’t achieve using photos and attempting hyper realism.

On a side note, I notice I’m sadly lacking in some key colors in my pastels. All I seem to have are horse colors. Gee, I wonder why?

Here is today’s offering, 8″ x 10″ pastel on suede, entitled “Where art thou, Cruiser?”

Buy it Here

Okay, I’m going to attempt to post regular sketches here for you to enjoy and possibly even add to your collection. Not all of my works are big serious paintings that take hours and hours and weeks and months and, yes, sometimes years to complete….often time my schedule only allows me short snippets of time to run off to the easel. The results of which I will try to post here for you all under the title of “The Sketch Pad“. Some of the sketches will be available for sale at very reasonable prices, while others will be just for my own enjoyment or learning. Either way, I hope you enjoy them!

Today was one such day. After seeing so many beautiful plein aire paintings and doing some updates for a pastel artist’s site, Elaine Hurst.com, I couldn’t help but get the undeniable urge to go outdoors and try some for myself. First I began by warming up by trying my hand at a piece of hers (with her permission, of course) to see if I could get anywhere close to what a landscape pastel piece should look like. (As you may well know, I’m known more for my super tight realistic up close in your face ANIMAL paintings, never any looser landscapes…this is a big stretch for my abilities, let me tell you! I feel like a kid in kindergarten again.) After only spending about an hour or two on it, here’s where I arrived at for today:

I really love how it is coming along, although to me it feels “messy” compared to how I usually work. But it’s good to loosen up every now and then, right? I may finish this piece, or, begin a new one of my own composing. We shall see. (Because this was a practice piece based on another artist’s original painting, it will not be for sale.)

Then I took a break from this piece, and went out to the bluff out back of my house here in Dalmeny. It’s a beautiful sunny day, with a few clouds breaking up after an overnight thundershower, so it’s still pretty humid out, but everything’s gorgeously green and lush. I did these two quick sketches using pastels on suede board.

Plein Aire #1 - “Lush Grasses - Dalmeny”- 8″x10″ pastel

(Available for sale -on Ebay)

Plein Aire #2 - “Blue Skies - Dalmeny” - 9″ x 10″ pastel

(Available for sale - On Ebay)